J.Hrg.119

1[Joint House and Senate Hearing, 119 Congress]2[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]34                       A MARKET BUILT ON VICTIMS:5                   STOPPING ILLEGAL ORGAN TRAFFICKING6                          IN CHINA AND BEYOND78=======================================================================910                                HEARING1112                               before the1314              CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE COMMISSION ON CHINA1516                    ONE HUNDRED NINETEENTH CONGRESS1718                             SECOND SESSION1920                               __________2122                              MAY 14, 20262324                               __________2526 Printed for the use of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China2728                 [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]2930              Available at www.cecc.gov or www.govinfo.gov3132                               ______3334                 U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE353663-846 PDF                WASHINGTON : 20263738              CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE COMMISSION ON CHINA3940                    LEGISLATIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS4142Senate                               House4344DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska, Chair          CHRIS SMITH, New Jersey, Co-chair45TOM COTTON, Arkansas                 ZACHARY NUNN, Iowa46JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon                 ELISE STEFANIK, New York47TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois            DALE STRONG, Alabama48ANDY KIM, New Jersey                 JEN KIGGANS, Virginia49LISA BLUNT ROCHESTER, Delaware       JAMES P. McGOVERN, Massachusetts50                                     THOMAS SUOZZI, New York51                                     SUHAS SUBRAMANYAM, Virginia52                                     JAMES WALKINSHAW, Virginia5354                     EXECUTIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS5556                           Not yet appointed5758                      Scott Flipse, Staff Director5960                   Mary Vigil, Deputy Staff Director6162                                  (ii)6364                            C O N T E N T S6566                              ----------6768                              Statements6970Opening Statement of Hon. Chris Smith, Co-chair, Congressional-71  Executive Commission on China..................................     172Statement of Ethan Gutmann, senior research fellow in China73  Studies, Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation; author of74  ``The Xinjiang Procedure'' and ``The Slaughter''...............     475Statement of Ambassador Sam Brownback, senior fellow, Pepperdine76  University; former U.S. Ambassador at Large for International77  Religious Freedom, former U.S. Senator and Governor of Kansas,78  and author, ``China's War on Faith''...........................     779Statement of Jan Jekielek, senior editor, The Epoch Times, host80  of ``American Thought Leaders,'' and author, ``Killed to81  Order''........................................................     982Statement of Kalbinur Sidik, survivor of China's genocide and83  eyewitness to forced labor camps; author of the forthcoming84  book ``Heart Full of Light: Love, Loss, and Survival Inside85  China's Gulags''...............................................    138687                                APPENDIX8889                          Prepared Statements9091Gutmann, Ethan...................................................    3192Brownback, Sam...................................................    3293Jekielek, Jan....................................................    3394Sidik, Kalbinur..................................................    369596Smith, Hon. Chris................................................    399798                       Submissions for the Record99100Submission of Seyed Alireza Motevalian...........................    41101Submission of Levi Browde and James Yu, Falun Dafa Information102  Center.........................................................    45103104CECC Truth in Testimony Disclosure Form..........................    54105Witness Biographies..............................................    55106107                                 (iii)108109                       A MARKET BUILT ON VICTIMS:110                   STOPPING ILLEGAL ORGAN TRAFFICKING111                          IN CHINA AND BEYOND112113                              ----------114115                         THURSDAY, MAY 14, 2026116117                            Congressional-Executive118                                       Commission on China,119                                                    Washington, DC.120    The hearing was held from 10:00 a.m. to 11:48 a.m., in Room1212247, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC,122Representative Chris Smith, Co-chair, Congressional-Executive123Commission on China, presiding.124    Also present: Representatives Strong, Stefanik, and125Walkinshaw.126127  OPENING STATEMENT OF CHRIS SMITH, A REPRESENTATIVE FROM NEW128              JERSEY AND CO-CHAIR, CONGRESSIONAL-129                 EXECUTIVE COMMISSION ON CHINA130131    Co-chair Smith. Last September, the world heard something132chilling. As Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong-un walked133together in Beijing, a hot mic picked up an unguarded134conversation about organ transplants and the possibility of135living up to 150 years. This was not macabre small talk among136aging dictators. It was a glimpse behind the curtain, a glimpse137into a world where human beings can be treated as138interchangeable parts to prolong the lives of autocrats.139    But forced organ harvesting is not healing. It is murder140masquerading as medicine. Today this Commission examines one of141the most barbaric human rights atrocities of our time, the142forced harvesting of organs from prisoners of conscience, death143row inmates, and other vulnerable people, especially in144communist China. Let me be clear--ethical organ transplantation145is noble and lifesaving. What we are examining today is the146polar opposite. It is the conversion of the imprisoned and147persecuted into inventory--hearts, livers, kidneys, lungs,148corneas--taken from the living, sold to the desperate, hidden149behind hospital walls, protected by secrecy, corruption, fear,150and state power.151    I've chaired several hearings on forced organ harvesting,152the first being 30 years ago on June 18th, 1996. And as Jan153knows, we had many hearings focusing especially on what was154being done, horribly, to the Falun Gong. And since then, the155evidence has become even more disturbing, more detailed, and156more compelling. The most persistent allegations in China157centered first on the Falun Gong practitioners--peaceful men158and women targeted by the Chinese Communist Party for159eradication, genocide. Later came mounting evidence concerning160Uyghurs, already victims of genocide in the Uyghur region,161Tibetans, Christians, death row inmates, and others treated as162property of the state. Experts like Ethan Gutmann have163documented how this atrocity expanded from death row prisoners164to prisoners of conscience and religious detainees.165    The China Tribunal concluded that forced organ harvesting166has been committed in China for years on a significant scale.167Witnesses at previous hearings have warned us about military168hospitals, impossibly short wait times in order to procure an169organ, organs available on demand, and a transplant system that170cannot withstand scrutiny. And yet Beijing now asks the world171to believe that the problem has somehow been solved. It says172the transplant system now meets international standards and173once again, the disappointing and corrupt WHO takes Beijing's174claims at face value, just as they did in the early days of175COVID.176    But today this Commission has received rare and177extraordinary eyewitness accounts from inside the Chinese gulag178itself. Ali Motevalian's written submission details his179incarceration in a PLA-linked prison hospital near Shanghai,180and Kalbinur Sidik's provides testimony from the detention181camps in the Uyghur region. Together their accounts shatter182Beijing's fiction that its transplant system is voluntary,183transparent, and compliant with international standards. Ali184Motevalian has spent years inside China's prison system. His185submission describes coerced thumbprints on so-called consent186forms, bondage, tranquilizers, last rooms of terminal patients,187prisoners taken into surgery and not returned, mobile freezer188carts, and bodies moved toward incineration.189    His account strikes at the heart of Beijing's favorite190defense. The Chinese Communist Party told the world it had191ended the use of executed prisoners' organs. And I just point192out, parenthetically--and Sam will remember this, Sam193Brownback--Harry Wu brought over a guard who brought evidence194that was absolutely compelling. He testified in the late 1990s.195He pointed out that the ambulances would be lined up one after196the other. They would shoot the prisoner, not to kill, but just197to put them into a coma, take their organs, and then that198individual would die. And you know, that was almost 30 years199ago. The hearing 30 years ago didn't have that, but Harry Wu200was just amazing, what he brought forward. There were people in201the administration then that didn't want to hear that, and we202tried, but they didn't want to hear it.203    Inside the prison hospital system in 2020 and 2021, years204after the world was told that China had stopped taking organs205from prisoners, Ali says he saw unconscious, shackled men,206known as sleepers, brought by armed personnel directly into the207surgery rooms. They never returned. My God, what a nightmare.208This is not voluntary donation. This is execution by organ209extraction. Ms. Sidik brings us inside another part of the210Chinese gulag, the camps of the Uyghur region. I will not211summarize her testimony in detail because in just a few minutes212she will speak for herself. Her account shows a system where213human beings are reduced to commodities, where the state214controls the body as well as the mind, and where coercion and215fear are used to destroy dignity. The prison hospitals and216gulags described in this testimony are not places of care,217rehabilitation, or education. They are crime scenes, part of a218system of coercion, medical abuse that knows no parallel, and219genocide in China.220    Organ crimes are not just a Chinese problem. It is a global221one that flourishes wherever coercion, poverty, corruption,222secrecy, and demand intersect. That's why Congress must act.223The House has twice passed my legislation with overwhelming224bipartisan support. Most recently, H.R. 1503, the Stop Forced225Organ Harvesting Act, passed the House 400 to 1, a full year226ago, and it's still languishing in the Senate. But it passed a227full year ago. It would criminalize forced organ trafficking,228impose serious sanctions, require reporting, deny visas, and229create penalties of up to 20 years in prison and up to $1230million for knowingly being complicit in this crime. The bill231is not a press release. It is enforceable policy. It says to232brokers, traffickers, corrupt officials, complicit doctors,233hospitals, researchers, insurers, and middlemen, if you profit234from coerced transplants directly or indirectly, you are235risking your money, your visa, your access to the U.S., and236your freedom. Because if we can get you, you're going to jail237for these heinous practices.238    The Senate has not yet acted on the bill. And I appeal to239them. I believe that they must. Delay is denial for that poor24025- to 30-year-old--as Ethan Gutmann has told us over and over241again, average age 28--who is killed, murdered just for their242organs. Every day without consequences is another day of243perpetrators operating in the shadows. Witnesses are244intimidated, evidence disappears, and families never learn what245happened to their loved ones. Forced organ harvesting is246barbaric. It is systematic. It has stayed enabled. It's a big247business. And speaking frankly, no one wants Xi Jinping or248Vladimir Putin to live forever. I suspect on this point there249would be broad bipartisan agreement. But behind that dark money250is a deadly serious point. No dictator, no party boss, no251wealthy patient, and no broker should be able to purchase252longevity with the organs of the poor and the persecuted. That253is all the more reason to pass the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting254Act and make unmistakably clear that the United States will not255stand by in the face of such cruelty, not with our expertise,256not with our money, not with one dollar of American complicity.257Thank you.258    I would now like to introduce our very distinguished panel.259And let me just say, parenthetically, I'm grateful that C-SPAN260is here. You know, they can go to any hearing they want. They261are private, as you know. They have chosen to be here. And this262is a story that they now will be telling the entire American263public. I'm very grateful that they give these distinguished264witnesses the opportunity to be heard, again, throughout this265country. Hopefully that leads to greater mobilization to stop266this.267    We will start with Ethan Gutmann, senior research fellow in268China studies at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation,269and co-founder of the International Coalition to End Transplant270Abuse in China. He is the author of ``The Slaughter''--I've271read that book--co-author of the influential 2016 investigative272report ``Bloody Harvest/The Slaughter: An Update,'' and author273of the newly published book ``The Xinjiang Procedure,'' based274on interviews with Uyghur and Kazakh refugees throughout275Central Asia. His work has been essential to exposing the scale276and brutality of forced organ harvesting in China. We are277extremely grateful for his continued leadership.278    We'll then hear from my good long-term friend Ambassador279Sam Brownback, who served in the House, the Senate, he was a280Governor, he was Ambassador at Large for International281Religious Freedom, and just a force for good in the world,282especially religious freedom. He just today, or in the last283couple days, released his brand-new book, and I'm looking284forward to reading it, called ``China's War on Faith.'' Thank285you, Sam, for that tenacious leadership for all these years.286You just never quit. You are a national treasure. I am very287grateful to you. Ambassador Brownback and Ethan Gutmann have288testified multiple times before this Commission and multiple289committees of Congress on issues related to forced organ290harvesting, human trafficking, and, of course, religious291freedom.292    Then we'll hear from Jan Jekielek, senior editor of The293Epoch Times and host of ``American Thought Leaders.'' He is a294journalist, documentary filmmaker, and author of the new book295``Killed to Order: China's Organ Harvesting Industry & the True296Nature of America's Biggest Adversary.'' And I encourage people297to read that. I've started it. I haven't finished it yet, but I298am looking forward to reading it in its entirety. His work has299helped bring wider public attention to forced organ harvesting300and the dangers of continued international complicity. We301welcome him to the Commission, thank him for his great302leadership for these many years--and we've known each other for303a lot of years now--on this and so many other issues. He's a304great friend of the China Commission.305    We'll then hear from Kalbinur Sidik, a survivor of China's306genocide and an eyewitness to the forced labor and internment307camp system in the Uyghur region. Of Uzbek ethnicity, she308served for many years as an elementary school teacher before309being forced to work as a Chinese language instructor in310internment camps. She's testified several times--including311before the Uyghur Tribunal in London. I want to thank her for312being here. She'll be coming in through Zoom, right? Yes. Thank313you.314    [The prepared statement of Co-chair Smith appears in the315Appendix.]316    So Mr. Gutmann, please. The floor is yours.317318                   STATEMENT OF ETHAN GUTMANN319320    Mr. Gutmann. In the Chinese transplant industry, humans are321the only element that can't be fully controlled. That's why I322swear by field research. And over time I've learned that all323testimony, even that which doesn't support my ongoing thesis at324any given time, is valuable. Yet I've also been observing the325often skeptical Western world. That includes me, back in 2006.326And all witnesses are taking a big risk. Camp refugees who327observed the organ harvesting selection process or were nearly328harvested themselves, as I guess we're going to be hearing from329some of those today--they matter. But the testimony of a330medical practitioner who is directly involved in the transplant331process has a more complex level of risk. And they may matter332more, in some respects.333    Now I'll briefly focus on these medical witnesses, because334there's a continuity there that's very interesting, over time.335I'm going to recap current harvesting rates one more time with336feeling; I'm sorry about that. I'm going to touch on Uyghur337deportation from Central Asia. And I'll close with a few338personal thoughts on policy.339    Now regarding ``The Slaughter,'' we have two witnesses from340that--15 years ago in a Westminster hearing, Enver Tohti, a341former Uyghur hospital surgeon, confessed that he used his own342hands to extract the kidneys and liver of a wounded, but343salvageable, human being on a Xinjiang execution ground. In3442013, Dr. Ko Wen-je of National Taiwan University agreed that I345could publish the story of his quest for organs on behalf of346his Taiwanese patients. This happened in a mainland hospital,347probably Wuxi People's Hospital. When Ko expressed doubts about348the quality of executed prisoner organs, his mainland349counterparts assured him that all the organs would come from350Falun Gong.351    ``The Xinjiang Procedure''--I just have to promote these352things, I'm sorry--adds to this collection. In 2007, an353accidental witness, Cat--that's Mr. Sugawara--was assisting his354Yakuza chieftain prepare for a liver transplant in a Beijing355police hospital. Wandering into the wrong room, Cat found a356bound and sedated young man, wrist and ankle tendons severed. A357Chinese surgeon soothingly explained to Cat that the young358liver donor was Falun Gong. In 2017, Sayragul Sauytbay, a359teacher in a Kazakh and Uyghur camp, gained exclusive access to360organize the camp's medical files. A red checkmark next to361blood results signaled that the individual had been preselected362for harvesting. Several camp refugees that I interviewed363recalled guards imposing color coding, from pink vests to364wristbands, a few nights before the actual disappearances.365    In 2018, Samal, an ethnic Kazakh woman--that is a366pseudonym--was recruited by a Uyghur veterinarian to extract367human intestines in preparation for the systematic extraction368of organs. Why intestines? Because their workspace was in a369secret medical compound, four floors under a Uyghur and Kazakh370concentration camp, with substandard ventilation. And an371update: While Dr. Ko of Taipei knew that the Falun Gong were372being harvested, according to his Chinese colleagues, Ko became373``the teacher of ECMO to mainland China.'' That was--let me374translate that--that is directly instructing Chinese surgeons375to exploit an off-label procedure for live organ harvesting.376    As mayor of Taipei and as a Presidential candidate for the377Taiwan presidency, Ko could have been the ultimate medical378witness. Instead, Ko was recently sentenced to 17 years in379Taiwanese prison on corruption charges. And I'd love to see a380plea deal there. Along with a hunger for medical witnesses,381there is a hunger for scale. And the full publication of382witness evidence in chapter 5 concludes: 2.5 to 5 percent383forced disappearance rate in the camps, average age 28 to 29,384specifications taken at night, final blood DNA