H.Res.343, an item of legislation that expresses concern by the House of Representatives on “persistent and credible reports of systematic, state-sanctioned organ harvesting from non-consenting prisoners of conscience in the People’s Republic of China” was passed unanimously the evening of June 13, with impassioned speeches on the floor by members of Congress.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who introduced the resolution, said, “This legislation is an important step in bringing accountability and transparency, to maybe one of the great crimes of the 21st century: the 17-year effort to eliminate (the) Falun Gong practice from China.”

With H.Res.343, the U.S. Congress joins the European Parliament, the United Nations Committee Against Torture, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom and other global bodies that have highlighted the evidence of organ harvesting from Falun Gong and demanded that China come clean on its organ sourcing practices.

We want to thank our representatives who co-sponsored for this monumental resolution: Jim McDermott, Dave Reichert, Suzan DelBene and Jaimer Beutler.

“Commitment to human rights to people around the world is the fundamental American value and pillar of our foreign policy. So when we hear reports of horrific abuses such as state sanctioned organ harvesting, we have a responsibility to determine the scope of the problem and respond,” said Rep. Eliot Engle, Foreign Affairs Committee.

More needs to be done, but first we want to bring this to the public’s attention, call on the consciousness of the world and make our medical and pharmaceutical community aware of the gruesome practice, so we, the people, do not accidentally become accomplices.

Jenny Hu

Sammamish