Denounces organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners and political prisoners in People's Republic of China.

SR75

SENATE RESOLUTION No. 75

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 24, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� ANTHONY M. BUCCO

District 25 (Morris and Passaic)

SYNOPSIS

���� Denounces organ harvesting from Falun Gong
practitioners and political prisoners in People�s Republic of China.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

A Senate
Resolution
denouncing the practice of organ harvesting from Falun Gong
practitioners and political prisoners in the People�s Republic of China.

Whereas,
In saving the lives of once
hopeless patients, the practice of organ transplantation is a miracle of modern
medicine when performed in accordance with established ethical standards; and

Whereas,
While the People�s Republic
of China (PRC) performs up to 100,000 organ transplants per year, China does
not comply with the World Health Organization�s organ procurement transparency
requirements; and

Whereas,
As a result, much of
China�s organ supply is unaccounted for, and credible reports indicate that
prisoners of conscience are regularly killed to supply China�s growing organ
transplant market; and

Whereas,
The PRC officially
sanctioned the harvesting of organs from executed prisoners in 1984 after
enacting the �Temporary Rules Concerning the Utilization of Corpses or Organs
from the Corpses of Executed Criminals,� which stated that �the use of the
corpses or organs of executed criminals must be kept strictly secret, and
attention must be paid to avoiding negative repercussions�; and

Whereas,
This policy remained in use
for decades, as former Vice-Minister of Health Huang Jiefu said in 2005 that
more than 90 percent of deceased organ donations were obtained from executed
prisoners; and

Whereas,
Some reports also estimated
that roughly 50 percent of organ transplantations performed in China in 2013
were sourced from executed prisoners; and

Whereas,
Voluntary and informed
consent is a prerequisite for ethical organ donation, and the international
community maintains that prisoners, many of whom are deprived of their freedoms
and imprisoned for their beliefs, are unable to provide consent for organ
donation; and

Whereas,
Falun Gong practitioners,
who comprise the largest percentage of PRC prisoners of conscience, are
believed to be the primary victims of organ harvesting since the early 2000s;
and

Whereas,
Founded in 1992 by Li
Hongzhi, Falun Gong is a spiritual practice that engages in meditative
exercises and emphasizes the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and
tolerance; and

Whereas,
By offering practitioners a
sense of personal fulfillment and reconnection with traditional Chinese culture
after decades of state-sponsored Maoism, nationalism, and materialism, Falun
Gong quickly became popular, gaining over 70 million followers by 1999; and

Whereas,
Fearing the movement�s
growing societal influence, the PRC President and Chinese Communist Party
General Secretary Jiang Zemin launched a nationwide campaign in July 1999 to
eliminate the alleged �evil cult�; and

Whereas,
Since 1999, hundreds of
thousands of practitioners have been coerced into recanting Falun Gong beliefs
and subjected to physical and psychological abuses while detained in �legal
education centers,� �black jails,� and reeducation labor camps; and

Whereas,
When Falun Gong
practitioners refused to renounce their beliefs, evidence shows that they were
targeted for forced organ donations; and

Whereas,
Independent reports
estimate that approximately 65,000 Falun Gong practitioners were killed for
their organs between 2000 and 2008, and human rights organizations such as
Freedom House have declared that �there are reasons to believe that such abuses
continue� today; and

Whereas,
The Chinese government also
reportedly targeted ethnic minorities and political dissidents for organ
harvesting, most notably Muslim Uyghurs from the Xinjiang Province; and

Whereas,
The killing of religious or
political prisoners for the purpose of harvesting their organs violates
established medical ethical standards, infringes on the universal rights of
humanity, and reduces the promise of organ transplantation into a nightmare for
countless innocent victims; now, therefore,

����
Be It Resolved
by the Senate of the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� This House denounces the
practice of organ harvesting from non-consenting prisoners of conscience,
including Falun Gong practitioners and political prisoners, in the People�s
Republic of China.

���� 2.��� Copies of this
resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the
Secretary of the Senate to the United States Secretary of State, the Ambassador
of the People�s Republic of China to the United States, and the Permanent
Representative of the People�s Republic of China to the United Nations.

STATEMENT

���� This resolution denounces the
practice of organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners, political
dissidents, and ethnic minorities in the People�s Republic of China (PRC).

���� The harvesting of organs from
executed prisoners is well-documented in the PRC.� The practice was officially
sanctioned in 1984 upon the enactment of the �Temporary Rules Concerning the
Utilization of Corpses or Organs from the Corpses of Executed Criminals,� which
explicitly stated that �the use of the corpses or organs of executed criminals
must be kept strictly secret, and attention must be paid to avoiding negative
repercussions.�� According to the former PRC Vice-Minister of Health Huang
Jiefu, more than 90 percent of China�s deceased organ donations in 2005 were
obtained from executed prisoners.� By 2013, approximately 50 percent of the
country�s estimated 100,000 annual organ transplantations were reportedly
supplied by executed prisoners.

���� Credible reports indicate that
the PRC heavily targeted imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners for organ
harvesting beginning in the early 2000s.� Founded in 1992 by Li Hongzhi, Falun
Gong is a spiritual practice that uses meditative exercises and emphasizes the
principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.� By 1999, the movement
gained over 70 million practitioners throughout China.� However, fearing Falun
Gong�s growing societal influence, the PRC President Jiang Zemin launched a
nationwide campaign in July 1999 to eliminate the practice.� Since then, Falun
Gong practitioners throughout China have been imprisoned, tortured, and coerced
into renouncing their beliefs.

���� Practitioners who refused to
recant became prime targets of organ harvesting.� An estimated 65,000 Falun
Gong practitioners were killed for their organs between 2000 and 2008 alone.�
Ethnic minorities and political prisoners, most notably Muslim Uyghurs in the Xinjiang
Province, were also reportedly targeted for organ harvesting.� According to
human rights organizations such as Freedom House, �there is reason to believe
that such abuses continue� in 2017.

���� Harvesting organs from
religious or political prisoners violates not only ethical medical standards
but also the universal rights of the Chinese people.� The State of New Jersey
stands in solidarity with the Falun Gong, its practitioners, and every other
victim of Chinese organ harvesting.