Bill > SR17

Introduced Session

This resolution denounces the practice of organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners, political dissidents, and ethnic minorities in the People's Republic of China (PRC). The harvesting of organs from executed prisoners is well-documented in the PRC. The practice was officially sanctioned in 1984 upon the enactment of the "Temporary Rules Concerning the Utilization of Corpses or organs from the Corpses of Executed Criminals," which explicitly stated that "the use of the corpses or organs of executed criminals must be kept strictly secret, and attention must be paid to avoiding negative repercussions." According the former PRC Vice-Minister of Health Huang Jiefu, more than 90 percent of China's deceased organ donations in 2005 were obtained from executed prisoners. By 2013, approximately 50 percent of the country's estimated 100,000 annual organ transplantations were reportedly supplied by executed prisoners. Credible reports indicate that the PRC heavily targeted imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners for organ harvesting beginning in the early 2000s. Founded in 1992 by Li Hongzhi, Falun Gong is a spiritual practice that uses meditative exercises and emphasizes the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. By 1999 the movement gained over 70 million practitioners throughout China. However, fearing Falun Gong's growing societal influence, the PRC President Jiang Zemin launched a nationwide campaign in July 1999 to eliminate the practice. Since then, Falun Gong practitioners throughout China were imprisoned, tortured, and coerced into renouncing their beliefs. Practitioners who refused to recant became prime targets of organ harvesting. An estimated 65,000 Falun Gong practitioners were killed for their organs between 2000 and 2008 alone. Ethnic minorities and political prisoners, most notably Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang Province, were also reportedly targeted for organ harvesting. According to human rights organizations such as Freedom House, "there is reason to believe that such abuses continue" in 2017. Harvesting organs from religious or political prisoners violates not only ethical medical standards but also the universal rights of the Chinese people. The State of New Jersey stands in solidarity with the Falun Gong, its practitioners, and every other victim of Chinese organ harvesting.

Committee Categories

Tony Bucco (R)*,  Michael Doherty (R),  Linda Greenstein (D),  Steven Oroho (R),  Bob Singer (R),  Brian Stack (D),  Samuel Thompson (D), 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee (on 01/11/2022)

Official Document