test to385establish health and identity. Assuming 1 million in the386Xinjiang camps, forced labor factories, and other carceral387environments, that's 25,000 to 50,000 Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and388other Turkic groups harvested per year. Two to three organs389extracted per individual to reach the minimum requirements for390China's transplant industry volume, 60,000 successful391transplants per year. That means a minimum cumulative death392total in Xinjiang of over 200,000 now, and counting.393    Now some analysts recently speculated that the camps are394closing, and it may be inside baseball, but I would welcome a395question on that. Either way, forced labor organs are the same396as concentration camp organs. And per capita, the medical397attention that Xinjiang receives is extraordinary. Beijing398recently pledged six more human organ transplantation medical399institutions in the region by 2030. Now the roundup of Uyghurs400from China's neighbors is also extraordinary. My interviews401established that 88 percent of Tajikistan's Uyghurs and 87402percent of Kyrgyzstan's Uyghurs have been deported back to403Xinjiang. I also documented a new Chinese military base just404north of Tajikistan's Qolma Pass, about 30 miles from a Tajik405mine speculated to contain 50 percent of the world's uranium.406The energy and mineral reserves of the Pamir and Kyrgyz407Mountain ranges are the South China Sea of China's western408frontier. With Russia at war, without a U.S. presence, a new409nine-dash line is theoretically possible.410    Regarding policy--I'll close with this. I like all the411bills. But I support passing the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting412Act first because it follows the surgical lead. The413International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation put414the Chinese transplant industry, and implicitly the415transplantation society, on notice with an academic boycott of416China in 2022. Withdrawal of legitimacy by the political side417should now be immediate and comprehensive. Nothing changes418without embarrassment and trauma. One day after my press419conference on Dr. Ko, Taiwanese medical authorities withdrew420immunosuppressive drug coverage for Taiwanese patients who421received Chinese organs. We could do that here. And instead of422attempting to police the entire import-export medical industry,423we could immediately investigate Thermo Fisher for providing424the DNA tests used on an estimated 10 million Uyghurs and425Kazakhs.426    A word on limitations. The Party responds to embarrassment427by hiding, adapting, altering the production process, and428adding new layers of complexity. We've seen this in forced429labor. Beijing loves games. So we might need to consider430changing the stakes of the game. I don't have a 20-point plan431here, just a parting thought. Falun Gong is a Han Chinese-432majority Chinese spiritual movement. And they have no choice.433Their sacred mission is to change China. And they deserve our434support. Yet small nations rise--often it's a delayed435response--when mass murder and wanton neglect have placed their436future survival as a people in question. The potato famine,437Ireland; Ukraine, Stalin's mass starvation; Israel, the gas438chambers; East Turkestan, organ harvesting. Re-entering history439is a bloody affair, yet these nations came back from the dead.440Even if it begins as a cynical negotiation tactic, a tacit441threat, a Uyghur state--even a democratic Uyghur state--is442possible. And the liberation of Central Asia is also possible.443For the Party, that's the nightmare scenario. And the most444improbable scenario of all is the systematic reform of the445Chinese transplant system. But if our first objective is to446stanch the bleeding, apply immediate and consistent pressure:447pass this bill. Thank you.448    [The prepared statement of Ethan Gutmann appears in the449Appendix.]450    Co-chair Smith. Mr. Gutmann, thank you so very much for451your testimony. And your expertise enlightens this committee,452and really enlightens all that we do. Thank you so much.453    Ambassador Brownback.454455             STATEMENT OF AMBASSADOR SAM BROWNBACK456457    Ambassador Brownback. Thank you, Chairman Smith, Senator.458Good to see all of you. And thank you for doing this,459particularly today when the summit is taking place in China. I460think this is just such an incredibly timely thing. And while461these are hearings and things that you're familiar with and462have been familiar with for years, the public is not familiar463with these topics. Unfortunately, in my experience in social464movements, you've got to really rub the public's face in this465stuff for them to get it. And once they do, then they'll kind466of, Okay, what should we do? And thank you for rubbing people's467face in this stuff that you've known about and heard about for46820-30 years, as have I.469    Even just yesterday, I was with Mihrigul Tursun. She's470featured in our book, ``China's War on Faith.'' She's a Uyghur.471She was told, finally, toward the very end of her472incarceration--Okay, you can pick the way you die. We'll either473shoot you three times, three bullets, or you can sign your life474and your organs away to us. Now, if you pick the three bullets,475we're going to charge you for each of these bullets a very476large sum of money and you can do it for free this other way.477And how cynical can a group of people be? This is her speaking478yesterday about the technique that was used. Her children, who479were born in Egypt, ultimately actually were the tool that got480her out.481    Disfavored religious communities are particularly targeted482by the perpetrators of forced organ harvesting schemes. Falun483Gong practitioners--which we've heard about--systematically484catalogued based on biometric markers and then murdered for485their organs; Uyghur Muslims--and you've heard this before,486their organs harvested and marketed to wealthy Middle487Easterners as halal, in an unimaginably cynical way. I don't488like even repeating this because these charges are so horrific489that people have a hard time even getting their mind around it.490But this is happening, and has been happening, and continues to491happen. And it's an evil regime that perpetrates it.492    We have here today, and Mr. Chairman if I could take just a493moment to introduce Peter Xu. You may remember his name. You494advocated for him, as I did, a number of years ago. He spent495five different times in Chinese prisons. He's been out here496helping promote the book. He was considered the Billy Graham of497China. They nearly killed him when they took him down from--498they put him in a cross formation till he nearly died, then499they took him down. They said to him, Okay, sign the confession500that God's a hoax, Jesus doesn't exist. And he looks at the501warden, and he says, Thank you for allowing me to participate502in the sufferings of Christ. This is amazing testimony of an503individual who is here--I've got to recognize Peter Xu.504[Applause.]505    And then the other person--Bob Fu is hosting these506gentlemen. You know Bob. But Pastor Pan of the Mayflower507Church, that got all 64 members of theirs out in a daring508episode that I believe should be a Hollywood movie, is here509with us as well. Pastor Pan. [Applause.] Wonderful men. They510bear witness, and as they bear witness, they get family members511persecuted back home. These are not free shots that people get512to take. They get hit. Pastor Pan has relatives still in China513being threatened. I would ask our State Department to allow514them to come if they're allowed out of China. Allow them to515come here to the United States. Here's a brave man being516willing to speak out and the family members back home are still517persecuted. I hear this constantly from members of this518persecuted community--of the various religious persecuted519communities.520    You have experts that know more of the specifics of it. I521want to talk mostly about policy. No. 1, the United States522should lead a global coalition of governments, academics,523medical, financial institutions, and religious groups to openly524condemn forced organ harvesting and take concrete steps to end525the international complicity in this practice. We need a big526coalition to come together to say, This is horrific. It527deserves no place in a modern world. And we should condemn it.528The White House or Congress should host a global summit of529religious, democratic, and political leaders calling for530religious freedom for everyone everywhere, including in China.531This is a hallmark issue for us. And on our 250th birthday, the532founding of the country is based, the early settlers, primarily533on seeking religious freedom. It's still a hallmark human right534of the soul, the right that's closest to who we are as beings.535And these are the people who are the most persecuted. It would536help--and it would help them substantially.537    We asked President Trump to raise with Xi Jinping the538release of Pastor Ezra Jin. And he said that he's going to seek539that release. Jimmy Lai. I would add the nine Catholic bishops540currently in detention in China that we don't know their541whereabouts--nine Catholic bishops. We don't know where they542are. They're incarcerated. I would ask as well that Pope Leo543criticize China publicly for the ongoing genocides in that544country--of the Muslim Uyghurs, of Falun Gong, of the Tibetan545Buddhists, and seek the release of these nine Catholic bishops546that are detained in China. And Mr. Chairman, I've got another547set of additional recommendations that I want to submit for the548record.549    One of them--we host the G-20 summit this year. We should550have in that a major section on religious freedom. As we bring551these world leaders of the top countries here, we should be552talking about religious freedom and publicly condemning forced553organ harvesting at that event. This would be something that--554Dr. Gutmann points out the embarrassment factor. It's a true555issue, and you and I both know it. You've got to raise the556profile of these issues to the point that governments are557embarrassed before something happens. We should do that at the558G-20 summit as well. And then finally, our media, Hollywood,559academia, big business, must start shining a light on these560horrific practices being conducted by the Chinese government,561and no longer look the other way. We cannot look the other way.562    Now, we've got such an integrated economy with China. And I563hope and pray we're in the process of breaking that apart, and564breaking our supply chains, and moving them to other places.565I'm seeing positive trends on foreign direct investment in566China going down substantially, and a lot of that coming to the567United States and other places, going up, which is favorable568toward us. That's the right trend. It's going to take several569years to disentangle these two economies, but we really have570got to be clear-minded that we have to move this way. This is a571communist regime in China that seeks our removal from572leadership on the world stage.573    Whichever one of these systems--and I contend that--and I'm574going to end with this point--that we're in a clash of575civilizations now. And one point of that is the communist group576and authoritarians that look at the world and individuals as577tools to be controlled, or economic entities alone. And they578are pushing aggressively and attacking us today. On the other579side is Western civilization, the United States leading a580Western civilization that's built on a Judeo-Christian ethic581that everybody is created in the image of God. They are582entitled to incredible dignity. They have inherent worth of who583they are. And they have rights by virtue of who they are as an584individual. They have rights. These two systems are in conflict585and clashing.586    I think we've just got to start being much more clear-eyed587about what the stakes are, because whichever of these systems588wins will direct how societies move over the rest of this589century. And we're in this fight. And we're in it now. And590we've got to sound the alarm to the public and move forward591aggressively to win this fight. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.592    [The prepared statement of Ambassador Brownback appears in593the Appendix.]594    Co-chair Smith. Thank you very much, Mr. Ambassador, for595your very eloquent and powerful statement and testimony. I'd596now like to recognize Jan Jekielek for such time as he may597consume.598    Mr. Jekielek. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Co-chairman, distinguished599members of the Commission, I want to thank you for the600opportunity to testify today.601602                   STATEMENT OF JAN JEKIELEK603604    Mr. Jekielek. How many of us in the United States would605knowingly participate in a system that rips organs from606unwilling donors and treats human lives as disposable607commodities? It should be zero, but it's not. What is happening608in China is something far more systemic and industrialized than609the organ trafficking in black markets that one might normally610think about. It is communist China's state-sponsored killing of611its own citizens on demand to supply a multi-billion-dollar612transplant industry.613    I'll start with a telling example from my book, ``Kill to614Order: China's Organ Harvesting Industry & the True Nature of615America's Biggest Adversary.'' ``An affluent German woman with616a rare AB blood type struggled with alcoholism for years and617faced liver failure. In systems like Germany's, finding a match618might take years or not happen at all. Yet she obtained three619livers in China around 2015 to 2019, each in just months, for620approximately $400,000, involving a visit to China for each621procedure. Her continued drinking combined with antirejection622medications led to quick rejections of each liver--one about623every 2 years.'' In any ethical transplant system, such as that624of the United States, vital organs typically come from625catastrophic accidents. To reduce the chance of rejection,626blood type and histology are also matched. Thus the supply of627organs is always much less than the demand. Yet wait times in628China are often measured not in years, not in months, but in629weeks or even days.630    In another well-documented case, an American man traveled631to China and received a perfectly matched kidney in just 2632weeks. According to the 2009 book ``Larry's Kidney,'' he was633aware someone was killed for it. Now compare that to here,634where the average wait time for a new kidney isn't 2 weeks, but635156 to 260 weeks. This is only possible because of two636essential tools the Chinese Communist Party that governs China637has refined over decades. No. 1, it's the regime's creation of638what are called black classes, designated enemy groups that the639rest of the population is taught to hate, fear, and even see as640subhuman. First it was the landowners, then641counterrevolutionaries, and then the intellectuals during the642Cultural Revolution, with others following. This is the643pattern--designate a group as subhuman, flood the information644space with propaganda, and the population becomes645psychologically prepared for atrocities against the target646group.647    The second key tool is the infrastructure to incarcerate a648large number of people at will. Prisons, black jails,649reeducation camps, and forced labor camps are just part of an650incarceration system that has the capacity for millions. In6511999, the CCP designated Falun Gong practitioners as a black652class targeted for eradication, setting the stage for this653kill-to-order forced organ harvesting.654    Falun Gong, or Falun Dafa, is an ancient Qigong or slow-655motion exercise practice rooted in the principles of656truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. This is also657translated as being true, good, and enduring. Falun Gong658features extensive teachings by its founder, Master Li Hongzhi.659It's also characterized by an unusual lack of organizational660structure, no collection of funds, no roster, no hierarchy, and661no worship of a deity. It spread by word of mouth in the 1990's662in China, growing, by government estimate, to 70 to 100 million663people from all walks of life doing it.664    There are different theories as to why then-leader Jiang665Zemin of China ordered the persecution of Falun Gong. Perhaps666it was because the sheer number of practitioners had grown667greater than Communist Party membership. Perhaps he was jealous668of the founder. Or perhaps the CCP, with its decades of669totalitarian rule, simply couldn't abide the individual agency670that practicing Falun Gong fostered in people. If one were to671design a system that could withstand totalitarian control and672overreach, I believe it might look something like Falun Gong.673Large numbers of Falun Gong practitioners refused to be674reeducated. And this happened at a scale that had never675happened before in this black class creation mechanism. And676this is what caused the mass incarceration of Falun Gong677practitioners.678    This is happening in 1999-2000. In 2005, the U.S. State679Department estimated that half of all the people in China's680reeducation-through-labor camp system were Falun Gong. In 2006,681the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture, Manfred Nowak, reported682that Falun Gong practitioners accounted for 66 percent of683torture cases that he documented. I recount in chapter 5 of684``Kill to Order'' all sorts of evidence, like that gathered by685Ethan Gutmann here, among others, research over 20 years by686many, many different experts. And the regime basically took a687massive population of healthy people and dehumanized them,688incarcerated them, and started blood typing, tissue typing, and689organ scanning them, and creating a data base. When a690transplant is needed, whether for a Chinese elite or a foreign691transplant tourist, a match can be made and a victim killed to692order.693    The years 2000 to 2005 saw a massive surge in growth of694transplant hospitals in China. Falun Gong refugees who fled to695the United States have given harrowing accounts of blood tests696and other costly and suspicious medical exams while detained in697China. A recent survey identified 113 facilities across China698in which these health screenings took place, with the most699recent incident reported in 2024. Shockingly, one respondent700described how, even in 2023, even non-detained practitioners in701Anqing City, Anhui Province, were summoned for these detailed702exams.703    We now have the first known survivor. Cheng Pei Ming, a704Falun Gong practitioner, was taken for surgery against his will705while detained, and awoke with a 14-inch gash in his side. This706was back in 2004. He was later rescued to America through a707series of unlikely events--kind of a miracle that he survived.708But basically our own medical scans showed that he's missing709part of his liver and part of his lung. The liver has since710regenerated. So after years of very little, frankly, there's711been some amazing resolutions that have been put forth--that712Co-chair Smith has put forward, and so forth. But really,713internationally, there's been very little meaningful action.714The CCP extended this atrocity--now we're looking at 2015-ish--715to another group. As mentioned, they further dehumanized the716Uyghur Muslim population and mass incarcerated them. Up in717Xinjiang, they've even gone door to door to people's homes718collecting DNA and blood samples.719    Compounding this danger is new technology. Now there's720technology that can perfuse organs for extended periods,721basically in a box, potentially for days instead of hours. This722is a revolutionary breakthrough. For us, you know, this will723save a great many lives, but from the perspective of the724Chinese, this is a way potentially to even export forced organs725out of the country, if they get their hands on it. This is why726I titled my book ``Kill to Order.'' This is a deadly boutique727selection and delivery of human body parts, organs matched in728advance, delivered on schedule, extracted from living human729beings, who are then discarded for the purposes of power,730profit, and elite longevity.731    Yet American universities and hospitals continue to partner732with