US. State Department Press Release on Organ Harvesting

*China: Reports of Concentration Camp in Northeast China (Taken Question) *
266 words
14 April 2006
State Department Press Releases And Documents English

Copyright (c) 2006 Federal Information & News Dispatch, Inc.

STATE DEPARTMENT PRESS RELEASES

Taken Question

Office of the Spokesman

Washington, DC

April 14, 2006

Question Taken at Daily Press Briefing of April 14, 2006

China: Reports of Concentration Camp in Northeast China

Question: What information can you provide regarding a reported
concentration camp in China where *Falun Gong* practitioners were jailed
and their organs harvested?

Answer: We are aware of the allegations and have taken these charges
seriously. The Department and our Embassy in Beijing, as well as our
Consulate General in Shenyang, have actively sought to determine the
facts of the matter. Officers and staff from our embassy in Beijing and
Consulate in Shenyang have visited the area and the specific site
mentioned in these reports on two separate occasions. In these visits
the officers were allowed to tour the entire facility and grounds and
found no evidence that the site is being used for any function other
than as a normal public hospital.

We have raised these reports with the Chinese government and urged it to
investigate these allegations. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs
spokesperson has publicly denied there is any basis for the allegations.

Independent of these specific allegations, we remain concerned over
China's repression of *Falun Gong* practitioners. We are also concerned
by reports of organ harvesting. We have raised these concerns both in
our annual Human Rights Report and in discussions with the Chinese
government, both in Washington and in Beijing.

2006/381

Released on April 14, 2006

Office of State Department Public Communication Division, 202-647-6575