,,iv #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,,res4 #bha ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,june #bg1 #bjac ,ms4 ,ros-,lehtinen 7for herself and ,mr4 ,andrews7 submitted the following resolution2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs ,,resolution ,expressing concern over persistent and credible reports of systematic1 state-sanctioned organ harvesting from non-consenting prisoners of conscience1 in the ,people's ,republic of ,china1 including from large numbers of ,falun ,gong practitioners imprisoned for their religious beliefs1 and members of other religious and ethnic minority groups4 ,whereas when performed in accordance with ethical standards1 the medical discipline of organ transplantation is one of the great achievements of modern medicine2 ,whereas the ,people's ,republic of ,china performs more than #aj1jjj organ transplantations per year1 yet as of ,may #bjac it did not have an organized or effective public system of organ donation or distribution2 ,whereas the organ transplantation system in ,china does not comply with the ,world ,health ,organization's requirement of transparency and traceability in organ procurement pathways1 and the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china has resisted independent scrutiny of the system2 ,whereas the ,department of ,state ,country ,report on ,human ,rights for ,china for #bjaa stated1 ,overseas and domestic media and advocacy groups continued to report instances of organ harvesting1 particularly from ,falun ,gong practitioners and ,uighurs2 ,whereas due in part to traditional views on the importance of preserving the body intact after death1 ,china has very low rates of voluntary organ donations2 ,whereas the ,people's ,republic of ,china implemented regulations in #aihd that permitted the harvesting of organs from executed prisoners2 ,whereas in ,june #bjja1 ,chinese doctor ,wang ,guoqi testified before the ,house of ,representatives ,international ,relations ,subcommittee on ,international ,organizations and ,human ,rights that hospitals worked in collusion with state security agencies to extract organs from executed prisoners without written consent of the organ donors1 and that these transplants were a lucrative source of income2 ,whereas former ,vice-,minister of ,health ,huang ,jiefu admitted publicly that more than #ij percent of transplant organs extracted from deceased donors stemmed from executed prisoners in ,china2 ,whereas voluntary and informed consent is the precondition for ethical organ donation and international medical organizations state that prisoners1 deprived of their freedom1 are not in the position to give free consent and that the practice of sourcing organs from prisoners is a violation of ethical guidelines in medicine2 ,whereas ,falun ,gong1 a spiritual practice involving meditative qigong exercises and centered on the values of truthfulness1 compassion1 and tolerance1 became immensely popular in the #aiijs1 with multiple estimates placing the number of practitioners upwards of #gj1jjj1jjj2 ,whereas in ,july #aiii1 the ,chinese ,communist ,party launched an intensive1 nationwide persecution designed to eradicate the spiritual practice of ,falun ,gong1 reflecting the party's long-standing intolerance of large independent civil society groups2 ,whereas since #aiii1 hundreds of thousands of ,falun ,gong practitioners have been detained extra-legally in reeducation-through-labor camps1 detention centers1 and prisons1 where torture and abuse are routine2 ,whereas in many detention facilities and labor camps1 ,falun ,gong prisoners of conscience comprise the majority of the population1 and have been said to receive the longest sentences and the worst treatment2 ,whereas in order to protect their families and associates1 many ,falun ,gong prisoners of conscience refuse to provide real names or other personally identifying information to security agencies1 thus making them more vulnerable to abuses2 ,whereas the number of organ transplant operations in ,china increased significantly after #aiii1 corresponding with the onset of the persecution of ,falun ,gong2 ,whereas this increase does not appear to be attributable either to an overall increase in the number of death row inmates or to an increase in voluntary donations1 and in fact1 human rights groups and legal experts believe there has been a decrease in the number of executions in ,china in recent years2 ,whereas the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china has failed to adequately account for the sources of the excess organs2 ,whereas ,chinese hospitals have advertised wait times of #b to #d weeks for kidney and liver transplants1 and documented cases of scheduled heart transplantations with #c weeks advanced notice2 ,whereas because organs have a very limited survival period