Chinese transplant centers, train Chinese transplant733surgeons, conduct joint research. NIH has funded such projects.734American companies supply critical immunosuppressive drugs and735medical technologies used in these procedures. And many736American media continue to ignore, even whitewash, these737crimes. Perhaps most prominently, a former New York Times738correspondent testified at the 2019 China tribunal, that the739Co-chair mentioned earlier, that she was prevented from740pursuing evidence of forced organ harvesting by her editors at741the Times. Now this is not an isolated crime. It's part of a742much broader pattern of egregious abuses. The U.S. Government743has determined that the CCP is committing genocide against744Uyghurs, and several international legal experts have concluded745that the campaign against Falun Gong also demonstrates746genocidal intent.747    So what can be done here? I want to take this moment to748commend Co-chair Smith for your tremendous persistent efforts749over many decades confronting China's large-scale forced organ750harvesting from prisoners of conscience and for championing751China's persecuted innocents even longer than that. You grasped752the totalitarian nature of the CCP long before most people did.753This is manifested in your bill, H.R. 1503, the Stop Forced754Organ Harvesting Act of 2025, which passed the House last year755nearly unanimously. This is powerful, important legislation756that should be passed. Another commissioner here, Senator757Merkley, is co-sponsoring S. 4009, the Falun Gong and Victims758of Forced Organ Harvesting Protection Act, a Senate update of759H.R. 1540, which passed the House unanimously. This is likewise760critical legislation that will make a real difference.761    The Senate has a historic opportunity now to pass two bills762to finally confront this egregious crime. Eight countries have763enacted binding national laws addressing this issue. It's time764for the United States to finally do the same. I have a number765of additional recommendations across the board, but in the766interest of time perhaps we can do them in the question and767answer. Happy to discuss. I also wanted to mention that now we768have many think tanks in Washington, DC, and civil society769organizations; there's even a satellite Rotary Club dedicated770entirely to ending forced organ harvesting. There's kind of a771broad civil society interest in this. And as mentioned earlier,772the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation773has barred all Chinese submissions involving transplants from774human donors. You know, this is finally getting traction at775that level, thankfully.776    So to conclude, here we're on the eve of the 250th777anniversary of America's founding. And we should remember that778this country was built on a foundational belief in the God-779given rights of every individual and the inherent dignity of780every human being. The Chinese Communist Party rejects this781truth at its core. It views its own citizens not as people with782innate dignity but as a collection of extractable body parts.783And here's the hard truth: The CCP looks at America and784Americans through exactly the same lens. Just as it calculates785the value of a prisoner's cornea or kidney or heart, it786calculates how to extract America's technology, markets, its787alliances, and ultimately its sovereignty.788    Earlier today in Beijing, Secretary of State Marco Rubio,789who has championed earlier versions of S. 4009 as senator, said790China's rise cannot come at our expense. The lesson of the791CCP's decades of kill-to-order forced organ harvesting is that792the regime is capable of anything at others' expense. Let us793honor the 250th anniversary of this nation's founding by794confronting this atrocity. Thank you. I look forward to your795questions.796    [The prepared statement of Jan Jekielek appears in the797Appendix.]798    Chair Smith. Jan, thank you so very much for your799leadership over the many decades as well, and for your new800book, which I think will open up many eyes, and again, for801being here today and sharing your expertise with the802Commission.803    I'd now like to ask Ali to translate. We will be hearing804from Ms. Sidik, she's in the Netherlands, by way of Zoom. So if805that could be arranged for her to come in now. Remember, she's806an eyewitness to China's genocide and to the internment camp807system. You know, here's somebody who lived it--like many808people who have testified in the past, and like some people who809are actually in this audience--and suffered. And just let me810say one brief thing about Bob Fu while she's coming on. Bob Fu811has been a mentor to so many of us for so long. I've been to812China, along with Frank Wolf and along with my good friend the813Ambassador, many, many times. And again and again, Bob provided814unbelievable insight to us on the house church movement and all815the rest. So thank you, Bob, for that with ChinaAid. Is she816ready?817818                  STATEMENT OF KALBINUR SIDIK819820    Ms. Sidik [through Translator]. Honorable Chair,821distinguished members, and respected committee members, thank822you for giving me the opportunity to testify today. My name is823Kalbinur Sidik. I am from Urumqi. Our homeland is Turkestan.824I'm a witness to the detention camps and I am ethnically Uzbek.825    For 20 years, I worked as a Chinese language teacher and826held important administrative positions at Urumqi No. 24827elementary school. Never did I imagine that one day I would be828forced to teach inside a detention camp or that I would become829a witness to the crimes committed by the Chinese Communist830Party against Uyghurs and other minority peoples. Today I stand831before you to speak about atrocities, including the possibility832of organ harvesting. I'll tell you only the truth, only what I833personally witnessed and experienced.834    In March 2017, I was sent under a six-month contract to835teach in a men's camp located on a mountain in No. 5836Sangfanggou Village, Urumqi City. The authorities told us we837would be teaching students in a literacy training course. But838they were not students. They were prisoners. They were fathers,839young men, businessmen, religious figures, intellectuals,840people from all walks of life. They were ordinary citizens.841There were also elderly men among them. They had been taken842from their homes, imprisoned behind barbed wire, triple iron843gates, surveillance cameras, armed guards, and locked cells.844    Every Monday, no classes were held for the detainees.845Instead, blood was drawn from them. They were given846unidentified injections. Afterwards, they were given small847white pills. Chinese nurses told me these are vitamins or848calcium supplements . . . since the detainees never see849sunlight, the government ordered us to take care of them this850way. But I did not believe them. How could the government that851imprisoned, starved, tortured, and humiliated these people852suddenly care about their vitamins? No. That was impossible. At853that time and even now I believe there was another purpose854behind it.855    I also witnessed healthy men disappearing. I clearly856remember one man named Ozman. He was active in class and eager857to learn. He was a wealthy businessman and appeared very strong858and healthy, at first. Among hundreds of people, I could easily859recognize his face. Then one day, he disappeared. When I asked860what happened to him, I was told he suffered from high blood861pressure and diabetes and had died on the way to the hospital.862There was another man who sat at the far end of the first row863in the classroom. He too was hard working. And I still remember864his face vividly. Later he also disappeared. I was told he died865from kidney poisoning. I did not believe these explanations.866Every day in the classroom detainees were constantly replaced.867Older and stronger prisoners were taken away while new ones868arrived. A familiar face disappeared and we were expected to869accept whatever explanation the guards gave us.870    Later, when I testified before parliaments in various871countries, I was asked about the disappearance of detainees and872organ harvesting. I told them what I had heard while working in873the camps. The special police driver who transported me and the874police officer assigned to accompany me often talked among875themselves. They said, Right now in our country the halal organ876trade is booming. The detoxification center in Miquan County,877Urumqi has now become an organ transplant center. I did not878witness the surgeries. I did not personally see organs being879removed. But I heard these conversations.880    Later, after hearing my testimony, a close relative and881friend of mine living in Europe, and married to a foreigner,882spoke to me on the condition of anonymity. She personally told883me that Miquan's detoxification center had indeed been884transformed into an organ extraction hospital. In 2018, she and885her foreign husband were sent there for medical examinations886before leaving for Europe. During that process, she saw many887young detainees wearing prison uniforms, lined up under heavy888Chinese police supervision, entering designated rooms. She also889observed that the number of doctors had increased greatly and890that doctors were carrying unusual containers in their hands as891they exited the rooms.892    She told me this and begged me to speak about it in my893testimony. So for the second time, I heard directly from894someone I personally knew, someone who claimed to have seen895with her own eyes that this place had become an organ896harvesting hospital. In the camps, I witnessed blood897collections from detainees, injections, forced medications,898disappearances, and secrecy surrounding everything. Therefore,899if you ask me today whether I believe the Chinese Communist900Party turned Uyghurs in the camps into a source of profit901through so-called halal organ trade, my answer is, yes. Yes. A902hundred times, yes.903    While I was in those camps, I witnessed horrors beyond904words. Chinese police humiliated detainees to a level no human905being should endure. They stripped them of their humanity. They906did not call them by their names, but by numbers. They tried to907break their minds, destroy their faith, and erase their908destiny. Let me tell you more about what I witnessed, so the909world will never forget about the genocide that's taking place910in East Turkestan.911    When I first entered the men's camp, I walked into a912building surrounded by barbed wire, electric doors, armed913police, soldiers, locked gates. The detainees were brought out914from their cells. Chains and shackles were on their hands and915feet. Many still had unshaven beards because they had only916recently arrived. Their eyes looked at me with desperation, as917if I had come to save them. But I could not save them. I could918not even help them. Guards surrounded me everywhere. The cells919were dark. The windows were still shut. The detainees slept on920bare concrete floors with only a thin blanket. For all three921meals they received only a small Chinese bun and watery rice922soup. They were allowed to use the toilet only for a very short923period of time.924    During the entire six months I was there they were never925once allowed to bathe. Their bodies were weakened. Their faces926changed. Healthy people became thin, pale, and exhausted. I927taught four hours in the morning, two hours in the afternoon,928sometimes even for additional hours during inspection periods.929But gradually I realized the purpose there was not education.930The purpose was control. Later, detainees were forced to931memorize red songs, patriotic songs praising the Chinese932Communist Party and Xi Jinping, and political slogans. The933detainees were forced to praise the same Communist Party that934had imprisoned them. They were forced to express gratitude935toward the very system destroying them.936    During lessons, police would call detainees out not by937name, but by number, then take them for interrogation. The938interrogation room was next to the classroom. Shortly after939they were taken away, heartbreaking screams could be heard.940They were tortured with devices such as electric batons,941electric tiger chairs, electric gloves, and electric helmets.942After my six-month assignment in the men's camp ended, I was943sent to a women's camp located at Tugong, Saybagh District,944Urumqi. There I saw many women and girls. Most were highly945educated. Their hair had been cut short. They wore gray prison946uniforms with blue numbered vests over them. Their faces were947pale and lifeless.948    About 90 percent of these detainees were between 18 and 40949years old. The remaining 10 percent were older women, some even950in their seventies and eighties. These women and girls were951also given medication and unidentified injections. As a result,952many of them completely stopped menstruating. Some had studied953abroad. During lessons, they were forced first to thank the954Chinese Communist Party and the government before telling their955stories. One woman said she had recently given birth and still956had a nursing baby, but her breast milk had stopped. Another957young woman said she had been preparing for marriage when she958was suddenly taken to the camp. And she no longer even knew959where her fiance was. Yet she was forced to thank the960government for providing such a great opportunity to learn the961national language.962    Others said they had been taken directly to the camp963immediately after returning from studies abroad. From the way964these women painfully sat and stood, I could sense the severe965abuse they had suffered. Tears constantly streamed from their966eyes. In this camp, I heard about rape and sexual violence967committed by Chinese police. I heard that guards use electric968batons and other weapons to abuse these detainees. I personally969witnessed the body of a young girl around 18 to 20 years old970being carried away before my eyes. I later heard that she had971bled to death. Outside the camps, the control continued. The972Chinese government placed so-called Chinese parent relatives,973Han Chinese men, inside the homes of Uyghur women, especially974in homes where husbands had been taken to the camps. Even in975their own homes, these women faced various forms of abuse and976humiliation.977    People are afraid to speak. Phones were monitored.978Relatives abroad became a source of danger. My daughter, at the979time, was in the Netherlands. And we lived constantly in fear980and anxiety, under pressure from neighborhood committees,981assigned police officers. We were also forced to undergo982sterilization procedures at Changleyuan Hospital in Tianshan983District. Even though I did not want this, I had no choice. My984safety and the safety of my family depended on obeying985government demands. That's why I say we no longer had ownership986over our bodies. I am one of the fortunate few who managed to987escape after enduring tremendous suffering. The people inside988the camps cannot speak to you. They have no way to make their989voices heard. I'm standing here today, and at enormous personal990cost, to tell you this truth--because the men who disappeared,991the women who were abused, and the mothers separated from their992children, and the families destroyed by this genocide, need993witnesses.994    Honorable Chair, distinguished members of the committee, I995ask you not to turn away--turn your eyes away--from this996tragedy. The horrific violence taking place in East Turkestan997is not merely a crime. It's part of the system that sees998Uyghurs, the original inhabitants of this land, as less than999human. This is genocide. The world once said, never again. Yet1000in East Turkestan, it is happening again. I ask the U.S.1001Congress never to forget the Uyghur genocide. I urge you to1002continue your investigations and hold the Chinese Communist1003Party accountable. Thank you.1004    [The prepared statement of Kalbinur Sidik appears in the1005Appendix.]1006                              ----------10071008    Co-chair Smith. Thank you very much for that very powerful1009testimony. It's shocking. And it hopefully is a wake-up call to1010even more people who will hear it today. And we will amplify it1011through this Commission, I can assure you.1012    I'll ask my questions last, but I'd like to yield to my1013good friend and colleague, Mr. Strong of Alabama, and then to1014Congresswoman Elise Stefanik from New York.1015    Representative Strong. Thank you, Representative Smith, for1016holding this hearing. Thank you to the staff for their hard1017work. Thank you to all the witnesses for being here today, for1018bringing attention to China's forced organ harvesting and1019trafficking.1020    This first question is for any of the witnesses that would1021like to answer. Can you provide an assessment of whether any1022U.S. entities, such as hospitals, universities, or research1023partners, have collaborated with the CCP transplant1024institutions engaging in illegal organ harvesting and1025trafficking practices?1026    Mr. Jekielek. I can speak to it briefly, but in terms of1027the details, probably afterwards. I understand that there is1028actually information that has been gathered at HHS. There's1029some sort of report that's been gathered by HHS that touches on1030this question, that you know, perhaps needs to be dislodged1031from under a lot of bureaucracy. That's one quick answer.1032There's an example. The Select Committee wrote a letter to1033Harvard University about a number of research partnerships that1034they had. I believe that was last year, or within the last1035couple of years. We trained over a hundred transplant surgeons1036here in the United States from different institutions. That's1037an obvious connection. I think it would be an amazing effort to1038try to catalog all of this. This is something that I'm actually1039in the process of trying to do, but obviously institutions are1040uninterested in being terribly cooperative and in providing1041that information, if they can avoid it. So that's a roundabout1042answer for you. Perhaps some of the others here can provide1043some more exact specifics.1044    Representative Strong. Any other insight from any of the1045other witnesses?1046    Mr. Gutmann. You know, I did mention Thermo Fisher, because1047they stand out. What our witness here was talking about really1048didn't begin in 2016 or 2017. It was signaled in 2013 by an1049unusual tactic, which the police of China used on Falun Gong,1050actually, initially. And they were coming into people's homes.1051These were people not in detention. But they were coming into1052their homes and doing a blood test and a DNA cheek swab. This1053happened in five to six provinces. There's a little dispute1054about the sixth. The point is that the DNA cheek swab indicated1055a new method. Human Rights Watch interpreted it as a1056surveillance tool. I think that's probably right. But it's also1057completely compatible with tissue matching--tissue typing and1058cross matching. So that is followed by Thermo Fisher supplying1059the DNA kits for testing the entire Uyghur and Kazakh1060population of Xinjiang. Now this is not something that Han1061Chinese--they were exempt. And they're practically half the1062population. But the entire population, everybody above the age1063of 12, had to be tested. And the DNA kits, apparently, were all1064supplied by Thermo Fisher. They made a killing in this market.1065    Representative Strong. Let me ask you this right here. Do1066any of the witnesses have factual data related to how these1067body parts are coming to America? And, you know, they've got to1068get here somehow. Any of that going on?1069    Mr. Gutmann. Can I just jump in on that? I don't believe1070parts are coming to America really. I mean----1071    Representative Strong. There are people that believe they1072are.1073    Mr. Gutmann. Well, that's fine, but it's certainly not my1074experience in China on the ground, as they like to have1075complete control of organ harvesting. And I've never seen1076absolutely persuasive evidence, other than certainly there's1077good speculation, and probably correct, about fetal body parts1078or fetal tissue being sold to our great universities. I don't1079think there's any question that they've moved on from Planned1080Parenthood