PureInsight | June 19, 2013
[PureInsight.org] The University of Pittsburgh’s medical school is seen as the global center of organ transplants. Many Chinese organ transplant surgeons were trained there. For several days, Falun Gong practitioners held an event at the University of Pittsburgh to clarify the truth about the persecution and forced organ harvesting from practitioners in China.
Carnegie Mellon, a University of comparable caliber, is ranked number one in computer science among universities in the United States. On March 29, 2013, the award winning film “Free China: The Courage to Believe” was shown at Carnegie Mellon. The film revealed the persecution against Falun Gong practitioners in China and clarified the truth about organ harvesting, deeply moving many audience members. A group of Carnegie Mellon’s teachers and students watched the film, including international Chinese students and visiting scholars.
After watching the film, Internet firewall breakthrough experts, representatives of doctors against forced organ harvesting, and experts on China explored with the audience the Chinese Communist Party’s information censoring and the atrocity of live organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners. Audience members enthusiastically asked questions about today’s China, the future of China, and how to more effectively help stop the persecution. The on-site interaction was very warm and enthusiastic.
After watching the film, a visiting professor in the statistics department at Carnegie Mellon asked, “The film stated that many American products were created in Chinese labor camps. Are there any websites or organizations that can list these companies so that Americans can boycott their products?” The professor added, “Some products are from Chinese labor camps, but their logos are from [Chinese] factories, so many people have the impression that these are [just] cheap products from China. However, that is not the case. This situation is horrible.”
The professor continued, “This February in London, I went on a sightseeing bus and saw people doing the [Falun Gong] exercises and meditating next to the streets. On one banner wrote, ‘Stop the Persecution,’ and ‘Falun Dafa is Good.’ I never knew about this before. This scene left me stunned, and I became interested in Falun Gong. That’s why I came to see this film once I heard that it would be shown at Carnegie Mellon.”
“[The film] ‘Free China’ gave me a more comprehensive picture by presenting what’s happening in China. This is a very good presentation. I also heard speeches by experts and had the chance to understand their perspectives on these issues. These kinds of events are extremely important because they very nicely deliver the information. I have never heard of forced live organ harvesting. That this is happening makes me very uncomfortable.”
Carnegie Mellon Director of Undergraduate Admissions: “I really admire Falun Gong practitioners’ bravery”
The director of undergraduate admissions at Carnegie Mellon watched the film very seriously. She said, “The film is very moving. The seriousness of the issue makes it hard to keep watching. It provided an extremely important viewpoint, allowing people to see today’s China.”
The admissions director went to China in the 1980s to study at a southern university. She then lived in Taiwan for three years and heard about the “Tiananmen Massacre” as well as many other true Chinese accounts of abuses. She felt she was only able to experience Chinese culture and traditional values in Taiwan.
She said she’s seen information about Falun Gong in the past. “The persecution revealed in the film is an enormous tragedy and a shame in this world. People in mainland China can’t even express themselves peacefully. In the United States, people take for granted many of their freedoms. This film is a reminder that as an American, having many forms of enjoyment and freedom of expression is very lucky.
“These [Falun Gong practitioners] really don’t have it easy. They must retain their faith on this path while clarifying the truth to other people. What bravery and unwavering faith! This is a very difficult path, but everyone is making their own decisions. Brave people should loudly declare their stances. I am very concerned for [Falun Gong practitioners] and their families. I really admire Falun Gong practitioners’ bravery.
Visiting Scholar from Mainland China Learns the Truth
A short-term Chinese exchange student was stunned after watching the film. He said he sometimes sees Falun Gong related truth clarification materials in the mornings in China. He has also heard of Falun Gong practitioners being tortured and beaten to death. “Being arrested and sent to labor camps for practicing Falun Gong and writing statements of repentance all happens in China.”
In his interview, he told the reporter that many Chinese citizens live arduous lives, especially the intellectuals. “It isn’t just Falun Gong. The lower class labor force is also being crushed. Many intellectuals live in unsatisfactory conditions.”
He believes that China’s interference with Falun Gong practitioners’ belief is wrong. He said, “I think that if Falun Gong can benefit society and can exercise one’s body, then it should be promoted. It should at least be a basic right. I think [the Government] shouldn’t interfere with them.”
He also stated that many people in China know about the live organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners. “The large majority of the Chinese population knows about this incident. Even though many things are censored in China, many Chinese people still know about them.”
He said many of his classmates also know about this. “Many Chinese students know how to bypass firewalls. Young students are very curious about outside events. They have very good Internet skills. Sometimes they will download some information and spread it among each other.”
Another man from China who works in the medical field in the United States said the on-site enthusiasm deeply moved him. “Our only wish is for others to know the truth, to know what Falun Gong really is, to know what modern day China is like and ultimately discard their fantasies towards the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). We must not only arouse our own conscience, but we must also arouse tens of thousands of people’s consciences as well.”
He also attended the seminar at the University of Pittsburgh regarding live organ harvesting. He said, “Speaking from a current viewpoint, this [live organ harvesting] incident is very clear—it is definitely happening. Although the CCP hasn’t explicitly pointed it out, the [voice recordings in the film] essentially admits their guilt.”
He believes that the international community needs to pressure the CCP. He said that without pressure, there is no way people will reflect. Without the truth, there is no way for people to know the causes and consequences behind this incident. It may be difficult for Chinese people to learn the truth—perhaps bypassing Internet firewalls is one way to do so.
He said, “It’s just like a seed. When you plant it, it isn’t going to sprout into something massive the next day. However, once you plant it, you’re giving it hope. Slowly, it will germinate. As long as it has suitable soil and water, it will surely grow.”
Translated from: http://news.zhengjian.org/node/16607
