On June 4, 2006, Vice President of the European Parliament Edward McMillan-Scott, and Chinese human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng exchanged views on current human rights violations in China, including the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and the harvesting of organs from living Falun Gong practitioners. The two spoke on the telephone for over an hour.
Upon comparing opinions, each found the other shared most of his views. During the conversation, Mr. McMillan-Scott said that he had been continually following news of Mr. Gao's situation and admired Mr. Gao's resolve to defend human rights in the face of the oppression of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Mr. McMillan-Scott also expressed his determination to encourage human rights officials in the European Parliament to meet with human rights activists such as Mr. Gao.
When discussing the totalitarian CCP regime, Mr. McMillan-Scott said, "When talking to dissidents in Eastern Europe before communism disintegrated, I said that there were no signs indicating the imminent collapse of the communist system in Europe. However, communist regimes in those countries disintegrated consecutively soon after. Also, during my recent trip to China, I explicitly felt that the CCP will soon collapse."
In regard to the attitude of Western government officials concerning the CCP, Mr. McMillan-Scott said that he was very glad to see that German Chancellor Angela Merkel had changed Germany's long-term stance on China's human rights issues and had begun to take notice of Chinese dissidents. Mr. McMillan-Scott believes this to be attributed to Chancellor Merkel's experience living in East Germany and her understanding of the essence of communism. He commented that her attitude would certainly become the leading trend in the future, as she would, within her authority, encourage more people to pay attention to human rights problems in China.
Two Human Rights Supporters Discuss the CCP's Persecution of Falun Gong
During the hour-long conversation with Mr. Gao, Mr. McMillan-Scott inquired into the details of issues such as the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China and the live harvesting of organs.
After thanking Mr. McMillan-Scott for his concern regarding current human rights issues in China, Mr. Gao also emphasized that there are various aspects of human rights violations occurring simultaneously in China such as farmers losing their lands, people being forced to relocate, the destruction of family churches and the suppression of public appeals, etc. These issues have also been part of Mr. Gao's focus in recent years. However, through personal investigation, Mr. Gao had discovered that the ruthless torture and gruesome treatment of Falun Gong practitioners in China is beyond the scope of imagination for outsiders.
Mr. Gao said, "During my investigation of the persecution, there had been days when I was in a continuous mentally stimulated state. I was shocked that our government and our gentlemen-like officials could commit such cold-blooded acts."
In reply to Mr. McMillan-Scott's inquiry on the harvesting of organs from living Falun Gong practitioners, Mr. Gao explained that the act of extracting practitioners' organs while they are alive and then cremating their bodies is no less gruesome than the treatment of Jews by the Nazis. Before this incident was revealed, many of the cases Mr. Gao had examined showed that relatives of dead Falun Gong practitioners found sutures on the bodies. The harvesting of organs from criminals facing capital punishment in China is a practice already well known around the world. Mr. Gao further explained that the act of harvesting organs from live Falun Gong practitioners was inevitable. Even without orders from higher officials, under the CCP's policy that practitioners tortured to death are seen as having committed suicide, the profits accompanying such deeds are so great they would lure the staff to harm practitioners.
Mr. Gao said that the CCP, with its present course of action of trampling human rights and persecuting Falun Gong practitioners in China, is in fact committing crimes against and defying the entire human race. This type of transgression must be put to an end as soon as possible.
In the end, Mr. McMillan-Scott expressed his delight in talking with Mr. Gao and expressed his desire to preserve the acquaintance. He promised to continue to pay attention to the issues regarding Mr. Gao and the human rights of Falun Gong practitioners. He also reminded Mr. Gao of his promise to bring two bottles of fine Chinese wine to visit him, and said he looked forward to the day when he could greet Mr. Gao with a bottle of his best whiskey.
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