and China's the supplier. Proving that conclusively,1081of course, is very important.1082    Representative Strong. Absolutely. Okay. Do you believe the1083existing U.S. safeguards are enough to prevent American1084institutions from indirectly endorsing or profiting from these1085practices? Or should the U.S. Government explore further1086measures, such as increased transparency, reporting, or funding1087restrictions?1088    Mr. Brownback. I think those are absolutely necessary and1089totally plausible. And they are things that we should be doing1090in the face of this documentation, eyewitnesses, of what's1091taking place. I mean, that's what Congress should be doing. And1092passing the bills, like the Stopping Forced Organ Harvesting1093Act, and including these types of provisions in that type of1094bill, broad support. And I think it also is a moral stand for1095people in this country to take, through their Members of1096Congress, to pass such legislation. We will not participate in1097any way, shape, or form in this type of horrific practice. And1098here's how we're expressing that.1099    Representative Strong. Thank you. Mr. Gutmann, in your1100estimation what is the scale and scope of illegal sourced1101organs in China?1102    Mr. Gutmann. I'm not there with a clipboard, but--and my1103work has concentrated on the Uyghurs--but I do believe that1104this is the main source now. Our 2016 report was done with1105David Kilgour and David Matas, and a team of Falun Gong1106researchers who spent 5 years collecting the data. Now we came1107up with the idea that organs were basically--the transplant1108hospitals had been rationed to about 150, or now it's more like1109200, and that they were doing at least one transplant per day,1110based on their capabilities. That quickly leads you to a number1111at least of 60,000. Personally, I believe that it's closer to1112100,000.1113    Representative Strong. Thank you, Mr. Gutmann.1114    Mr. Brownback, can you elaborate on how religious freedom1115can play a strategic role in our diplomatic engagement strategy1116with the CCP? And how would you recommend that tool be wielded1117to strengthen U.S. leadership and diplomacy?1118    Mr. Brownback. You could just watch and study what Ronald1119Reagan did in the faceoff with the Soviet Union. It was the1120same godless, atheistic society. He traveled across the1121country. He pointed this out. He said--and then he also talked1122about the treatment of Jews in the country and evangelicals,1123the Jewish refuseniks. He brought the American public into it.1124And that's what has to be done. I think we can, as--and I think1125this is a critical piece of our theater engagement strategy1126with the CCP, which we're now engaged in, how we're going to1127fight with this group--is religious freedom. They can't1128tolerate it. They can't stand it. The American public strongly1129supports it. Western civilization does.1130    So we need to start talking about that differentiation. And1131we need to start thinking about it in those sorts of strategic1132engagement ways. We ought to invite Chinese dissidents that1133have been persecuted for their faith to the White House to meet1134with the President, the Vice President, to meet with the1135Secretary of State as a show. They ought to invite the person1136that started Falun Gong, Li Hongzhi, see if he would come to1137the White House to meet with the President. He's exiled in the1138United States in New York. And this is a group that's been1139decimated, slaughtered, in the most vile of ways, because they1140can't tolerate this indigenous faith that is so natural to1141China.1142    It's a blended kind of faith of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucian1143thought, but it's very natural to China. And it was a complete1144threat to the Chinese Communist Party. And all that Falun Gong1145wants is a return to the old Chinese civilization that existed1146before the communists took over. That's really all they want.1147So bring them in--and then I also think it would be wise for us1148to start talking with Tibetan individuals and Tibet authorities1149about the future of Tibet. This is a place that's never been a1150part of China. We should be--we should be bringing those1151individuals in and talking with them as well. I've got a list1152of other specific items in my testimony.1153    Representative Strong. Thank you. Mr. Brownback, this will1154be my final question. How has intimidation against religious1155groups outside of China impacted these groups, their worship,1156their advocacy, their personal lives?1157    Mr. Brownback. Oh, horribly. Most Uyghurs I talked to and1158work with have had family members back home that have1159disappeared, been killed. Falun Gong members that will cite1160those. I've had people in this country who have been tracked,1161shot at, that have testified to me, that have been open people1162that have testified against what's going on in the CCP--1163tracked, marked, tires slashed, in this country. This is1164transnational oppression--or another person referred to it as1165transnational terrorism. I think we've really got to be much1166more aggressive at prosecuting these cases when they happen in1167this country.1168    Representative Strong. Thank you. I thank each of our1169witnesses for being here today, and also Peter and Bob. It's an1170honor to have each of you here.1171    Mr. Jekielek. Could I answer your earlier question,1172Congressman? Just one thing that the U.S. Government--one way1173in which we've interacted with Communist China in the past is--1174you know, there's all these methods that were set on autopilot.1175For example, we're still transferring technology to Communist1176China as a matter of policy in different places, like in1177embassies. One example of this in this context is these1178Federal-wide assurances that HHS grants to different bodies1179around the world. And basically, it's sort of--it's been1180described to me by someone as kind of a rubber stamp in some1181terms. Basically, what it says is, from the perspective of the1182U.S. Government, this institution is okay to work with.1183    We know some number of these transplant hospitals--we1184should make sure that none of them have one of these Federal-1185wide assurances. I mean, again, there's a whole bunch of1186different specific policy recommendations that can help us cut1187off all relationships with their transplant system. Obviously,1188if we accept that this is real, which I hope we can--we can1189finally put it into law sometime soon. Why are we working with1190any institutions that are involved with this?1191    Representative Strong. Thank you. Chairman Smith, I yield1192back.1193    Co-chair Smith. Thank you very much.1194    I'd now like to yield to the distinguished gentlewoman from1195New York. I want to thank her as well for her new book,1196``Poisoned Ivies,'' which is a really, really incisive book1197about antisemitism and the Ivy League. And, you know, Sam1198Brownback, before I yield, made a very good point about Reagan1199and what he did vis-a-vis the Soviet Union. He raised human1200rights, and did it tenaciously, as did Shultz, his Secretary of1201State, and others. He always named names. And that's what1202President Trump was trying to do with Jimmy Lai and others. And1203both the House and the Senate passed resolutions to that1204effect, and named names that hopefully can effectuate or help1205them gain their freedom. But China has always gotten a bye.1206Years ago, there was a book called ``China Misperceived.'' And1207Steven Mosher wrote it and how they always are given a bye when1208it comes to human rights. Well, that has to end. It is ending.1209Your testimony and your great work, and your books, have made a1210difference. And I want to thank my good friend for her new book1211and for her leadership.1212    Representative Stefanik. Thank you so much, Chairman Smith.1213And thank you to the Chairman for his extraordinary decades of1214leadership on human rights issues and so many other important1215issues. Thank you to each of you for testifying today.1216Incredibly disturbing testimony, but important to hear this in1217Congress and for the American people to hear this.1218    I want to start with you, Mr. Jekielek. In your testimony1219you mentioned American universities partnering with CCP1220transplant centers to train transplant surgeons and conduct1221joint research. You also mentioned that some of these1222partnerships received NIH funding. Do you have a comprehensive1223list that you can provide this Commission of instances where1224there are U.S. Government-funded American universities that are1225funding transplant research supported by the CCP? I know you1226mentioned you're putting together that list.1227    Mr. Jekielek. Correct. I will--I don't know if I can1228provide a comprehensive list, because it's a process, but I1229will provide the best list I can.1230    Representative Stefanik. I recently introduced legislation1231to ban Federal funding to universities that employ foreign1232researchers who were previously employed by the Chinese1233Communist government, specifically those that work in sensitive1234research areas. Do you agree that U.S. taxpayer dollars should1235not go to universities that financially, directly or1236indirectly, support the Chinese government facilitating illegal1237organ harvesting?1238    Mr. Jekielek. This is a complete no-brainer. Absolutely. As1239a matter of fact, even people that come here--there are people1240that come here that want freedom, that are not wanting to work1241for the Chinese Communist Party. But their national1242intelligence law demands that they do, that they provide--that1243they basically spy, and not admit that they're doing so. So1244it's a very difficult situation people are put in. But I would1245say any sensitive area--forced organ harvesting, absolutely--1246but any sensitive area, it doesn't make sense.1247    Representative Stefanik. One other concern that I have1248raised is some American universities, as we know, operate1249branch campuses in communist China. And I recently introduced1250legislation to stop the flow of taxpayer dollars to these1251institutions that, frankly, are profiting off of our1252adversaries. Are you concerned that these universities, and1253therefore American taxpayers, could be directly or indirectly1254implicated in cases of organ harvesting?1255    Mr. Jekielek. I'm absolutely concerned. I don't know of1256specific instances of this, but again, you can sort of imagine,1257this is the thesis, I guess, of my book--the true nature of1258America's biggest adversary. You have to understand the1259Communist Party--this is a group--this is a regime that does1260these sorts of horrible things to people. Imagine how they1261view, you know, sort of gullible or financially incentivized1262Americans who have set up a campus in communist China. It's not1263good intent, let's say.1264    Representative Stefanik. Thank you. Ambassador Brownback,1265thank you for your leadership. You mentioned a number of1266actions the U.S. should take on the world stage to raise this1267issue. And yet we have seen in international organizations like1268the U.N. they have been incredibly uncooperative, despite the1269fact that American taxpayers are footing the majority of the1270bill. Do you think--let me ask it this way--how can the U.S.1271strongly lead on these issues of human rights? And--I think I1272know the answer to this--do you think the U.N. can be a1273reliable partner of the United States when it comes to1274addressing this? I certainly do not think it's a reliable1275partner.1276    Mr. Brownback. I think they've proven, no, they're not1277interested. But I think more than that, they're so infiltrated1278by the Chinese Communist Party, the U.N. is, and so many of the1279various branches and entities of it, even if they wanted to I1280don't think they could get it--I don't think they could get it1281done. But that's why it's incumbent upon us. And we're the only1282country in the world that can do this. Nobody else. So at the1283G-20, religious freedom should be front and center. And1284remember, they fear religious freedom more than they fear our1285aircraft carriers or nuclear weapons. This goes right at1286control to them. And they've got the fastest growing Christian1287population in the world. So they know this. And they're looking1288and saying, We've got to hold this down. And these are people1289we should be standing with and backing aggressively everywhere1290that we can. And we've got a lot of tools so we can do that, as1291I mentioned some of those already.1292    Representative Stefanik. Thank you very much. Again, thank1293you, Mr. Chairman, for conducting this very important hearing.1294I yield back.1295    Co-chair Smith. Thank you very much, Ms. Stefanik. Again,1296good luck on your book. I think everyone needs to read it.1297    Just a couple of thoughts. And again, I want to thank you1298all for your brilliant testimony. Just on the point of1299universities and colleges, because I held a whole series of1300hearings on the soft power of trying to get these colleges to1301conform to the CCP's will. I had a hearing with the head of1302NYU. I had the top person there, the chancellor, testify. I1303invited myself to go, because I'm barred from going, like you,1304Sam, and like our--you know, I'm on their hit list. And I1305actually got a visa when he said I could come.1306    But what shocked me about NYU is that they get a campus in1307Shanghai, fully paid for by the Chinese Communist Party. I1308asked them about if somebody raises Tibet or Falun Gong on the1309campus, or they go online and they--because obviously the1310internet is completely policed, or if a woman gets pregnant and1311she's single, did not get permission by the government--and1312this is in 2016 when I had this hearing--is she forcibly1313aborted? Because we know that forced abortion is absolutely one1314of the most horrendous things. It was a crime against humanity1315at Nuremberg against the Nazis. And it's no less by the Chinese1316Communist Party.1317    Scott Flipse and I went on that trip. The students seemed1318eager to hear about human rights. Not so much so with some of1319the other people, particularly the Chinese top people who were1320teaching at that institution. But I was shocked that they were1321charging an enormous amount of money to go there. I asked, who1322picks who gets in here? You know, what kind of selection1323process? I only say this because there has been shameless1324complicity on the part of our universities and colleges. Some1325may have stood up.1326    Steven Mosher exposed forced abortion in China in the early132780's. And then I started, I did an amendment on it in 1984, to1328stop any funding to the UNFPA or anybody else. Based on his1329research--Michael Weisskopf wrote a great piece for the1330Washington Post on that very thing, three-part series about how1331horrible it was--but Stanford then went to him and said, You're1332out. You're not getting your doctorate. Because they wanted1333access. So I hope that our universities, if there's any1334complicity--and I'm sure there is--with this terrible cruelty1335of forced organ harvesting, will absolutely disassociate, call1336it out. You know, maybe you're going to be denied some access.1337And we see what the business is. Sam, you remember--Mr.1338Ambassador--just how conforming American corporations are and1339continue to be to what the mantra is being spread by China and1340by Beijing, because they don't want to lose access. They don't1341want to lose their market. We saw it even during the most1342recent Olympics.1343    So my thought is--again, Scott and I went over there. I1344gave a major speech on human rights. And I saw people1345grimacing. And it was a one and done. They didn't invite me1346back. But I'm just so worried about this complicity. Our bill1347will say anybody in that supply chain for forced organ1348harvesting, we're going to come after you and we're going to1349prosecute you. You know, you can't let these Falun Gong1350practitioners continue to be killed, and Uyghurs and others.1351Twenty-eight years old, as you said, 29 years old. And maybe1352Mr. Gutmann, you could further elaborate on what--and any of1353you--what do they go through? You know, when you're strapped1354down, given an anesthetic, and you know that they're going to1355kill you to take your organs, I don't know if there's a greater1356horror. I mean, all torture is horror, but this is a1357particularly cruel manifestation of torture. And it's going on1358right now.1359    And as you know, Mr. Gutmann, they're talking about1360expanding, for the Uyghurs, the number of facilities available1361for this by 2030. They're not going in the direction of, Hey,1362we need to stop this. They're expanding it. I think this bill1363has to pass. The State Department, I love them, but they're not1364doing due diligence on this the way they could. This will1365empower State, HHS, the Justice Department, give them brand new1366tools to go after this horrific supply chain. And again,1367Americans go there. They get their, whatever it is, heart,1368liver, whatever it might be, facilitated by brokers. Let's put1369them behind bars as well. I just brought up the college1370because, again, Elise has done yeoman's work on how our higher1371ed has just been shameless when it comes to human rights with1372regard to Jews, the antisemitism that is rife there in many of1373those places. So if anybody would like to comment on that, I1374would appreciate it.1375    Mr. Gutmann. I would like to mention one thing. I've made1376this point before, so I apologize, but I still think it's1377valid. You know, when we discovered in the 1960's that the1378Soviet Union was torturing dissidents by putting them into1379mental hospitals, the world psychiatric association responded1380by banning any contact with the Soviet psychiatrists, or any of1381their institutions. And that meant everything. It was a1382complete ban. There was no work on psychoactive drugs together1383or anything like that. Now we're looking at a very different1384situation. I mean, someone like Pfizer goes into China and1385tests Chinese citizens who've had transplants, and they're1386probably carrying around a Falun Gong or a Uyghur organ, or1387possibly even a house Christian church organ. This absolutely1388should not be defended in any way.1389    And of course, from the academic perspective, they've1390absolutely not responded at all to this. This should be a1391blanket ban. That's what we had in the 1960's. I'm not saying1392it worked perfectly. I don't think it really changed Soviet1393behavior on how many dissidents got thrown into mental1394hospitals, but at the end of the day, we made a point. The1395world made a point, and today we're just looking at a kind of1396chaotic situation, I think, on contact with China.1397    Mr. Jekielek. Co-chair Smith, we've gotten into this1398habit--I1399remember I interviewed you some years ago. We talked about how1400this linkage of human rights and trade was broken during the1401Clinton administration. And basically ever since then human1402rights have been off the table. They've been in these off-the-1403books or quiet dialogues, which basically both sides, from what1404we learned on reporting subsequently, viewed cynically. They1405were purely performative, basically. It makes no sense, because1406if you're--as a regime, you're treating your people in a1407particular way, in this particular egregious way, the Chinese1408Communist Party has treated hundreds of thousands of its1409people, how do they view Americans?1410    This is somehow lost on people. We've gotten into this1411habit of saying, Okay, the human rights, just keep that off the1412table, got to keep it quiet, got to keep it--of course, I1413understand that the U.S. Government is raising these things in1414the appropriate venue and so forth, but--as Ambassador1415Brownback has talked about as well--it's their huge Achilles1416heel. They're doing terrible things to their own people, and we1417should make our own population here in America as aware as1418possible of that, and not play to the platitudes, or their1419propaganda--that this is all kind of false and just attacks on1420China and so forth. So I think human rights is the key.1421    Ambassador Brownback. I was just