House Passes Bill Imposing Sanctions Against Chinese Organ Harvesting

On Monday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act of 2023, a bill aimed at imposing sanctions and penalties on individuals involved in the forced organ harvesting trade. This gruesome industry is believed to be dominated by communist China, and human rights experts estimate that the Chinese regime kills thousands of young victims every year through “execution by heart removal.” The bill, which received nearly unanimous support, now awaits action from the Senate.

The legislation, authored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and co-sponsored by several House members, does not exclusively target China. Instead, it requires the government to reveal findings of forced organ harvesting and organ trafficking as part of human rights reports. It also grants the president and State Department the power to sanction an individual determined to be involved in forced organ harvesting or trafficking. Sanctions could include losing access to an American passport, being blocked from entering the country, or facing civil and criminal penalties.

A significant volume of evidence implicates the Chinese government in forced organ harvesting from political prisoners, particularly Uyghur Muslims in East Turkistan and Falun Gong practitioners nationwide. The scale of forced organ harvesting is believed to have increased dramatically since the ongoing genocide of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in Turkistan, marked by the confinement of up to 3 million people in concentration camps in recent years.

Some camp survivors have reported experiencing medical testing consistent with organ matching and the disappearance of young prisoners fitting the profile of prime organ donors.

The massive scope of China’s organ transplant operation has raised international concern. A 2019 report by the China Tribunal revealed a substantial mismatch between the number of eligible organ donors and the number of actual transplants performed each year. The Chinese government has addressed the surge in organ transplants by attributing it to the efficiency of the communist system and the passion for service, without clarifying the source of the “volunteers” for such transplants.

Witness testimony and expert accounts paint a horrifying picture of China’s organ transplant system. Ethan Gutmann, a senior research fellow in China studies at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, estimated during a congressional hearing that China could be selling as many as 150,000 organs annually from its victims. He explained that young people aged around 18 and 28-29 are the most likely to be targeted for organ harvesting.

In light of these appalling revelations, the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act of 2023 represents a crucial step toward holding those responsible for these atrocities accountable. As Rep. Smith stated, the world must address this horrifying industry and end state-sponsored forced organ harvesting.