Phone Calls

Since Annie made her public statement about live organ harvesting in March 2006, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong has conducted phone interviews with members of the judiciary, military, armed police, and organ transplant centers in 31 provinces, municipalities directly under the central government, and autonomous regions.

The targets of the investigation included members of the Politburo and the Politburo Standing Committee, the Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party Central Military Commission, a CMC member and former defense minister, a former head of the People’s Liberation Army General Logistics Department’s Health Division, members of central and local Political and Legal Affairs Committees, agents of the 610 Office, and transplant doctors in military and civilian hospitals all over China and an organ broker. Below are some examples.

Chen Qiang, Organ Liaison at People’s Liberation Army Hospital No. 307

In Fengtai, Beijing, Chen Qiang, a kidney source liaison at the People’s Liberation Army Hospital No. 307, provided further evidence that many Falun Gong practitioners who went to appeal to the central government were secretly detained. They were given a code in the system and became living organ sources.¹

The following is part of the recorded dialogue between Chen Qiang and an investigator under the guise of a relative of a patient looking for organs (April 10, 2007, 3:09-3:28am EDT).

Investigator: …by the way, how could you be so sure he [the source] was a Falun Gong practitioner? Did you find out for sure?

Chen: How to identify a Falun Gong practitioner? Well, when the time comes, then our side, our boss will have people showing you information, you know. He will show you the information and data. You can be sure. We have connections with government officials. There are connections to high-ranking officials. You know, I will show you such material even if you don’t ask me for it.

Investigator: I heard from others that, several years ago, the Falun Gong practitioners did not disclose their names after they were taken away. There are quite many who belong to this type. Some were kept in the basement, and some are detained in neither prison nor forced labor camps.

Chen: What you said was what happened in 2003. I understand what you said. Those who didn’t provide their names were in the 2003 records. You need to find them from the 2003 archival records.

Investigator: Were there many in 2003?

Chen: Oh yes. In 2003 records, there were many Falun Gong people.

Investigator: You know that several years ago, they secretly detained many Falun Gong practitioners who went to appeal but did not provide their names. There were no records, no registrations.

Chen: Yes, this is quite normal. If Falun Gong practitioners did not give their names, they would be given a code. If their names couldn’t be identified, there would be their code numbers. Also, one can be tracked by fingerprints. That’s how the source can be tracked. Nowadays in our society, especially for these types of matters…like our boss, like the connections to the detention centers, I cannot tell you. For situations like what you said, I cannot say casually. We have close relationships with them. Since we are engaging in this business, we have our people in each and every department. How can you get things done if we don’t have our connections? This thing is just like a supply line, you know?

Bai Shuzhong, former head of the People’s Liberation Army General Logistics Department Health Division

On September 30, 2014, Bai Shuzhong,² former head of the People’s Liberation Army General Logistics Department Health Division, stated to an investigator of the World Organization to Investigate Persecution of Falun Gong, who assumed the identity of a Party investigator, and proceeded to ask Bai pointed questions about living organ harvesting: “Back then, it was Chairman Jiang … there was an order, a sort of instruction … to carry out this thing, that is, organ transplantation … after Chairman Jiang issued the order, we all did a lot of work against the Falun Gong practitioners … Thus, I should say, it was not just the military that was doing kidney transplants…”

Bai served in this role from 1998 to 2004. As the top officer leading core institutions of the military health system, he would have been the main person responsible for conveying instructions to implement this extermination policy.

Investigator: When you were head of the health division for the People’s Liberation Army General Logistics Department, regarding taking organs from the detained Falun Gong people for organ transplantation, was it an order from Wang Ke, the then-director of the People’s Liberation Army General Logistics Department? Or did it directly come from the Central Military Commission?

Bai: Back then, it was Chairman Jiang … There was an instruction … to carry out this thing, that is, organ transplantation …, Chairman Jiang had an instruction that said this… about people selling kidneys for transplant surgeries. This, I should say, was not just the military that was doing kidney transplants.

Investigator: We also obtained some intelligence, that is to say, back then, the Joint Logistics Departments [of the Military Regions] had detained a number of Falun Gong people as live “organs”, is that true?

Bai: This, this is back then, ah, I think, at least this is how I remembered, because back then after Chairman Jiang issued instructions, we all did a lot of work against the Falun Gong practitioners.

Investigator: You guys [the People’s Liberation Army General Logistics Department] and the Joint Logistics Department No. 1, Joint Logistics Department No. 2, including the Joint Logistics Department No. 4 subdivision, and the military hospitals they were in charge of, do you have a supervisory relationship with them?

Bai: We directly control the military medical universities. They are directly affiliated with the People’s Liberation Army General Logistics Department, and they received repeated orders, because Jiang paid a lot of attention to this matter back then, and put a lot of emphasis on this matter … Jiang, when he was in the position, put a lot of emphasis, he gave instruction on this.

Chinese Communist Party Officials

The World Organization to Investigate Persecution of Falun Gong investigated a number of Politburo Standing Committee members, a vice chairman of the Chinese Communist Party Central Military Commission, and a Central Military Commission member.³

Li Changchun⁴

On April 17, 2012, Li Changchun, a Politburo Standing Committee member, was asked by an investigator who assumed the identity of the chief secretary of Luo Dan about “the use of organs from detained Falun Gong practitioners for organ transplants and possible conviction of Bo Xilai for doing that.” Li replied, “Zhou Yongkang is in charge of this specifically. He knows this.”

Liang Guanglie⁵

From May 4 to May 10, 2012, Liang Guanglie, former Secretary of Defense, former People’s Liberation Army Chief of Staff, and member of the Central Military Commission, was investigated by the World Organization to Investigate Persecution of Falun Gong during a visit to the US. The investigator had assumed the identity of a member of special group investigating Wang Lijun.

Regarding the Grade 3A military hospitals using Falun Gong practitioners’ organs for transplants, Liang replied, “I’ve heard about it …I did not take care of that thing. I was in charge of military affairs, instead of the logistics and medically related [affairs].” When asked about this, he stated “it was discussed” during the Central Military Commission meeting.

Wei Jianrong⁶

In September 2008, Wei Jianrong, former deputy director of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Committee, Chinese Communist Party stated that organ harvesting from detained Falun Gong practitioners had “happened a long time ago.” The investigator had assumed the identity of an official of the Ministry of State Security.

Tang Junjie⁷

In April 2012, when answering the investigator’s question on “what kind of directions or commands did Bo give regarding removing organs from Falun Gong practitioners?” Tang Junjie, former Deputy Party Secretary of the Liaoning Political and Legal Affairs Committee, said, “I was asked to take care of this task. The Party’s central [leadership] is actually taking care of this. The impact was quite big…” He added, “At that time we mainly talked about it during the meetings within the [Politburo] Standing Committee.”

During this investigation, the investigator of World Organization to Investigate Persecution of the Falun Gong assumed the identity of a member of the Bo Xilai special investigation group under the Committee for Disciplinary Inspection of the Chinese Communist Party.

References