going to say, Mr.1422Chairman, I thought you said something earlier that I want to1423double back to. For years China has been given a bye on this,1424and they really have, for decades. Really until President1425Trump. He's the first President since Kennedy to actually take1426them on. Now, you know, today saying all these things about Xi1427Jinping that I'm kind of questioning about, but maybe that's1428part of the negotiating tactic. I hope it is. It seems to me1429like that bye is starting to be pulled off. And they're not1430getting a bye as much anymore. And we need to get to the point1431where they don't get a bye at all. I think a key piece of this1432is just really following the money.1433    As Governor I saw that our universities in our state, the1434university heads, their primary concern every morning they got1435up, was money. Money coming into the place, make sure the doors1436were operating, and I don't begrudge them that. They've got big1437institutions to run. They've got to make sure we've got plenty1438of money coming in here to run this place. That's what they're1439thinking about. And so China comes along and says, Here, we've1440got resources that you can use. That's why you've got to break1441these two economies apart. That's why the key piece of this1442actually--I think two key pieces. One, breaking the economies1443apart. And second, us standing up for human rights,1444particularly religious freedom because it's such a weakness on1445their part.1446    This is one of those things, it's kryptonite to them, and1447they do everything they can to suffocate it and hold it out of1448the room. When they bring up Taiwan, we should bring up1449religious freedom. When they bring up any of these issues, we1450should bring these, because this is just something they cannot1451tolerate. It's just such an effective tool. Finally, I think we1452ought to also double back and really press about opening up the1453great internet firewall that China has. The second-largest1454economy in the world and you've got an internet firewall around1455your people? Come on. That's not leadership. That's1456suffocation. And we really should embarrass them about it.1457    Co-chair Smith. You know, very interesting point about the1458internet. On one of my trips when I still could get a visa--I1459went to an internet cafe, I typed in ``torture,'' and I got1460everything about what Imperial Japan did vis-a-vis torture, and1461George Bush at Gitmo, which was false, in my opinion, but it1462was still there. Then I put in ``Manfred Nowak.'' He was1463mentioned earlier, because he did a tremendous job at exposing,1464on behalf of the United Nations, the torture there. And1465nothing. Nothing. I put in ``Tiananmen Square.'' I got nothing1466but pretty pictures of people smiling in Tiananmen Square. No1467tanks, no Tank Man, no anything. It was really amazing. And so1468we really have to find our voice more than ever right now.1469    I remember meeting Wei Jingsheng after he was allowed out1470in 1994. The Chinese Communist Party thought they would get1471Olympics 2000 by doing that. They didn't get it. They1472rearrested him. But while he was out I was in Beijing. We had1473dinner together. And he says, please, will you Americans1474understand this? When you kowtow and you weakly approach the1475Chinese Communist Party, they beat us more in prison. And he's1476the father of the Democracy Wall Movement. He suffered almost1477death at the hands of his torturers. And it's like, we've got1478to find our voice and stop saying, Oh, by the way, human1479rights. It doesn't work that way. We have to be so upfront.1480    And this issue of killing people--you know, I read a book1481before I came to Congress about Unit 731, where Imperial Japan1482did horrific torture against people, mostly servicemembers1483during World War II, in China. And I look at that, then I look1484at what they're doing now, and say, you know, You hated what1485happened to you. And I do too. But why are you replicating it1486in very large numbers beyond that?1487    But I would like to ask, Mr. Gutmann, if you don't mind,1488walk us through, if you could, or any of you, what a victim1489goes through. They've already been typed--you know, for their1490blood type and all the other things, so that a match can1491immediately be made. You have said before that there's pretty1492much an equal male to female--number of women that are being--1493average age 28 to 29--being slaughtered, murdered for their1494organs, as well as men, young men. And if you could just--what1495is this like?1496    Mr. Gutmann. I would--this is perhaps not the answer people1497want to hear, in a way, but it's actually less painful than it1498used to be. Partly because of Dr. Ko Wen-je, who pioneered this1499technique of using ECMO. That meant--originally what you would1500have to do is do very light anesthesia, because you don't want1501to put a sluggish organ into another human being. So the1502anesthesia had to be very light. And it was actually a very1503painful procedure, according to Nijat, who was a Uyghur who1504worked with the PSB. Now when he put in this new technique it1505basically meant you could put the person under full--pretty1506much full anesthesia, and you'd have the oxygenated organ. It1507would be kind of running through, so you had constant, kind of1508in a loop. You go into slow motion, but not that bad. And1509basically that meant that you could take out the organs in a1510much more rational way, and you could take them out slower, and1511one after the other, and finally the heart's the last to go.1512    I don't think the person is actually feeling that much. I1513think we're--you know, if you want, we've made improvements in1514this area. Now, the problem with that is that it also means1515that the person who was worth--you could only get an organ or1516two out of them and plausibly get it to the destination--this1517is something Didi Kirsten Tatlow from the New York Times1518worried about a lot--that person is now worth a lot more money1519because you can take out maybe up to five organs successfully,1520or four organs. Before it was only one or two. Now we're in a1521very different situation, because you've got, like, 16 hours,152224 hours to work with, with this perfusion method.1523    I'm not saying it's ECMO right now. By the way, I went to1524Taiwan for six months to try to figure this out and I don't1525know which perfusion method they are using. I know it started1526with ECMO. And ECMO--this is an off-label use. For any doctors1527out there listening, I am not criticizing ECMO. It's a1528lifesaving device. It's fantastic. But this is the way it's1529been used. And we're looking at a very kind of ``Brave New1530World'' situation. I was saying that they don't take organs1531around the world. That's now possible. I'm not saying they're1532doing it, because I see no actual evidence of that, but it1533could happen.1534    Co-chair Smith. But people go there to get the organs.1535    Mr. Gutmann. Well, right now people go to China. But1536increasingly these techniques have led to a different world,1537where it is possible for them to fly organs out, say, to Saudi1538or somewhere like that, or Russia, or Berlin. You know, this is1539what we're kind of looking at. And it also means new1540populations are potentially at risk. I don't want to--we don't1541see the evidence for this now. As far as I'm concerned, the1542Chinese are a lot like the old Soviet Union. They like to keep1543their rocket ships landing right in the country, not in1544international waters.1545    Co-chair Smith. And the average cost? How much do they1546make, like, for a liver or some other organ?1547    Mr. Gutmann. Well, it depends on who's buying it.1548Obviously, if it's a foreigner it's going to be about, you1549know, $100,000 for a liver these days, or something like that.1550And more like $200,000 for a heart or lungs. Or you sometimes1551get a package deal. Now if you're Japanese and don't want to1552negotiate, you might end up paying a million. So there's a huge1553difference between, say, Koreans, Japanese, Germans, Americans,1554and so forth. But we are still talking about huge profit1555potential on every individual who's healthy and is done1556correctly. Thanks.1557    Mr. Jekielek. Co-chair Smith, I just wanted to comment on1558these--the new populations. One of the things I noticed, kind1559of anecdotally, I'm very sensitive to this dehumanizing1560rhetoric that's used to target the population first, to get the1561rest of the population to kind of accept horrible things being1562done. It looked to me, anecdotally, that there's this uptick of1563that against Christians in China. And I actually talked with1564Bob Fu over here on ``American Thought Leaders,'' on my show,1565about this. And this sort of thing isn't studied empirically,1566but it really does look like, as there's this increased1567incarceration of Christians with the Zion Church, these1568restrictions on Catholic clergy and so forth, that there's this1569increase in dehumanizing rhetoric as well. I would love it if1570someone would study that empirically. But that's a big concern,1571because it's always this dehumanization that is a prequel to1572inclusion as a group for forced organ harvesting.1573    Co-chair Smith. Thank you.1574    Mr. Walkinshaw.1575    Mr. Walkinshaw. Thank you, Co-chair Smith. First, I just1576want to thank you for your many years of principled commitment1577to human rights issues and to this Commission. I'm new here but1578look forward to working with you. And thank you all for being1579here. As we sit here today, the PRC human rights atrocities1580such as forced organ harvesting--the President is participating1581in the U.S.-China summit. I think it's unfortunate that human1582rights issues don't seem to be high on the list of agenda1583topics in that summit, because for years folks here before us,1584researchers, ethics experts, survivors, and human rights1585advocates have raised alarming evidence--presented, I should1586say--alarming evidence that the PRC has systematically targeted1587Uyghurs, Falun Gong practitioners, and other religious and1588ethnic minorities for forced organ harvesting.1589    As we've heard today, detainees have been subject to1590unexplained blood testing and medical screening while in1591detention camps and prisons, and many later disappeared.1592Researchers estimate that tens of thousands of individuals,1593perhaps more, have been killed to supply China's transplant1594industry. This is a profound moral crisis. And I thank all of1595our witnesses for your commitment to addressing it. This1596Commission, thanks to Co-chair Smith's leadership, has1597documented evidence showing that Uyghurs and other Turkic1598minorities detained may now be a primary source of organs1599within China's transplant system. The targeting of Falun Gong1600practitioners and Uyghurs reflects, as we've heard today, a1601broader campaign of religious persecution that includes1602Christians in China, ethnic repression, and dehumanization1603carried out by the PRC. And this Commission has to continue1604examining these allegations and working to ensure that the1605abuses are documented, and pushing for them to come to an end.1606    Ms. Sidik--she can hear? Okay. Ms. Sidik, here in America1607folks might hear terms like ``detention camp'' or ``forced1608labor,'' but they might not understand what daily life is like1609in those camps and under this system. Can you just describe for1610us the atmosphere--the atmosphere of fear inside and outside1611the camps that we've heard about today?1612    Ms. Sidik [through translator]. When I was sent to the1613men's camp for six months, I saw horrific atrocities in those1614camps. One example is just in a little cell, 30 to 40 men are1615locked up. They sleep on very thin blankets. The detainees had1616to crawl in and crawl out. And the interrogation room is right1617next to the classroom. So usually they take detainees out for1618half an hour, an hour-ish. We hear these extreme screams from1619these detainees. And these detainees are all chained and1620shackled. They are given little, tiny chairs to sit down. You1621could see from their faces how scared, desperate they are. And1622that they are also--you could see crying, tears streaming from1623their eyes, but there is nothing I can do. I have to be very1624careful, because it's all cameras. And so I have to watch every1625word and my action in the class.1626    And in the women's prison, you can see all these women are1627like robots. You know, no hope, no life in their faces. The1628toilet is just a bucket in the cell. You know, they only dumped1629it once every 24 hours--their life is really, really horrible--1630the cell and the corridors stink because of that. All these1631women's hair is shaved. And they all have vests with numbers,1632so they are called not by name but by the vest number. And I1633could see when I was teaching them--they were sitting down--1634getting up is extremely difficult. You could see clear torture1635marks. And at times, you know, I hear they were abused and1636raped. And every Monday those women were given unidentified1637medications, so mothers who are nursing, their milk stops, and1638women's menstruation stops.1639    At one class I taught about the motherland, meaning China.1640Then one lady stood up and thanked the Chinese Communist Party1641and the government for giving her the opportunity to study the1642Chinese language there in the camp. And at the same time, she1643talked about that she just had a baby and in the camp her milk1644stopped. Another young woman also said, you know, I was1645supposed to get married a week later before I was taken, all1646the wedding invitations were sent out. But I'm grateful for the1647Chinese Communist Party for bringing me here for education,1648even though I don't know where my fiance is. And some others,1649who came straight from studying overseas, despite their parents1650telling them not to come back, they returned out of love for1651their parents, their homeland. But they were taken from the1652airport, sent straight to the camps. And there they also had no1653choice but to thank the Chinese Communist Party for their1654treatment.1655    Representative Walkinshaw. Thank you, Ms. Sidik, for1656sharing, and for your courage in speaking out. That's all I1657have, Mr. Co-chair. Thank you.1658    Co-chair Smith. Thank you, my good friend and colleague.1659    I'll just conclude--and anything you would like to add,1660please do--but first I want to thank Scott Flipse for his1661incredible leadership on this Commission, on human rights in1662general. Scott and I, and Frank Wolf, back in 1986 went to Perm1663Camp 35 in the Ural Mountains, where Sharansky--and pushed for1664the release of prisoners there. Took us two years to get into1665it. We lobbied like crazy when Gorbachev was saying, you know,1666glasnost and perestroika, all these buzzwords, that they were1667opening. And what seemed absolutely impossible, we went to the1668Ural Mountains, to this horrible place where all these1669prisoners were. Scott was indispensable to that effort, as he1670has been in Romania when we fought against Nicolae Ceausescu,1671and we had many trips there as well.1672    Even the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which I1673introduced and got passed in the House and passed in the Senate1674under Marco Rubio. It is the law. It was his idea. He never1675wants to take any credit. But I just want to say how grateful I1676am for all these years of not only never-ending pushing--you1677know, Sam, how important it is to have a staffer like Scott--1678but also to be so creative. The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention1679Act--a bill that is law right now and that has made a1680difference. This is the guy that did it. So I just want to1681thank him. [Applause.] He'll get mad at me later and say I1682shouldn't have done that, but I am so grateful for his1683leadership. And on this issue, it's just been incredible as1684well. So Scott, thank you for all your work on helping to put1685this very important hearing together.1686    I just want to say, when our bill passed on March 27th,16872023--the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act--it went nowhere in1688the Senate, and then passed a year ago, May 7th of 2025, when1689it passed, the Chinese embassy went into overdrive to say what1690a liar I was, that I'm making it all up--overdrive. And then1691almost at the same time, their foreign ministry said, anybody1692who wants to go to Xinjiang, nothing to hide, come on. So we1693did a letter that night when they said that and I said: I want1694to lead a congressional delegation there. I want to go to the1695camps. I want to--you know, we've done it, and we've done it1696many times. I even met with Xanana Gusmao when he was in an1697Indonesian jail, you know, way back. You can do it. And I re-1698offer that hope again, that the Chinese will let Members of1699Congress travel to China to go to places.1700    You know, if you go over there and talk trade and say,1701Let's make a deal, you know, the doors are wide open. But when1702you go over there and say, Human rights matter--religious1703freedom, as Sam Brownback says, is at the very top of our1704concerns, the door is slammed shut. So I reiterate that request1705to the Chinese embassy, to allow me and others to travel to1706Xinjiang and to China. But also, we need to pass this bill. We1707need to pass it yesterday, for all those victims. And this1708atrocity must end. If anyone would like to add anything before1709we close? Again, your testimony really shows us the way. I1710thank you for that.1711    All members have five legislative days to revise and extend1712and to add extraneous matter if they would like. If there are1713any additional questions from the commissioners, we will give1714them to you. And please get back to us as quickly as you can.1715The hearing is adjourned.1716    [Whereupon, at 11:48 a.m., the hearing ended.]17171718=======================================================================17191720                            A P P E N D I X17211722=======================================================================17231724                          Prepared Statements17251726                                ------17271728                  Prepared Statement of Ethan Gutmann17291730    In the Chinese transplant industry humans are the only element that1731can't be fully controlled. That's why I swear by field research. Over1732time, I have learned that all testimony--even that which doesn't1733support my ongoing thesis--is valuable.1734    Yet I've also been observing the often-skeptical Western world.1735Camp refugees who observed the organ harvesting selection process, or1736were nearly harvested themselves, matter. But the testimony of a1737medical practitioner who was directly involved in the transplant1738process clearly matters more. I'll briefly focus on these super1739witnesses, recap current harvesting rates, touch on Uyghur deportation1740from Central Asia, and close with a few personal thoughts on policy.1741    From ``The Slaughter'':1742    Fifteen years ago, in a Westminster hearing, Enver Tohti, a former1743Urumqi hospital surgeon, confessed that he used his ``own hands,'' to1744extract the kidneys and liver of a wounded, but salvageable, human1745being on a Xinjiang execution ground.1746    In 2013, Dr. Ko Wen-je of National Taiwan University Hospital1747agreed that I could publish the story of his quest for organs on behalf1748of his Taiwanese patients in a mainland hospital (probably Wuxi1749People's Hospital). When Ko expressed doubts about the quality of1750executed prisoner organs, his Mainland counterparts assured him that1751``all the organs will come from Falun Gong.''1752    ``The Xinjiang Procedure'' adds to this collection.1753    In 2007, an accidental witness: ``Cat,'' (Mr. Sugawara), was1754assisting his Yakuza chieftain prepare for a liver transplant in a1755Beijing Police hospital. Wandering into the wrong room, Cat found a1756bound, sedated young man--wrist and ankle tendons severed. A Chinese1757surgeon soothingly explained the young ``liver donor'' was Falun Gong.1758    In 2017, Sayragul Sauytbay, a teacher in a Kazakh and Uyghur camp,1759gained exclusive access to organize the camp's medical files. A