[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 138 (Thursday, October 2, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1960-E1961]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 PERSECUTION, FORCED LABOR, ORGAN HARVESTING AND CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IN 
                                 CHINA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 2, 2003

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I continue today to bring to our colleagues 
attention human rights abuses in China provided here by the Laogai 
Research Foundation. They tell a desperately tragic story of a peoples 
thrown into harsh and brutal labor camps--without trial--who are then 
forced to do dangerous work, are regularly beaten, tortured, deprived 
of food and sleep, or summarily executed with their organs removed 
without the consent of the victims or their family. Many of the Chinese 
government's victims are religious men and women who, simply by wishing 
to follow their conscience, are considered a danger to the state.

``In Their Own Words'' Statements on Forced Labor, Organ Harvesting and 
   Capital Punishment in China Provided By Laogai Research Foundation

       The Laogai is an integral part of China's economy, serving 
     as a principal source of cheap labor and organs. Its victims 
     suffer from torture, arbitrary detainment, forced labor, 
     organ harvesting, and execution.
       Human rights groups have documented over 1,000 Laogai camps 
     in China and estimate that the Laogai has a population of 4 
     to 6 million prisoners.
       The Chinese Communist Party seeks to single out and 
     eliminate all who ``endanger state security.'' Thousands of 
     political/religious prisoners are currently being imprisoned 
     or otherwise detained, including China Democracy Party 
     founders Wang Youcai and Qin Yongmin, Internet activists Yang 
     Zili and Huang Qi, Tiananmen Square demonstrators, 
     protestants, Catholics, Tibetan nuns and monks, journalists, 
     academics, and Falun Gong practitioners.
       There is little to deter those who inflict torture upon 
     inmates of the Laogai. Confessions extracted through torture 
     are routinely used to convict individuals in court. Forms of 
     torture that are commonly documented in Chinese prisons 
     include: use of electric batons, beating with fists and 
     clubs, the use of handcuffs and leg irons in ways that cause 
     intense pain, suspension by the arms, deprivation of food or 
     sleep and solitary confinement.
       According to conservative estimates, over 200,000 people 
     are serving sentences in reeducation through labor (Laojiao) 
     camps with no trial or sentencing procedure of any kind--all 
     that is necessary is the directive of any official in China's 
     Public Security Bureau.
       All prisoners are forced to meet production quotas that are 
     enforced through withholding of food rations. Many camps 
     force prisoners to work 16 to 18 hours a day. Prisoners often 
     labor in highly unsafe conditions, including work in mines 
     and with toxic chemicals. Prisoners do not receive payment 
     for their labor or any profit generated from the products 
     they produce.
       Forced labor is an integral part of China's economy, 
     producing approximately $800 million dollars in sales. 
     Despite specific agreements that ban forced labor goods these 
     goods continue to flow out of China. Cooperation by Chinese 
     authorities has been characterized by the State Department as 
     ``sporadic, at best.'' Most requests to hold an investigation 
     are either ignored or denied.
       The Laogai's victims also suffer organ harvesting, and 
     execution.
       Despite the claims that prisoners give consent for the use 
     of their organs for transplant, evidence suggests that an 
     overwhelming majority of prisoners, or their families, never 
     gave consent before execution.
       Prisoners are shot in the back to preserve their corneas 
     and shot in the head in order to preserve the heart.
       Recently, China began implementing the use of mobile 
     execution vans, similar to vans used in Nazi Germany prior to 
     its use of concentration camps. The use of mobile execution 
     vans will allow doctors to remove organs in a timely manner 
     and a clean environment.
       According to Amnesty International, China executes more 
     prisoners every year than the rest of the world combined. In 
     2002, the State Department recorded over 4,000 executions 
     after summary trials. Some scholars estimate that as many as 
     10,000-20,000 are executed yearly. According to the Chinese 
     criminal law code there are over 60 capital offenses. 
     Prisoners are executed for crimes ranging from murder to 
     theft to arson to drug trafficking.

[[Page E1961]]

     Prisoners are occasionally executed in front of crowds in 
     fields or stadiums.

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