The favourite project of the European parliament's most prominent Human Rights campaigners, Edward McMillan-Scott MEP (blog passim), has been dismissed by a Chinese diplomat. McMillan-Scott has been prominent at backing claims by the outlawed Falun Gong religious group that their political prisoners are used for "organ harvesting": that is, they are killed as demand for their kidneys, hearts and livers arises from rich foreign buyers.
In May McMillan-Scott (left, on another crusade) went to China to interview two Falun Gong activists who had been released from prison, where they had been tortured. They were now unemployed as the police had refused to sign a document saying they were not fit to work and could be taken on.
When McMillan-Scott left, his interpreter, a western national, was arrested and questioned, and McMillan-Scott's assistant says one of the two activists has since "disappeared".
In August McMillan-Scott accompanied the Canadian lawyer, human rights campaigner and former deputy foreign minister David Kilgour to Australia and New Zealand on a consciousness-raising trip for the claims, which have been widely circulated in the western media, but never fully corroborated. Kilgour published a report earlier this year which included telephone transcripts with prison hospital directors which suggested that Falun Gong body parts could be supplied at short notice. Websites advertise organs in English for tens of thousands of dollars; given the known shortage of voluntary donors in China, and the short waiting times offered, the report concluded that there had to be a large "pool" of donors from which organs who could be harvested.
The government official, who did not want to be named, said: "Falun Gong people are lunatics. Their claims are shit; they say are persecuted because they want to escape China's one child policy and receive asylum in the States or Europe. Their way to get asylum is to say that they are persecuted," he said.
Falun Gong involves breathing exercises in the Yoga position, and is regarded as cranky but harmless, in the west, where it has millions of adherents, particularly among youngish and alternative people. In China it has been banned since 1999. Falun Gong's worldwide circle of supporters mount vigils outside Chinese embassies around the world, and frequently demonstrate on Chinese government visits,
"In China, on the coast, people live normal consumer lives, 99 percent of the population is happy, and growing richer. The leader of this evil cult, Li Hongzhi, is a lunatic. He said he would have flown to Paris on a celestial wheel if his friends hadn't stopped him and put on a plane. They also believe in UFOs."
"Of course they are against the government, but they are fanatics, like the 7/7 bombers. But their mouths pour out lies. We have a saying: in a dog's mouth you cannot expect ivory teeth."
Amnesty international have said they are continuing their own investigations into the report. A spokesman said their investigations continued to be hampered y the particular difficulty of collecting reliable evidence in China, including official restrictions on access for international human rights organizations
Dr Stephen Wigmore, head of the ethics committee of the British transplant society,k has warned against Europeans going to China for organ transplants until the issue is clarify Until camps are given full access to ied. But McMillan Scott - founder of the European Democracy initiative, and strong promoter of democracy in the Middle East - has warned that China's reputation could suffer when showcasing itself at the 2008 Olympics.
In May McMillan-Scott (left, on another crusade) went to China to interview two Falun Gong activists who had been released from prison, where they had been tortured. They were now unemployed as the police had refused to sign a document saying they were not fit to work and could be taken on.
When McMillan-Scott left, his interpreter, a western national, was arrested and questioned, and McMillan-Scott's assistant says one of the two activists has since "disappeared".
In August McMillan-Scott accompanied the Canadian lawyer, human rights campaigner and former deputy foreign minister David Kilgour to Australia and New Zealand on a consciousness-raising trip for the claims, which have been widely circulated in the western media, but never fully corroborated. Kilgour published a report earlier this year which included telephone transcripts with prison hospital directors which suggested that Falun Gong body parts could be supplied at short notice. Websites advertise organs in English for tens of thousands of dollars; given the known shortage of voluntary donors in China, and the short waiting times offered, the report concluded that there had to be a large "pool" of donors from which organs who could be harvested.
The government official, who did not want to be named, said: "Falun Gong people are lunatics. Their claims are shit; they say are persecuted because they want to escape China's one child policy and receive asylum in the States or Europe. Their way to get asylum is to say that they are persecuted," he said.
Falun Gong involves breathing exercises in the Yoga position, and is regarded as cranky but harmless, in the west, where it has millions of adherents, particularly among youngish and alternative people. In China it has been banned since 1999. Falun Gong's worldwide circle of supporters mount vigils outside Chinese embassies around the world, and frequently demonstrate on Chinese government visits,
"In China, on the coast, people live normal consumer lives, 99 percent of the population is happy, and growing richer. The leader of this evil cult, Li Hongzhi, is a lunatic. He said he would have flown to Paris on a celestial wheel if his friends hadn't stopped him and put on a plane. They also believe in UFOs."
"Of course they are against the government, but they are fanatics, like the 7/7 bombers. But their mouths pour out lies. We have a saying: in a dog's mouth you cannot expect ivory teeth."
Amnesty international have said they are continuing their own investigations into the report. A spokesman said their investigations continued to be hampered y the particular difficulty of collecting reliable evidence in China, including official restrictions on access for international human rights organizations
Dr Stephen Wigmore, head of the ethics committee of the British transplant society,k has warned against Europeans going to China for organ transplants until the issue is clarify Until camps are given full access to ied. But McMillan Scott - founder of the European Democracy initiative, and strong promoter of democracy in the Middle East - has warned that China's reputation could suffer when showcasing itself at the 2008 Olympics.