red1760checkmark next to blood results signaled the individual had been pre-1761selected for harvesting. Several camp refugees recalled guards imposing1762color-coding--from pink vests to wristbands, a few nights before the1763actual disappearances.1764    In 2018, ``Samal,'' an ethnic Kazakh woman, was recruited by a1765Uyghur veterinarian to extract human intestines in preparation for the1766systematic extraction of organs. Why intestines? Because their1767workspace was in a secret medical compound, four floors under a Uyghur1768and Kazakh concentration camp with sub-standard ventilation.1769    And an update: While Dr. Ko knew that Falun Gong were being1770harvested, according to his Chinese colleagues, Ko became the ``teacher1771of ECMO to Mainland China''--directly instructing Chinese surgeons to1772exploit an off-label procedure for live organ harvesting. As mayor of1773Taipei and a Presidential candidate for the Taiwan presidency, Ko could1774have been the ultimate super witness. Instead, Ko was recently1775sentenced to 17 years in Taiwanese prison on corruption charges.1776    Along with a hunger for medical witnesses, there is a hunger for1777scale. The full publication of witness evidence in Chapter 5 concludes:17781779          2.5 to 5 percent forced disappearance rate in the1780        camps. (Average age 28-29. Specifications: taken at night,1781        final blood/DNA test to establish health and identity).17821783          Assuming one million in the Xinjiang camps, forced1784        labor factories, and other carceral environments, that's 25,0001785        to 50,000 Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other Turkic groups harvested1786        per year.17871788          Two to three organs extracted per individual to reach1789        the minimum requirement for China's transplant industry volume:1790        60,000 successful transplants per year.17911792          Minimum cumulative death total in Xinjiang: over1793        200,000 minimum and counting.17941795    Some analysts recently speculated that camps are closing (it may be1796inside baseball, but I would welcome a question on this). Either way,1797forced labor organs are the same as concentration camp organs, and the1798per capita medical attention that Xinjiang receives is extraordinary.1799Beijing recently pledged ``six more human organ transplantation medical1800institutions in the region by 2030.''1801    The round-up of Uyghurs from China's neighbors is also1802extraordinary. My interviews establish that 88 percent of Tajikistan's1803Uyghurs and 87 percent of Kyrgyzstan's Uyghurs have been deported back1804to Xinjiang. I also documented a new Chinese military base, just north1805of Tajikistan's Qolma Pass--about 30 miles from a Tajik mine speculated1806to contain 50 percent of the world's uranium.1807    The energy and mineral reserves of the Pamir and the Kyrgyz1808mountain ranges are the ``South China Sea'' of China's western1809frontier. With Russia at war, without a U.S. presence, a new nine-dash1810line is theoretically possible.1811    Regarding policy: I like all the bills. But I support passing the1812Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act first because it follows the surgical1813lead; the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation put1814the Chinese transplant industry (and implicitly, The Transplantation1815Society) on notice with an academic boycott of China in 2022.1816Withdrawal of legitimacy should now be immediate and comprehensive.1817    Nothing changes without embarrassment and trauma; 1 day after my1818press conference on Ko, Taiwanese medical authorities withdrew1819immunosuppressive drug coverage for Taiwanese patients who receive1820Chinese organs. We could do that here. And instead of attempting to1821police the entire import/export medical industry, we could immediately1822investigate Thermo Fisher for providing the DNA tests used on an1823estimated 10 million Uyghurs and Kazakhs.1824    A word on limitations. The Party responds to embarrassment by1825hiding, adapting, altering the production process, and adding new1826layers of complexity. Beijing loves games. So we might need to consider1827changing the stakes of the game.1828    I don't have a 20-point plan, just a parting thought. Falun Gong is1829a majority Han Chinese spiritual movement. They have no choice; their1830sacred mission is to change China. And they deserve our support.1831    Yet small nations rise--often it's a delayed response--when mass1832murder and wanton neglect have placed their future survival as a people1833in question. Ireland, the potato famine. Ukraine, Stalin's mass1834starvation. Israel, the gas chambers. East Turkestan, organ harvesting.1835    Re-entering history is a bloody affair, yet these nations came back1836from the dead. Even if it begins as a cynical negotiation tactic, a1837tacit threat, a Uyghur state, even a democratic Uyghur state, is1838possible. The liberation of Central Asia is possible. For the Party,1839that's the nightmare scenario.1840    And the most improbable scenario of all is the systematic reform of1841the Chinese transplant system. But if our first objective is to stanch1842the bleeding, apply immediate and consistent pressure. Pass this bill.1843                                 ______18441845               Prepared Statement of Ambassador Brownback18461847    We are in a clash of civilizations between the democratic West and1848its allies versus the Chinese Communist Party with its evil alliance of1849communist, authoritarian, and totalitarian regimes. The winner will1850establish how societies are conducted now and in the future.1851    Western civilization is built on the Judeo-Christian ethic that1852every person has an eternal soul with immeasurable worth and dignity.1853It believes that all are endowed with inalienable natural rights that1854come from God, not government.1855    Communism, on the other hand, boils man down to an economic being1856and denies the existence of these divine rights. In the Communist1857framework, all power is derived from and controlled by the government.1858It cannot and will not tolerate a power above itself.1859    In pursuit of this absolute power, the Chinese Communist Party1860(CCP) today is ruthlessly crushing every religion. Their methods are1861unfathomable to most in the West, including the mass deployment of1862crimes such as forced organ harvesting.1863    Disfavored religious communities are particularly targeted by the1864perpetrators of the forced organ harvesting scheme, with Falun Gong1865practitioners systematically catalogued based on biometric markers and1866then murdered for their organs. The organs of Uyghur Muslims are1867marketed to wealthy Middle Easterners as ``halal,'' in an unimaginably1868cynical perversion of their Muslim faith.1869    Decades of careful research has shown that this issue is not merely1870contained within China--it's a moral blight that involves ``medical1871tourists'' from dozens of countries around the world, including the1872U.S. and its allies in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Chinese1873transplant institutions openly market organs to customers around the1874world in a global scheme that relies on the financial infrastructure1875operated by the West.1876    The CCP is conducting three religious genocides as we speak--1877against Tibetan Buddhists, Uyghur Muslims, and Falun Gong1878practitioners.1879    In addition, the CCP is training and resourcing other authoritarian1880regimes around the world with the latest in surveillance technology,1881enabling them to be better dictators by crushing non-compliant people1882of faith in their countries.1883    As the leading Western civilization nation in the world, on our1884250th anniversary and founded on the principle of religious freedom for1885all, the United States must courageously stand in opposition to this1886fundamental assault on liberty. This is why I wrote the book, ``China's1887War on Faith.''1888    The U.S. must embrace a policy stance that reflects the importance1889of religious freedom and China's hostility toward it:18901891     1.  We must act on the reality that the CCP is at war with us.18921893     2.  We should stand on our core principles, including defending1894religious freedom for everyone.18951896     3.  Religious freedom should be viewed as not only a human right,1897but as a strategic weapon we use in our theater engagement strategy1898with the CCP, just as President Reagan did with the USSR.18991900     4.  The President, Vice President, and Secretary of State should1901host public meetings with Chinese exiles of all religions who have been1902persecuted for their faith.19031904     5.  The White House or Congress should host a global summit of1905religious, democratic, and political leaders calling for religious1906freedom for everyone, everywhere, all the time--including in China.19071908     6.  The United States should lead a global coalition of1909governments, academics, and medical and financial institutions to1910openly condemn forced organ harvesting and take concrete steps to end1911international complicity in the practice.19121913     7.  We ask the President to seek from Xi Jinping the release of1914Pastor Ezra Jin, Jimmy Lai, and the nine Catholic bishops currently1915detained in China.19161917     8.  We ask Pope Leo to criticize China for its three ongoing1918genocides and to publicly seek the release of the nine detained1919Catholic bishops, Pastor Ezra Jin, and Jimmy Lai.19201921     9.  We should send the Vice President or Secretary of State to1922Dharamshala, India to meet with the Dalai Lama to discuss the future of1923Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism.19241925    10.  We should make religious freedom a major policy focus at the1926G20 Summit we host this year.19271928    11.  The President should include, in his speeches commemorating1929the 250th anniversary of our Nation's founding, the central role1930religious freedom played in it and call for religious freedom around1931the world.19321933    12.  Our media, Hollywood, academia, and big business must start1934shining a light on these horrific practices being conducted by the1935Chinese government and no longer look the other way.19361937    President Trump can be the first president since President Kennedy1938to effectively confront the Chinese government. This must be a1939sustained U.S. policy, similar to our long-term policy of confronting1940the USSR, conducted by both political parties over four decades.1941    We must tell the world how ruthless and barbaric the CCP is and how1942far they are willing to go to control their own people. Our most1943effective weapon to confront totalitarians is a free religious people.1944It is a weapon that the CCP fears more than our aircraft carriers or1945even our nuclear weapons.1946                                 ______19471948                   Prepared Statement of Jan Jekielek19491950    Chairman, Co-Chairman, and distinguished members of the Commission,1951thank you for the opportunity to testify today.1952    If there's one thing we can all agree on in America, it is this:1953the United States should not fund, enable, or participate in any system1954that rips organs from unwilling donors and treats human lives as1955disposable commodities.1956    What I am about to describe is not the black-market organ trade run1957by cartels we most typically hear about. This is something far more1958systematic, and far more industrialized. It is state-sponsored killing1959of innocents, on demand, to supply a multi-billion-dollar transplant1960industry. I'll start with a telling example detailed in my book, Killed1961to Order: China's Organ Harvesting Industry & the True Nature of1962America's Biggest Adversary:19631964        ``An affluent German woman from Monchengladbach, with the rare1965        AB blood type, struggled with alcoholism for years, and faced1966        liver failure. In systems like Germany's, finding a match might1967        take years, or not happen at all. Yet she obtained three livers1968        in China around 2015-2019, each in just months, for1969        approximately $400,000, involving a visit to China for each1970        procedure. Her continued drinking, combined with anti-rejection1971        medications, led to quick rejections of each liver--one about1972        every 2 years.''19731974    How did this happen? It appears to have been indirectly facilitated1975by a major transplant center in the Eurotransplant zone which had1976listed partnerships with China on liver donor research and anti-1977rejection work as recently as 2025.1978    This demand extends to Americans as well. In one well-documented1979case, a man traveled to China for a kidney transplant. He received a1980perfectly matched organ in 2 weeks, then he returned home. He was aware1981someone was killed for this1982purpose. We know this because his cousin documented the trip in the19832009 book1984Larry's Kidney.1985    Now compare that to the United States, where the average wait time1986for a new kidney is three to five years.1987    To understand how this is possible, we must begin with two1988essential tools the Chinese Communist Party has perfected over decades.1989    First, the creation of what the regime itself calls a ``black1990class,'' a designated enemy group that the rest of the population is1991taught to hate, fear, and see as subhuman through relentless, state-1992controlled propaganda. In the early years after 1949, the landowners1993became one of the first black classes. They were portrayed as parasites1994who had stolen from the people. The regime flooded the country with1995this message until ordinary citizens accepted, and in many cases1996participated in, the confiscation of their property and often their1997lives. During the Cultural Revolution, the educated and keepers of1998traditional culture were targeted for vilification. This is the1999pattern: designate a group as subhuman, flood the information space2000with propaganda, and the population becomes psychologically prepared2001for atrocities against the target group. The persecution of each black2002class also serves as a stark reminder to the entire population of the2003raw power of the Communist state, and what can happen to anyone who2004dares to challenge it.2005    The second key tool is the infrastructure to incarcerate massive2006numbers of people at will.2007    Prisons, black jails, re-education camps, and forced labor camps2008are just part of an incarceration system with capacity for millions.2009    It was the Chinese communist regime's designation of Falun Gong2010practitioners as a black class in 1999, and a directive to2011``eradicate'' them, that set the stage for ``killed to order'' forced2012organ harvesting. Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient2013qigong, or slow motion exercise practice that resembles Tai Chi, rooted2014in the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.2015(Another way to translate this is being True, Good and Enduring). Falun2016Gong features extensive teachings written by its founder, Master Li2017Hongzhi. It's also characterized by an unusual lack of organizational2018structure: no collection of funds, no roster (you don't ``join''2019anything, you're a practitioner if you decide to live by its2020principles), no hierarchy, and no worship of a deity. It spread by word2021of mouth in the 1990's in China, growing, by government estimate, to an2022estimated 70 million-100 million people practicing. This included2023people of all walks of life, from high-level CCP officials to migrant2024field workers, and everyone in between.2025    There are different theories about why the Chinese paramount leader2026at the time, Jiang Zemin, ordered the persecution of Falun Gong2027practitioners. Perhaps it was because the number of practitioners had2028grown greater than communist party members; perhaps it was because they2029were from a broad cross section of society; perhaps because he was2030jealous of Li Hongzhi, which ample evidence shows he was. Or perhaps it2031was because the Chinese Communist Party, with its decades of2032totalitarian rule, simply couldn't abide how much individual agency2033practicing Falun Gong fostered in people. If one were to design a2034system that could withstand totalitarian control and overreach, it2035might look something like Falun Gong.2036    Unlike previous black classes, large numbers of Falun Gong2037practitioners refused to be re-educated. They resisted at a scale the2038regime had never before encountered. As a result, the CCP incarcerated2039a massive number of them, and enacted an unwritten rule: all Falun Gong2040deaths in China's massive incarceration system would be considered2041suicides. In 2005, the U.S. State Department estimated that roughly2042half of all people in China's Reeducation Through Labor (RTL) system2043were Falun Gong practitioners. In 2006, the United Nations Special2044Rapporteur on Torture, Manfred Nowak, reported that Falun Gong2045practitioners accounted for 66 percent of the torture cases he2046documented during his visit to China.2047    This created the perfect supply for an organ industry that was2048ready to grow but needed a reliable, on-demand source.2049    In any ethical transplant system such as that of the United States,2050vital organs typically come from catastrophic accidents. To reduce the2051chance of rejection, blood type and histology are also matched. Thus2052the supply of organs is always much less than the demand. Patients must2053wait months or years. The system is conditioned on tragedy. This2054creates a pool of people willing to go to great lengths for a second2055chance at life.2056    The Chinese Communist Party saw this as an opportunity. As I2057recount in Chapter 5 of Killed to Order, bringing together the evidence2058gathered by different researchers and groups over the last 20 years,2059the regime took the massive population of healthy, dehumanized and2060incarcerated Falun Gong practitioners, and started blood-typing,2061tissue-typing, and organ-scanning them, and creating a data base. So2062when a patient, whether Chinese super-elite or foreign transplant2063tourist, needs a heart, liver, or kidney, a match could be quickly2064found and the prisoner killed to order. One of the earliest2065whistleblowers exposing this was a transplant surgeon, Dr. Jacob Lavee,2066whose patient in 2005 had a heart transplant scheduled and then enacted2067within 2 weeks' time.2068    The years 2000-2005 saw a massive surge in growth of transplant2069hospitals in China. Ethan Gutmann, who is also testifying today,2070estimated in congressional testimony in 2016 that there were 602071thousand to 100 thousand transplants being done in China annually.2072    Tragically, after years of little to no meaningful international2073action on forced organ harvesting of Falun Gong, it was around this2074time that the Chinese Communist Party also expanded this atrocity to2075another group. They dehumanized the Uyghur Muslim population in the2076Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, incarcerated a massive number of2077them, and proceeded to use them in ``killed to order'' fashion. In2078Xinjiang, which now operates as a high-tech police state, authorities2079have gone door-to-door collecting blood and tissue samples from2080ordinary citizens in their own homes, expanding the pool of potential2081organ donors. As noted in a 2022 European Parliament resolution, a2082Beijing hospital actually advertised `` `halal organs' from Uyghurs and2083Muslim minorities.''2084    The overall number of transplant hospitals has only grown,2085substantially, since then.2086    It is important to note that China did not even have a nationwide2087public donor registry until 2014 and even today, it only claims about 72088million registered donors--less than 5 percent of the United States'2089more than 170 million.2090    This is why I titled my book Killed to Order. Because that is2091exactly what it is: organs delivered on a schedule, matched in advance,2092extracted from living human beings who are then discarded. It is2093industrialized forced organ harvesting made possible by the CCP's2094unique combination of totalitarian control, mass dehumanization, and2095the willingness to turn human beings into spare parts for profit, power2096and elite longevity.2097    Unfortunately, the