TRENTON – A resolution sponsored by Senators Fred H. Madden and Wayne R. Bryant which condemns and calls for the end of the organ harvesting of Chinese Falun Gong prisoners received unanimous approval today by the Senate State Government Committee.
Falun Gong is a Chinese belief system focusing on meditation, moral values and spiritual beliefs. The practice was outlawed by the Chinese government in 1999, and since then, between 10,000 and 100,000 Falun Gong followers have been imprisoned in concentration camps. There have been reports that thousands of prisoners have been executed and had their organs stolen, but reportedly, some prisoners have had their organs harvested while they are still alive, said Senator Madden.
“This is about protecting basic human rights,” said Senator Madden, D-Camden and Gloucester. “In cases like these it’s our responsibility as human beings to speak up for those who are not in a position to speak for themselves. Universal crimes like this should not be tolerated anywhere in the world, and it is my intent to use this resolution to bring attention to the situation in China.”
“All too often, we look at the many freedoms we have here in the United States and forget that there are people suffering all over the world,” said Senator Bryant, D-Camden and Gloucester. “This resolution will bring attention to the torture that is taking place over in China, and it is my hope that other states will follow our lead so that we can help put an end to this type of cruelty.”
The Senators’ resolution, SR-71, would condemn the practice of organ harvesting.
The measure how heads to the full Senate for approval.