outside the body1 such short wait times are best explained by the existence of a large pool of living donors whose organs can be harvested on demand2 ,whereas interviews conducted with previously imprisoned ,falun ,gong practitioners suggest that1 while in custody1 they were targeted for medical exams1 including blood and urine tests1 x-rays1 ultra-sounds1 and selective physical exams2 ,whereas the targeted nature of these exams suggests they are intended to assess the health of the practitioners' vital organs and their potential candidacy for organ harvesting2 ,whereas other prisoner groups are generally not subjected to such medical tests2 ,whereas ,canadian researchers ,david ,matas1 human rights attorney1 and ,david ,kilgour1 former ,canadian ,secretary of ,state for ,asia-,pacific1 conducted an investigation into allegations of organ harvesting from ,falun ,gong prisoners of conscience in #bjjf1 based on extensive circumstantial evidence1 their report concluded that the allegations were true and that tens of thousands of ,falun ,gong practitioners may have been killed for their organs2 ,whereas in #bjjf1 doctors from #ag ,chinese hospitals admitted in phone calls with undercover investigators that they used or could obtain vital organs of ,falun ,gong prisoners of conscience for transplant1 with some of the doctors implicating local courts and security agencies in the organ procurement process2 ,whereas researcher and journalist ,ethan ,gutmann estimates that approximately #fe1jjj ,falun ,gong adherents may have been killed for their organs from #bjjj to #bjjh1 and that a smaller number of other religious and ethnic minorities may also have been targeted2 ,whereas ,gutmann published findings that ,chinese security agencies began harvesting organs from members of the predominantly ,muslim ,uyghur ethnic minority group in the #aiijs1 including from ,uyghur political prisoners2 ,whereas in ,may #bjab1 the ,world ,organization to ,investigate the ,persecution of ,falun ,gong 7,,woipfg7 released telephone transcripts and audio recordings of conversations between undercover investigators and senior ,chinese ,communist ,party officials1 in which several officials indicated that central authorities were aware of or involved in organ harvesting from ,falun ,gong prisoners2 ,whereas among those implicated were former ,politburo member ,bo ,xilai and his deputy1 ,wang ,lijun2 ,whereas the ,united ,nations ,committee ,against ,torture and the ,special ,rapporteur on ,torture have expressed concern over the allegations of organ harvesting from ,falun ,gong prisoners1 and have called on the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china to increase accountability and transparency in the organ transplant system and punish those responsible for abuses2 ,whereas the killing of religious or political prisoners for the purpose of selling their organs for transplant is an egregious and intolerable violation of the fundamental right to life2 ,whereas the ,department of ,health in ,taiwan urged doctors in ,taiwan to discourage patients from undergoing commercial organ transplants in ,china2 and ,whereas in ,september #bjab1 experts testified before the ,house of ,representatives ,foreign ,affairs ,committee that ,united ,states patients continue to travel to ,china for organ transplants and that the medical community continues cooperation and training with ,chinese colleagues1 creating the risk that they may be indirectly aiding abusive practices3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that the ,house of ,representatives-- 7#a7 calls on the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china to immediately end the practice of organ harvesting from all prisoners1 and particularly from ,falun ,gong prisoners of conscience and members of other religious and ethnic minority groups2 7#b7 calls for a full and transparent investigation by the ,united ,states ,department of ,state into organ transplant practices in the ,people's ,republic of ,china1 and for the prosecution of those found to have engaged in such unethical practices2 7#c7 demands an immediate end to the #ad-year persecution of the ,falun ,gong spiritual practice by the ,communist ,party of ,china1 and the immediate release of all ,falun ,gong practitioners and other prisoners of conscience2 7#d7 recommends that the ,united ,states ,state ,department issue a travel warning for ,united ,states citizens traveling to ,china for organ transplants informing them that the organ source for their operation may be a prisoner of conscience2 and 7#e7 recommends that the ,united ,states ,government publicly condemn organ transplantation abuses in ,china and ban the entry of those who have participated in illegal removal of human tissues and organs1 prosecuting such individuals should they be found on ,united ,states soil4