United States is not innocent in this atrocity.2098American universities and hospitals have partnered with Chinese2099transplant centers, trained hundreds of Chinese transplant surgeons,2100and conducted joint research. The NIH has funded projects involving2101Chinese transplant institutions. American companies supply critical2102immunosuppressive drugs and medical technologies used in these2103procedures. American patients have traveled to China for transplants.2104Just last year, the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition2105Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party sent a letter2106to Harvard University raising serious concerns about its collaboration2107with Chinese entities implicated in forced organ harvesting.2108    It is critical to understand that the systematic forced organ2109harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners, and members of other persecuted2110groups such as the Uyghurs, is not an isolated crime, but part of a far2111more comprehensive pattern of abuses that are inflicted on believers as2112the final stage of a violent suppression campaign.2113    The official position of the U.S. Government is that the Chinese2114Communist Party is enacting a genocide against its Uyghur Muslim2115population. A number of international legal experts, including Caylan2116Ford, have concluded that these atrocities against Falun Gong also2117demonstrate genocidal intent. Communist Party documents explicitly call2118for the ``complete eradication'' of Falun Gong. The Party's 610 Office2119has directed a nationwide apparatus of persecution involving mass2120imprisonment without due process, forced ideological conversion,2121dehumanization through state media, social and economic isolation,2122torture, and extrajudicial killing.2123    These actions precisely fulfill the legal definition of genocide2124under the Genocide Convention: the deliberate infliction of serious2125bodily and mental harm, conditions calculated to bring about physical2126destruction, and the targeted killing of members of the group. The2127systematic harvesting of organs from living prisoners represents one of2128the clearest manifestations of this intent to destroy Falun Gong in a2129biological and physical sense.2130    As Ms. Ford so aptly concludes, China's persecutory campaign that2131includes, indeed features, forced organ harvesting, constitutes2132genocide.2133    So what can be done?2134    First, end all American participation in and cooperation with2135China's organ transplant system. Congress should direct the Department2136of Health and Human Services (HHS), in coordination with the State2137Department and NIH, to conduct a full audit of any U.S. ties, including2138funding, research collaborations, physician training programs, data2139sharing, or procurement partnerships, with China's organ transplant2140system. Further, HHS should immediately cease issuing or recognizing2141Federalwide Assurances (FWAs) for any Chinese institutions connected to2142organ transplantation. The FWA is the formal process by which HHS2143certifies that a foreign institution meets U.S. ethical standards for2144human subjects research. Once granted, this certification allows the2145institution to receive Federal funding and collaborate with American2146universities, hospitals, and researchers. Revoking FWAs for transplant-2147related Chinese entities would be a direct and effective way to cut off2148U.S. support.2149    The International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation has2150formally declared that they will not accept submissions related to2151organ or tissue transplantation from human donors in China.2152    Second, sanction those involved. There are two bipartisan pieces of2153legislation that address this specifically--S. 4009 (Falun Gong and2154Victims of Forced Organ Harvesting Protection Act, a Senate-modified2155version of H.R. 1540) and H.R. 1503 (Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act).2156Both have passed the U.S. House near-unanimously and now await Senate2157confirmation.2158    Third, expand state laws banning insurance reimbursements or public2159funding for organ transplants linked to forced harvesting in China. Six2160states have already done so--Texas, Arizona, Idaho, Tennessee, Utah,2161and Arkansas--which leaves forty-four left to go.2162    Federally, the Block Organ Transplant Purchases from China Act of21632025 (H.R. 2114, ``BLOCK Act''), still in committee, would bar Federal2164funds (Medicare, Medicaid) from covering transplants sourced in China,2165shutting down any American complicity through transplant tourism.2166    Eight countries have enacted binding national laws addressing2167China-related organ trafficking and transplant tourism.2168    Fourth, at the grassroots level, I hope Americans can spread the2169word, like through the End Forced Organ Harvesting satellite Rotary2170Club, so their fellow Americans and beyond know not to go to China for2171any more organ transplants.2172    On the eve of the 250th anniversary of America's founding, it's2173appropriate to remember that this country was built on a foundational2174belief in the God-given rights of every individual and the inherent2175dignity of every human being. That forged2176the ethical principles that still define America: the sacred right to2177bodily autonomy,2178and the moral imperative to oppose any regime that treats people as2179harvestable resources.2180    It is why America has already taken concrete steps to investigate2181at least two transplant systems that have allegedly repeatedly violated2182the dead donor rule. Yet we still cooperate with one on the other side2183of the globe that commits atrocities on an industrial scale. Let's take2184immediate action to stop that.2185    Thank you. I look forward to your questions.2186                                 ______21872188                  Prepared Statement of Kalbinur Sidik21892190    Honorable Chair, distinguished members, and respected committee2191members:2192    Thank you for giving me the opportunity to testify. My name is2193Kalbinur Sidik. I am from our homeland, Uyghuristan (East Turkestan),2194from the city of Urumqi. I am a witness to the detention camps, and I2195am ethnically Uzbek.2196    For 28 years, I worked as a Chinese language teacher and held2197important administrative positions at Urumqi City No. 24 Elementary2198School. Never did I imagine that one day I would be forced to teach2199inside a detention camp, or that I would become a witness to the crimes2200committed by the Chinese Communist Party against Uyghurs and other2201minority peoples.2202    Today, I stand before you to speak about atrocities, including the2203possibility of forced organ harvesting. I will tell you only the2204truth--only what I personally witnessed and experienced.2205    In March 2017, I was sent under a 6-month contract to teach in a2206men's camp located on a mountain in Sangfanggou Village No. 5, Urumqi2207City. The authorities told us we would be teaching ``students'' in a2208literacy training course. But they were not students. They were2209prisoners.2210    They were fathers, young men, businessmen, religious figures,2211intellectuals, people from all walks of life, and ordinary citizens.2212There were also elderly men among them. They had been taken from their2213homes and imprisoned behind barbed wire, triple iron gates,2214surveillance cameras, armed guards, and locked cells.2215    Every Monday, no classes were held for the detainees. Instead,2216blood was drawn from them. They were given unidentified injections.2217Afterwards, they were given small white pills. Chinese nurses told me,2218``These are vitamins or calcium supplements. Since the detainees never2219see sunlight, the government ordered us to take care of them this2220way.''2221    But I did not believe them.2222    How could a government that imprisoned, starved, tortured, and2223humiliated these people suddenly care about their vitamins? No, that2224was impossible. At that time, and even now, I believe there was another2225purpose behind it.2226    I also witnessed healthy men disappearing. I clearly remember one2227man named Osman. He was active in class and eager to learn. He was a2228wealthy businessman and appeared very strong and healthy at first.2229Among hundreds of people, I could easily recognize his face. Then one2230day, he disappeared. When I asked what had happened to him, I was told2231he suffered from high blood pressure and diabetes and had died on the2232way to the hospital.2233    There was another man who sat at the far end of the first row in2234the classroom. He too was hardworking, and I still remember his face2235vividly. Later, he also disappeared. I was told he died from ``kidney2236poisoning.''2237    I did not believe these explanations.2238    Every day in the classroom, detainees were constantly replaced.2239Older and stronger prisoners were taken away, while new ones arrived.2240Familiar faces disappeared, and we were expected to accept whatever2241explanation the guards gave us.2242    Later, when I testified before parliaments in various countries, I2243was asked about the disappearance of detainees and organ harvesting. I2244told them what I had heard while working in the camps.2245    The special police driver who transported me, and the police2246officer assigned to accompany me, often talked among themselves. They2247said: ``Right now in our country, the `halal organ trade' is booming.2248The detoxification center in Michuan, Urumqi, has now become an organ2249transplant center.''2250    I did not witness the surgeries. I did not personally see organs2251being removed. But I heard these conversations.2252    Later, after hearing my testimony, a close relative and friend of2253mine living in Europe--married to a foreigner--spoke to me on the2254condition of anonymity. She personally told me that the Michuan2255``detoxification center'' had indeed been transformed into an organ2256extraction hospital.2257    In 2018, she and her foreign husband were sent there for medical2258examinations before leaving for Europe. During that process, she saw2259many young detainees wearing prison uniforms lined up under heavy2260Chinese police supervision, entering designated rooms. She also2261observed that the number of doctors had increased greatly and that2262doctors were carrying unusual containers in their hands as they exited2263the rooms. She told me this with her own mouth and begged me to speak2264about it in my testimony.2265    So for the second time, I heard directly from someone I personally2266knew--someone who claimed to have seen with her own eyes that this2267place had become an organ harvesting hospital.2268    In the camps, I witnessed blood collection from detainees,2269injections, forced medication, disappearances, and the secrecy2270surrounding everything.2271    Therefore, if you ask me today whether I believe the Chinese2272Communist Party turned Uyghurs in the camps into a source of profit2273through a so-called ``halal organ trade,'' my answer is: ``Yes. Yes. A2274hundred times yes.''2275    While I was in these camps, I witnessed horrors beyond words.2276Chinese police humiliated detainees to a level no human being should2277endure. They stripped them of their humanity. They did not call them by2278their names, but by numbers. They tried to break their minds, destroy2279their faith, and erase their dignity.2280    Let me tell you more about what I witnessed, so that the world will2281never forget the genocide taking place in East Turkestan.2282    When I first entered the men's camp, I walked into a building2283surrounded by barbed wire, electric doors, armed police, soldiers, and2284locked gates. The detainees were brought out from their cells. Chains2285and shackles were on their hands and feet. Many still had unshaven2286beards because they had only recently arrived. Their eyes looked at me2287with desperation--as if I had come to save them.2288    But I could not save them. I could not even help them. Guards2289surrounded me everywhere. The cells were dark. The windows were sealed2290shut. The detainees slept on bare concrete floors with only a thin2291blanket. For all three meals, they received only a small Chinese bun2292and watery rice soup. They were allowed to use the toilet only for very2293short periods of time. During the entire 6 months I was there, they2294were never once allowed to bathe.2295    Their bodies weakened. Their faces changed. Healthy people became2296thin, pale, and exhausted.2297    I taught 4 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon--2298sometimes even 4 additional hours during inspection periods. But2299gradually I realized the purpose there was not education. The purpose2300was control.2301    Later, detainees were forced to memorize ``red songs,'' patriotic2302songs praising the Chinese Communist Party and Xi Jinping, and2303political slogans. The detainees were forced to praise the same2304Communist Party that had imprisoned them. They were forced to express2305gratitude toward the very system destroying them.2306    During lessons, police would call detainees out not by name, but by2307number, and take them for interrogation. The interrogation room was2308next to the classroom. Shortly after they were taken away,2309heartbreaking screams could be heard. They were tortured with devices2310such as electric batons, electric ``tiger chairs,'' electric gloves,2311and electric helmets.2312    After my 6-month assignment in the men's camp ended, I was sent to2313a women's camp located in Tugong, Saybagh District, Urumqi. There I saw2314many women and girls. Most were highly educated. Their hair had been2315cut short. They wore gray prison uniforms with blue numbered vests over2316them. Their faces were pale and lifeless.2317    About 90 percent of these detainees were between 18 and 40 years2318old. The remaining 10 percent were older women, some even in their2319seventies and eighties. These women and girls were also given2320medication and unidentified injections. As a result, many of them2321completely stopped menstruating.2322    Some had studied abroad. During lessons, they were forced first to2323thank the Chinese Communist Party and government before telling their2324stories.2325    One woman said she had recently given birth and still had a nursing2326baby, but her breast milk had stopped.2327    Another young woman said she had been preparing for marriage when2328she was suddenly taken to the camp, and that she no longer even knew2329where her fiance was. Yet she was forced to thank the government for2330providing such a ``good opportunity'' to learn the ``national2331language.'' Others said they had been taken directly to the camp2332immediately after returning from studies abroad.2333    From the way these women painfully sat and stood, I could sense the2334severe abuse they had suffered. Tears constantly streamed from their2335eyes.2336    In this camp, I heard about rape and sexual violence committed by2337Chinese police. I heard that guards used electric batons and other2338weapons to abuse detainees. I personally witnessed the body of a young2339girl, around 18 to 20 years old, being carried away before my eyes. I2340later heard that she had bled to death.2341    Outside the camps, the control continued. The Chinese government2342placed so-called ``Chinese paired relatives''--Han Chinese men--inside2343the homes of Uyghur women, especially in homes where husbands had been2344taken to camps. Even in their own homes, these women faced various2345forms of abuse and humiliation. People were afraid to speak. Phones2346were monitored. Relatives abroad became a source of danger.2347    My daughter was in the Netherlands, and we lived constantly in fear2348and anxiety. Under pressure from neighborhood committees and assigned2349police officers, we were also forced to undergo sterilization2350procedures at Changleyuan Hospital in Tianshan District. Even though I2351did not want this, I had no choice. My safety and the safety of my2352family depended on obeying government demands. That is why I say: we no2353longer had ownership over our own bodies.2354    Because of time limitations, I will end my testimony here.2355    I am one of the fortunate few who managed to escape after enduring2356tremendous suffering. The people inside the camps cannot speak to you.2357They have no way to make their voices heard. I am standing here today,2358at enormous personal cost, to tell you this truth--because the men who2359disappeared, the women who were abused, the mothers separated from2360their babies, and the families destroyed by this genocide need2361witnesses.2362    Honorable Chair, distinguished leaders, and committee members: I2363ask you not to turn your eyes away from this tragedy.2364    The horrific violence taking place in East Turkestan is not merely2365a crime. It is part of a system that sees Uyghurs--the original2366inhabitants of that land--as less than human. This is genocide. The2367world once said, ``Never again.'' Yet in East Turkestan, it is2368happening again. I ask the U.S. Congress never to forget the Uyghur2369genocide. I urge you to continue investigations and hold the Chinese2370Communist Party accountable.2371    Thank you.2372                                 ______23732374                 Prepared Statement of Hon. Chris Smith23752376    Last September, the world heard something chilling.2377    As Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un walked together in2378Beijing, a hot mic picked up an unguarded conversation about organ2379transplants and the possibility of living to 150 years old.2380    That was not macabre small talk among aging dictators. It was a2381glimpse behind the curtain--a glimpse into a world where human beings2382can be treated as interchangeable parts to prolong the lives of2383autocrats. But forced organ harvesting is not healing. It is murder2384masquerading as medicine.2385    Today, this Commission examines one of the most barbaric human2386rights atrocities of our time: the forced harvesting of organs from2387prisoners of conscience, death row inmates, and other vulnerable2388people--especially in Communist China.2389    Let me be clear: ethical organ transplantation is noble and2390lifesaving. But what we are examining today is the opposite. It is the2391conversion of the imprisoned and persecuted into inventory. Hearts.2392Livers. Kidneys. Lungs. Corneas. Taken from the living. Sold to the2393desperate. Hidden behind hospital walls. Protected by secrecy,2394corruption, fear, and state power.2395    I chaired my first hearing on forced organ harvesting thirty years2396ago, on June 18, 1996. Since then, the evidence has become more2397disturbing, more detailed, and more compelling.2398    The most persistent allegations in China centered first on Falun2399Gong practitioners--peaceful men and women targeted by the Chinese2400Communist Party for eradication. Later came mounting evidence2401concerning Uyghurs, already victims of genocide in the Uyghur region;2402Tibetans; Christians; death row inmates; and others treated as property2403of the state.2404    Experts, like Ethan Gutmann, have documented how this atrocity2405expanded from death row prisoners to prisoners of conscience and2406religious detainees. The China Tribunal concluded that forced organ2407harvesting has been committed in China for years, on a significant2408scale. Witnesses at previous hearings have warned us about military2409hospitals, impossibly short wait times, organs available on demand, and2410a transplant system that cannot withstand scrutiny.2411    And yet Beijing now asks the world to believe the problem has been2412solved. It says its transplant system now meets international2413standards. And once again, the disappointing and corrupt WHO takes2414Beijing's claims at face value--just as it did in the early days of2415COVID.2416    But today, this Commission has received rare and extraordinary2417eyewitness accounts from inside the Chinese gulag itself: Ali2418Motevalian's written submission details his incarceration in a PLA-2419linked prison hospital near Shanghai, and Kalbinur Sidik's testimony2420from the detention camps of the Uyghur region. Together, their accounts2421shatter Beijing's fiction that its transplant system is voluntary,2422transparent, and compliant with international standards.2423    Ali