Several San Diego Falun Dafa practitioners appeared before the San Diego City Council on Tuesday, August 8 to inform the council of recent developments affecting San Diego's sister city relationship with Yantai and of the recent discovery that the CCP is harvesting organs from thousands of live Falun Gong practitioners for profit. The San Diego City Council has previously issued a resolution condemning the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in Yantai.

Mr. Frank Eaves, who spoke for those concerned, told the council members, "We thought that it was important for the City of San Diego to know that the situation in our Sister City has worsened, not improved. If you, as the City Council can think of ways to help the citizens in our Sister City we would appreciate your input."

Mr. Eaves said that several organizations have investigated the organ harvesting allegations of Falun Gong practitioners in China. He quoted from the Canadian report by former Canadian Secretary of State and MP David Kilgour, and human rights attorney David Matas, released on July 6:

"the government of China and its agencies in numerous parts of the country, in particular hospitals but also detention centers and 'people's courts', since 1999, have put to death a large but unknown number of Falun Gong prisoners of conscience. Their vital organs, including hearts, kidneys, livers and corneas, were virtually simultaneously seized for sale at high prices, sometimes to foreigners, who normally face long waits for voluntary donations of such organs in their home countries.'"

Mr. Eaves showed on a chart the dramatic 2,500 percent increase of the number of organ transplants in China since the persecution of Falun Gong began in 1999. He stated that from 1991 to 1998 there were a mere total of 78 liver transplants in all of China. But after the persecution started, Yuhuangding Hospital Transplant Center in Yantai City alone performed 160-170 kidney transplants, in just one year.

Mr. Eaves said, "When a person donates an organ willingly, it is a noble gesture that can save another life. But when innocent men and women have their bodies cut open and their organs taken without consent while they are still alive, and in the prime of their lives, one is hard pressed to imagine a grosser violation of human rights. If this were done to one individual, it would be considered murder involving unusual cruelty. The fact that it is done to thousands of innocent Chinese citizens every year can only be considered an abomination, and a damning indictment of the Chinese Communist regime."

The City council members listened very intently. After his speech Mr. Eaves handed out brochures to the council members that detailed the things he had touched on in his short speech. The council members and the city attorney received the brochures and some began to study them thoughtfully.

A copy of the Matas/Kilgour report can be found at: http://investigation.go.saveinter.net/