State of Vermont House of Representatives Montpelier, Vermont House Resolution
H.R. 12
House resolution condemning the forced harvesting of organs from prisoners and detainees in the People’s Republic of
China Offered by: Representatives Williams of Barre City, Arsenault of Williston, Carroll of Bennington, Cole of Hartford,
Krasnow of South Burlington, Nicoll of Ludlow, and White of Bethel Whereas, the China Tribunal (Tribunal) is an independent panel established to examine forced organ harvesting in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and Whereas, although the Tribunal encountered “a pervasive culture of secrecy, silence, and obfuscation” on the part of
the Chinese government, the Tribunal’s conclusions were reached with great certainty, and it issued a final report in
March 2020, and Whereas, the Tribunal found persuasive evidence “that in China forced organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience has been practiced for a substantial period of time involving a very substantial number of victims,” and Whereas, it reached a number of conclusions, including “that there were extraordinarily short waiting times (promised by PRC doctors and hospitals) for organs to be available for transplantation,” “[t]hat there was torture of Falun Gong and Uyghurs,” and “[t]hat there was a massive infrastructure development of facilities and medical personnel for organ transplant operations, often started before any voluntary donor system was even planned,” and Whereas, in June 2021, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that “[f]orced organ harvesting in China appears to be targeting specific ethnic, linguistic, or religious minorities held in detention,
often without [any explanation of] the reasons for arrest or [the issuance of] arrest warrants,” and Whereas, on May 5, 2022, the European Parliament adopted a resolution “on the reports of continued organ harvesting in China” that found that “the People’s Republic of China has extremely low rates of voluntary organ donation,” and Whereas, the continued existence of regulations permitting the harvesting of organs from executed prisoners, despite the Chinese government’s 2015 edict to the contrary, is appalling, and Whereas, the resolution expressed “its serious concerns about the reports of persistent, systematic, inhumane and state-sanctioned organ harvesting from prisoners in the People’s Republic of China, and, more specifically, from Falun Gong practitioners and other minorities such as Uyghurs, Tibetans and Christians,” and called “on the Chinese authorities to promptly respond to the allegations of organ harvesting,” and Whereas, on March 27, 2023, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1154, the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act of 2023, “impos[ing] sanctions on persons (individuals and entities) involved in forced organ trafficking and authoriz[ing] the Department of State to revoke the passports of individuals convicted of certain crimes related to organ trafficking,” and Whereas, companion legislation, designated as S.761, has been introduced in the U.S. Senate, now therefore be it Resolved by the House of Representatives:
That this legislative body condemns the forced harvesting of organs from prisoners and detainees in the People’s Republic of China, and be it further Resolved: That the Clerk of the House be directed to send a copy of this resolution to the Chinese Ambassador to the United States, President Joseph R. Biden, and the Vermont Congressional Delegation.