Motevalian spent years inside China's prison system. His2424submission describes coerced thumbprints on so-called consent forms,2425bondage, tranquilizers, ``last rooms of terminal patients,'' prisoners2426taken to surgery and not returned, mobile freezer carts, and bodies2427moved toward incineration. His account strikes at the heart of2428Beijing's favorite defense. The Chinese Communist Party told the world2429it had ended the use of executed prisoners' organs. Ali says otherwise.2430    Inside the prison hospital system, in 2020 and 2021--years after2431Beijing told the world it had stopped taking organs from prisoners--Ali2432says he saw unconscious, shackled men, known as ``sleepers,'' brought2433by armed personnel directly into surgery rooms. They never returned.2434That is not voluntary donation. That is execution by organ extraction.2435    Kalbinur Sidik brings us inside another part of the Chinese gulag:2436the camps of the Uyghur region. I will not summarize her testimony in2437detail, because in just a few minutes she will speak for herself. But2438her account shows a system where human beings are reduced to numbers,2439where the state controls the body as well as the mind, and where2440coercion and fear are used to destroy dignity.2441    The prison hospitals and gulag described in these testimonies are2442not places of care, rehabilitation, or education. They are crime2443scenes--part of a system of coercion, medical abuse, and genocide in2444China.2445    Organ crimes are not just a China problem. It is a global one that2446flourishes wherever coercion, poverty, corruption, secrecy, and demand2447intersect.2448    That is why Congress must act.2449    The House has twice passed my legislation with overwhelming2450bipartisan support. H.R. 1503, the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act of24512025, passed the House 406 to 1.2452    It would criminalize forced organ trafficking, impose serious2453sanctions, require reporting, deny visas, and create penalties of up to245420 years in prison and up to a $1 million fine for knowing complicity.2455    This bill is not a press release. It is enforceable policy. It says2456to brokers, traffickers, corrupt officials, complicit doctors,2457hospitals, researchers, insurers, and middlemen: if you profit from2458coerced transplants, directly or indirectly, you should risk your2459money, your visa, your access to the United States, and your freedom.2460    The Senate has not acted on the bill, but they must. Delay is2461denial.2462    Every day without consequences is another day perpetrators operate2463in the shadows, witnesses are intimidated, evidence disappears, and2464families never learn what happened to their loved ones.2465    Forced organ harvesting is barbaric. It is systematic. It is state-2466enabled. And it is big business.2467    And, speaking frankly, no one wants Xi Jinping or Vladimir Putin to2468live forever. I suspect on this point there would be broad bipartisan2469agreement. But behind that dark irony is a deadly serious point: no2470dictator, no party boss, no wealthy patient, and no broker should be2471able to purchase longevity with the organs of the poor and persecuted.2472    That is all the more reason to pass the Stop Forced Organ2473Harvesting Act and make unmistakably clear that the United States will2474not stand by in the face of such cruelty. Not with our expertise. Not2475with our money. Not with a dollar of American complicity.2476    Thank you.2477                       Submissions for the Record24782479                                ------24802481                 Statement of Seyed Alireza Motevalian24822483Chinese Prisons and Organ Harvesting24842485    My name is Seyed Alireza Motevalian, commonly known as Ali. I am an2486Iranian-born refugee and a victim of wrongful imprisonment in the2487People's Republic of China. I lived in China as a businessman from 20092488until 2023. I was arrested in Shanghai with my Chinese wife, Jessica2489Liu Zhiyu, on May 2, 2013. We were formally arrested on June 8, 2013,2490tried in 2014, and convicted under Article 225 of the Chinese Criminal2491Code for alleged illegal business operations outside the scope of our2492business license.2493    My sentence was 10 years. My wife was sentenced to 8 years. Several2494of our staff received shorter sentences. I maintained my innocence2495throughout my imprisonment and served my full sentence. My wife was2496released earlier but was not allowed to leave China after her release.2497    I am submitting this statement because during my incarceration I2498spent extended periods inside Shanghai Prison's General Hospital,2499located within the Nanhui Prison campus in Shanghai's Pudong District.2500There, I observed a repeated institutional pattern that I understood to2501be non-consensual organ procurement from prisoners. My observations2502were not based on one incident. They came from repeated hospital stays,2503repeated transfers through the building, views from hospital-room2504windows, encounters in corridors and controlled areas, and2505conversations with convict orderlies, doctors, and other prisoners.25062507My imprisonment and transfer to the prison hospital25082509    After our conviction and the rejection of our appeal in 2015, I was2510transferred to Shanghai's Qingpu Prison in 2016. My wife was2511transferred to Shanghai Women's Prison.2512    After exhausting legal remedies, I began a hunger strike in Qingpu2513Prison in March 2018. By May 2018, my health had deteriorated badly,2514and I was sent to Shanghai Prison's General Hospital at Nanhui Prison.2515From 2018 to 2021, because of my hunger strikes and related medical2516problems, I was moved repeatedly between Qingpu Prison and Nanhui. I2517describe this as 13 round trips, or 26 transfer legs. I spent much of2518that period inside the prison hospital and became familiar with its2519layout, personnel, routines, and movement patterns.2520    During this period, I suffered kidney failure and immune-system2521failure. I required dialysis, IV fluids, antibiotics, tube feeding, and2522other treatment. I believe the prison authorities kept me alive in part2523because consular officials visited me. Chinese prisoners did not have2524that protection.25252526Coerced consent and restraints25272528    As soon as a prisoner was admitted into the hospital, he was2529required to thumbprint a consent form. When I refused, I was placed in2530bondage, injected with a tranquilizer, and my thumbprint was taken2531while I was immobilized.2532    This was not an isolated method used only against me. In the2533hospital, prisoners who did not respond to commands could be put in2534bondage. This included the deaf, the mentally ill, prisoners who had2535lost cognitive function, prisoners who refused food, Uyghur prisoners,2536and prisoners facing death sentences.2537    Bondage meant being strapped by all four limbs to a bed, with2538another strap across the chest. Prisoners were tube-fed, attached to IV2539lines, placed in diapers, and sometimes catheterized so that they could2540remain strapped down for long periods. After extended bondage, the body2541became stiff and wasted. When my straps were opened to send me back to2542Qingpu, I could not move and had to be taken by wheelchair.2543    I saw many immobilized prisoners. In the second room next to what2544prisoners called the ``last room,'' all nine patients were strapped2545down. In the last room itself, at any given time, I usually saw at2546least two or three of the nine patients strapped down. Bondage was a2547regular part of the hospital's control system.2548    The daily care and control of these prisoners was carried out2549largely by convict laborers, known as laodong. They were selected from2550younger, stronger prisoners and worked as orderlies. They wore white2551overalls, carried notepads, had watches, moved around the building, and2552were trained by nurses. They also enforced discipline. They had2553privileges ordinary prisoners did not have, including better food, more2554movement, and contact with doctors and nurses. Patients, by contrast,2555often could not move, speak, write, read, or contact the outside world.25562557The hospital did not function like a normal hospital25582559    The facility did not operate like an ordinary hospital with2560meaningful specialist care. Dr. Liu, who was head of the doctors, told2561me there were no specialists when I asked to see one. I saw no2562specialist wards such as cancer, cardiovascular, kidney, ophthalmology,2563or other ordinary treatment departments.2564    The building had approximately five patient wings, each with around2565100 beds, or roughly 500 beds total. Yet I understood there were only2566about eight doctors, and from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. only one doctor was on2567duty for the whole facility. There was no proper ventilation and no2568shower. There was a dentist, but the only dental procedure available2569was extraction. There was no eye doctor. No new spectacles entered the2570prison or hospital for years; even a foreign consulate might have to2571press for a year to obtain new glasses for a prisoner.2572    Several doctors, including Dr. Liu and others, told me they were2573military-trained or assigned through the military or prison medical2574system. I observed medical personnel wearing white coats over uniforms.2575    What made the hospital especially strange was the contrast between2576the lack of normal specialist care and the size and activity of the2577surgery area. The facility did not function like a hospital designed to2578cure prisoners. It functioned like a prison holding-and-surgery2579facility.25802581The fourth-floor surgery area25822583    I have drawn a sketch of the fourth-floor layout from memory. The2584fourth-floor surgery area occupied a large, controlled section of the2585building near the elevator and away from ordinary visitor access.2586Visitors were generally kept on the first floor and did not go2587upstairs.2588    Based on the symmetry of the east and west wings, and my experience2589moving through both wings on the third floor, I estimated that the2590surgery area could contain at least seven rooms. The exact number is2591less important than the fact that the surgery area was large, active,2592controlled, and hidden from ordinary visitors.25932594The ``last room''25952596    As my condition deteriorated, I was moved to what prisoners called2597the ``last room.'' This room was for prisoners who could no longer be2598cured enough to return to manual labor. Many were elderly, terminally2599ill, or severely disabled. Others were younger prisoners whose2600illnesses had been left untreated until they could no longer work.2601    The turnover in the last room was constant. Patients were taken out2602and replaced by others. Every morning, I could hear which bed numbers2603were scheduled for surgery. At first, I thought the surgery was a final2604attempt to save their lives. When I asked whether the surgery had2605succeeded, I was told yes. When I asked why the patient did not return2606to the room, I was told the patient was ``back there,'' with staff or2607laodong pointing to the rear of the building.2608    Laodong orderlies identified the rear area as an incineration or2609cremation area. I saw smoke coming from the chimney in the area they2610identified.26112612The surgery pattern and freezer cart26132614    The pattern I observed was repeated. A prisoner would be selected2615for surgery. Doctors would meet about the subject patient. In the early2616morning, the prisoner would receive a tranquilizing injection. Laodong2617orderlies would press the prisoner's thumb onto a red ink pad and2618thumbprint a consent form. The prisoner would then be rushed to the2619surgery area.2620    By around noon, a mobile freezer cart would emerge from the surgery2621area and be transferred by elevator to a van waiting in the yard. The2622cart was moved quickly and under guard. The body or coffin was handled2623separately and later moved toward the rear incineration area by laodong2624workers.2625    This separation was important. The freezer cart was not treated2626like an ordinary body. It was rushed, guarded, and moved to a waiting2627vehicle. The body or coffin followed a different route and was handled2628with far less urgency. From the repeated sequence--surgery, non-return2629of the patient, guarded freezer-cart transfer, and separate body2630disposal--I understood the freezer cart to be carrying organs or other2631valuable biological material.2632    This same process applied to female prisoners as well. I saw women2633taken from the fifth floor to the surgery area, and they did not2634return. There were four ``last rooms'' that I knew of: two on the third2635floor, one on the fourth floor closest to the surgery area, and one for2636female prisoners on the fifth floor.26372638The ``sleepers'' brought from outside26392640    In addition to the moribund prisoners already inside the hospital,2641I saw unconscious or deeply sedated prisoners brought from outside on2642rolling stretchers. Their limbs were restrained to the stretcher rails.2643They were accompanied by armed People's Armed Police personnel. The2644prisoners were taken quickly through the elevator and toward the2645surgery area.2646    I witnessed this in several ways. I was repeatedly transferred2647through the hospital and more than once crossed paths with these2648unconscious, restrained prisoners. My room also had windows on both2649sides. From one side, there was a view toward the gate; from the other,2650I could glimpse internal traffic toward the surgery area.2651    I recognized the role of the People's Armed Police because I had2652previously worked in Qingpu Prison's death-row cell block, Block Number2653Nine. In Qingpu, I had seen PAP personnel come to take death-row2654prisoners away in vehicles. I later saw similar PAP personnel in the2655prison hospital bringing unconscious, restrained prisoners toward2656surgery. Their uniforms, weapons, behavior, and the reaction of other2657prisoners and staff made clear that these were not ordinary hospital2658patients.2659    Based on what I saw in Qingpu's death-row block and later inside2660Nanhui, I understood these ``sleepers'' to be death-row or execution-2661related prisoners being brought into the surgery process.26622663Known deaths of prisoners26642665    I also personally knew foreign prisoners who died in custody. Two2666of my former Qingpu cellmates, Steven Lien from Canada and Francisco2667Rondon from Colombia, died after becoming seriously ill. I had shared a2668prison room with them and was present when they died.2669    Their deaths shaped my understanding that seriously ill foreign2670prisoners were not meaningfully protected by medical parole or by the2671fact that foreign consulates knew about their cases. I believed medical2672parole should have been available to such prisoners. In practice, I did2673not see it operate meaningfully for foreign prisoners.26742675Broader prison conditions26762677    In Qingpu Prison, I saw many elderly, disabled, and seriously ill2678prisoners. All prisoners were required to work if they were physically2679able, and even severely weakened prisoners were expected to report to2680the labor area rather than remain in bed during work hours. At various2681times, I remember making greeting cards for the UK store Tesco and2682packaging for Quaker Oats. Some prisoners had to push other prisoners2683in wheelchairs to the labor area because prisoners were generally not2684allowed simply to remain in bed during work hours. A prisoner had to be2685almost unable to work before being sent to Nanhui.2686    I also saw prisoners at Nanhui who appeared to have been brought2687from outside Shanghai, including from Fujian Province. From this, I2688believed Nanhui served more than one prison or locality. I cannot say2689how many provinces used it, but it appeared to function as a central2690prison hospital facility for seriously ill or selected prisoners.26912692My release and continuing hardship26932694    After I was released and deported at the end of my sentence, I had2695nowhere to go. I served my sentence in full because I never accepted2696the verdict and insisted on my innocence.2697    Although my wife had already been released from prison, she was not2698allowed to leave China and was not allowed to have a passport. This was2699like continued punishment after serving the sentence. I went first to2700Sri Lanka and then to Vietnam to wait for her to somehow flee China. I2701was robbed several times by people in Vietnam and Cambodia who claimed2702they could help bring my wife out but failed to do so.27032704Conclusion27052706    I understand that what I describe is grave. I am giving this2707statement because I lived inside this system and saw its routines over2708time.2709    The organ-harvesting pattern I observed was repeated and2710institutional. Prisoners were restrained or incapacitated,2711thumbprinted, taken to surgery, and did not return. A freezer cart then2712moved quickly from the surgery area to a waiting van, while the body or2713coffin was handled separately toward the rear incineration area.2714Unconscious restrained prisoners were also brought from outside under2715armed PAP escort and taken directly toward surgery.2716    Based on the repetition, the layout, the behavior of guards and2717laodong workers, the separate handling of the freezer cart and body,2718the lack of ordinary specialist medical care, and the large, controlled2719surgery area, I understood this as non-2720consensual organ procurement inside the prison hospital.2721    I hope my statement helps the Congressional-Executive Commission on2722China understand what occurs inside Chinese prison hospitals and why2723these facilities require urgent investigation.27242725[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]27262727                          Witness Biographies27282729    Ethan Gutmann, senior research fellow in China Studies at the2730Victims of Communism Memorial Fountation27312732    Ethan Gutmann is a senior research fellow in China Studies at the2733Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation and co-founder of the2734International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China. He is the2735author of ``The Slaughter,'' co-author2736of the influential 2016 investigative report ``Bloody Harvest/The2737Slaughter: An2738Update,'' and author of the newly published ``The Xinjiang Procedure,''2739based on interviews with Uyghur and Kazakh refugees throughout Central2740Asia.27412742    Ambassador Sam Brownback, U.S. Ambassador at Large for2743International Religious Freedom, 2018-202127442745    Ambassador Sam Brownback is a former United States Ambassador-at-2746Large for International Religious Freedom, a former United States2747Senator, and the 46th Governor of Kansas. He has spent decades2748advancing human dignity and religious freedom around the world. He2749currently serves as co-chair of the International Religious Freedom2750Summit and chairman of the National Committee for Religious Freedom. He2751is also the author of ``China's War on Faith,'' which examines the2752Chinese Communist Party's campaign against people of faith.27532754    Jan Jekielek, senior editor, The Epoch Times and host, ``American2755Thought Leaders''27562757    Jan Jekielek is senior editor at The Epoch Times and host of2758``American Thought Leaders.'' He is a journalist, documentary2759filmmaker, and author of ``Killed to Order: China's Organ Harvesting2760Industry & the True Nature of America's Biggest Adversary.''27612762    Kalbinur Sidik, eyewitness to the forced labor and internment camp2763system in the Uyghur region, and author of the forthcoming book ``Heart2764Full of Light: Love, Loss, and Survival Inside China's Gulags''27652766    Kalbinur Sidik is a survivor of China's genocide and an eyewitness2767to the forced labor and internment camp system in the Uyghur region. Of2768Uzbek ethnicity, she served for many years as an elementary school2769teacher before being forced to work as a Chinese-language instructor in2770internment camps. She has testified before Western parliaments and the2771Uyghur Tribunal in London and is the author of the forthcoming book2772``Heart Full of Light: Love, Loss, and Survival Inside China's2773Gulags.''27742775                             [all]