(Clearwisdom.net) At 2:00 p.m. on March 16, a house hearing, "Monitoring Respect for Human Rights Around the World: A Review of the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2005" - was held at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC. Nina Shea, director of Freedom House gave a testimony and called for investigation of the Sujiatun Concentration Camp.

Ms. Nina Shea said, "Though still being investigated and yet to be verified, a report has surfaced that is so grave it warrants mentioning here: According to a Chinese journalist who recently escaped to the United States, a concentration camp, Sujiatun, in the city of Shenyang, has been specially constructed to hold some 6,000 Falun Gong practitioners from northeast China. The camp is said to have a large staff of doctors, whose job there is to conduct experiments on the prisoners and kill them efficiently. It is said to include a crematorium to dispose of the evidence.

"The journalist, working with a network of informants, states that the Chinese government uses the prison to conduct a business in selling organs harvested from those who are killed inside. In light of Harry Wu's past reports on organ harvesting from executed prisoners in China, this story must be taken seriously and investigated."

The hearing was hosted by Christopher H. Smith, Chairperson of the House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations. Barry Lowenkron, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Bishop Thomas Wenski, Chairman of the US Bishops' Committee on International Policy, Ms. Elisa Massimino, Washington Director of Human Rights First, Sharon Hom, Executive Chair of Human Rights in China, Ms. Nina Shea, Director of Freedom House, and Ali Al-Ahmed, Director of the Gulf Institute, each gave testimonies.

Congressman Smith pointed out that human rights are not a compromise or welfare given by a government, but are the basic rights of everyone based on human beings' dignity and worth. Smith said that some human rights are fundamental and are the foundation of other rights. Among them, the right to live is the foremost. If one's life is endangered, all other rights will become meaningless. Therefore, every life is of paramount importance.

On March 8, the Department of State issued its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2005, in which it detailed human rights violations in Zimbabwe, China, Burma and Cuba, among other countries.