Senators, led by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), have taken action to address Beijing’s state-sanctioned persecution and forced organ harvesting targeting Falun Gong practitioners. Rubio introduced a bill on July 31 called the Falun Gong Protection Act, which aims to deter China’s regime from killing Falun Gong practitioners for their organs. The bill would make it U.S. policy to avoid cooperation with China in organ transplantation and compel Beijing to end any state-sponsored organ harvesting campaign. If passed, the bill would require the U.S. president to provide a list of foreign persons engaged in involuntary organ harvesting in China, imposing sanctions on them and invalidating their visas. The bill also prescribes civil and criminal penalties for perpetrators. Additionally, the bill requires reports to be issued on organ transplant practices in China, specifically regarding Falun Gong practitioners and other prisoners of conscience, within a year of the bill becoming law. The bill also aims to determine whether the persecution of Falun Gong constitutes an atrocity under the Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act of 2018. Co-sponsors of the Senate bill include Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). The House passed a companion version of the bill in June, if passed by the Senate and signed into law, it would become the first federal law to challenge China’s persecution and illicit organ trade targeting the faith group. Rubio introduced the bill as part of a package to counter communist China’s influence, along with two other legislative proposals. The issue of forced organ harvesting has also gained international attention, with a dozen U.N.-affiliated human rights experts expressing extreme alarm over reports of alleged organ harvesting targeting minorities in China, including Falun Gong practitioners.
The European Parliament’s Resolution on Forced Organ Harvesting in China
“The regime should cease its depraved actions against prisoners of conscience and fully comply with all relevant medical and ethical standards, including acting in the best interests of the patient,” the spokesperson told NTD, the sister media of The Epoch Times.
