Austria: Media Report on Organ Harvesting: “Don’t Become the Chinese Communist Regime’s Accomplice”

(Minghui.org) On October 27, 2023, the Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung (abbreviated as Krone) published an online report titled “Live Organ Harvesting as a Billion-Dollar Business,” exposing the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s live organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners. The report also quoted human rights lawyer David Matas and called on Austria to “not become an accomplice of China.” Krone is Austria’s largest daily newspaper, with a circulation of more than 1.7 million readers.

The Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung published an online report titled “Live Organ Harvesting as a Billion-Dollar Business.” (Screenshot of the website)

The article pointed out the huge discrepancy between the organ transplant data released by the Chinese regime and the data compiled through independent investigations. The article quoted Canadian human rights lawyer David Matas: “In early investigations, we found that the number of transplants was not 10,000 per year (data from the Chinese regime), but 60,000. Later, this number was no longer 60,000, but 100,000.”

The article then quoted the 2023 Special Report by Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting (DAFOH), expressing doubts about the CCP’s statement on the source of transplanted organs. The Chinese regime claims that “all organs come from donations.” If you ask relevant authorities how to explain the difference between the low donation rate and the high transplant number, they will say that some organs are obtained from victims of accidents. Matas responded with the rebuttal: “Organ transplants can be planned, but accidents cannot be planned.”

The article also raised doubts about another claim made by the Chinese Communist regime that organs come from executed prisoners. The article quoted Matas’s view: “Hepatitis B is common among prisoners in China, which prevents them from donating organs. Global pressure on China to abolish the death penalty means that it is now more difficult to pass a death sentence.”

The article clearly states that the CCP regards Falun Gong practitioners as a target group for organ sources. “As Matas said, Falun Gong practitioners are the largest victim group in terms of numbers. In 1999, as many as 100 million people belonged to this practice group. Most Falun Gong practitioners are very healthy and can be found all over the country.” “Falun Gong [human organs from practitioners] is a ‘gold mine’ and a new ‘source of income.’ Organ transplantation has become a billion-dollar business in China.”

The article also analyzed the political reasons why the CCP persecutes Falun Gong practitioners: “The persecution is also politically motivated because the organization is very popular, but it is not a communist organization.”

After a thorough analysis of the allegations that the CCP harvests organs from living Falun Gong practitioners, the article quoted Matas and called on Austria not to become an accomplice of the CCP. “If Austrians do not want to become China’s accomplice, they must ban their citizens from going to China for organ transplants.”

The article also pointed to the importance of passing legislation to discourage illicit organ harvesting. In 2015, Austria signed the Council of Europe Convention against Trafficking Human Organs. Matas said that the agreement obliges countries to enact laws criminalizing conspiracy to traffic organs. However, the agreement has not been approved by the Austrian Parliament. If Austria passes this legislation, its citizens will not be able to legally go to China for organ transplantation. According to Matas, there are currently 20 countries that have enacted such laws. “But there are 193 countries in the world, so there’s still a long way to go.”