China: Reports of Concentration Camp in NE China

Taken Question
Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
April 14, 2006
Question Taken at Daily Press Briefing of April 14, 2006

China: Reports of Concentration Camp in Northeast China

Question: What information can you provide regarding a reported concentration camp in China where Falun Gong practitioners were jailed and their organs harvested?

Answer: We are aware of the allegations and have taken these charges seriously. The Department and our Embassy in Beijing, as well as our Consulate General in Shenyang, have actively sought to determine the facts of the matter. Officers and staff from our embassy in Beijing and Consulate in Shenyang have visited the area and the specific site mentioned in these reports on two separate occasions. In these visits the officers were allowed to tour the entire facility and grounds and found no evidence that the site is being used for any function other than as a normal public hospital.

We have raised these reports with the Chinese government and urged it to investigate these allegations. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson has publicly denied there is any basis for the allegations.

Independent of these specific allegations, we remain concerned over China’s repression of Falun Gong practitioners. We are also concerned by reports of organ harvesting. We have raised these concerns both in our annual Human Rights Report and in discussions with the Chinese government, both in Washington and in Beijing.

2006/381

Released on April 14, 2006

ENDS

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