NSW State Parliament briefing on unethical ‘harvesting’ of organs from political prisoners
A protest at Parramatta’s Town Hall will be the latest public outcry opposing China’s forced organ harvesting atrocities, as the State Government gets set to debate the topic in Parliament.
Parramatta
Don't miss out on the headlines from Parramatta . Followed categories will be added to My News.
A SPECIAL parliamentary briefing on organ harvesting and trafficking will be held next Tuesday at the NSW State Parliament.
Upper House MLC David Shoebridge is also planning to introduce a bill to parliament to outlaw NSW residents from accessing human organs harvested overseas.
The move follows the growing worldwide condemnation of China for the forced removal of kidneys, corneas and other vital organs from political prisoners on death row.
It is feared more than 65,000 members of the spiritual group Falun Gong have been murdered for the worldwide trade, with allegations that China’s military-run hospitals had even removed organs while victims were alive.
A protest is being held at the Parramatta Town Hall by concerned councillors and local members of the Falun Gong group on Saturday from 10am until midday about the issue.
Attending will be Parramatta councillors Andrew Wilson, John Hugh, and James Shaw, as well as Chinese community leaders William Ho and Falun Gong practitioners who were persecuted in China.
Organiser Alice Wong said investigations by the former Canadian Secretary of State David Kilgour and human rights lawyer David Matas had documented the abuse.
“Organ harvesting from live Falun Gong practitioners in China, the majority of whom are prisoners of conscience, is horrific and must be stopped,” Ms Wong said.
“We hope the people of Australia and our Government will not remain indifferent to what is surely one of the worst crimes in modern history.”
Mr Shoebridge, the Greens spokesman on justice, said the trade in organs — where desperate citizens from wealthy nations travel overseas for medical procedures — was also a problem in Mexico, the Philippines and other third world countries.
“The evidence is compelling that prisoners of conscience have been executed for their organs in China,” he said.
“We have an obligation to act. There is a huge moral hazard in this issue.”
He said in NSW organ donation was highly regulated and it was illegal to enter into a commercial arrangement, but our current laws don’t extend overseas.
“One way of addressing this brutal trade is for countries such as Australia to impose prohibitions on its citizens and residents from receiving trafficked organs, wherever the transplant occurs,” he said.
“This would make it a crime for Australian citizens to receive organs sourced by illegal and unethical means wherever that happened on the planet.”
A petition containing in excess of 70,000 signatures calling to outlaw organ trafficking will be presented to State Parliament and Mr Shoebridge said he would be putting forward a motion, to enable the Human Tissue Amendment (Trafficking in Human Organs) Bill 2013 to proceed.
The parliamentary briefing for state MPs is being held in the Waratah Room from 12pm, to discuss the issues raised.
Sydney Rugby Union 1st Colts teens under scrutiny as Tahs look to bolster talent
It’s a comp helping launch young talent and identifying others who may have slipped under the radar and Waratah selectors will be monitoring every game of Colts in 2025 for future stars
‘Beaming example’: History-making Lord Mayor, MP dies
A trailblazing Lebanese-Australian who made history as a Lord Mayor and Liberal MP in his western Sydney Labor stronghold has died after years of illness.