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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Extensive and credible reports have revealed the |
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systematic, state-sanctioned harvesting of organs from prisoners |
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of conscience in the People's Republic of China; and |
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WHEREAS, An article in the Wall Street Journal on February 5, |
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2019, entitled "The Nightmare of Human Organ Harvesting in China" |
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states that an independent tribunal led by Sir Geoffrey Nice, who |
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prosecuted Slobodan Milosevic, concluded in December of 2018 that |
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"in China, forced organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience has |
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been practiced for a substantial period of time, involving a very |
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substantial number of victims"; and |
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WHEREAS, These reports describe a large-scale, |
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state-directed organ transplant system, and Falun Gong |
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practitioners in custody face the greatest risk of being killed for |
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their organs; and |
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WHEREAS, Involving meditative exercises and centered on the |
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values of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance, the spiritual |
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practice of Falun Gong gained many followers in China in the 1990s; |
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in 1999, the Chinese Communist Party launched an intensive |
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nationwide campaign to eradicate the practice, and this persecution |
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resulted in the detainment of hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong |
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practitioners in Chinese reeducation-through-labor camps, |
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detention centers, and prisons; and |
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WHEREAS, A 2015 Freedom House report found that Falun Gong |
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practitioners comprise the largest portion of prisoners of |
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conscience in China and face an elevated risk of dying or being |
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killed in custody; and |
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WHEREAS, China's organ transplant system abounds with |
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evidence of misconduct; for example, Chinese custom requires bodies |
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to be preserved intact after death, making voluntary organ donation |
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rare; however, China's transplant industry has increased |
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significantly since 2000; similarly, wait times for emergency liver |
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transplants in China are quoted in days or hours, and the wait times |
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for nonemergency liver transplants are quoted in weeks; most |
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patients in other countries wait years for a liver transplant; and |
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WHEREAS, While refusing to acknowledge the harvesting of |
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organs from prisoners of conscience, the Chinese government has |
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acknowledged the harvesting of organs from executed prisoners; and |
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WHEREAS, China's unethical and illegal organ procurement |
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practices do not comply with the World Health Organization's |
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guidelines for organ procurement, and those who travel to China for |
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organ transplants should be aware that organs have been harvested |
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from prisoners of conscience; and |
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WHEREAS, The Texas Penal Code Title 10, Section 48.02, |
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prohibits the purchase and sale of human organs, but unfortunately |
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there are no laws protecting those who unwittingly turn to China's |
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criminal medical tourism to save their lives; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 86th Texas Legislature |
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hereby condemn the systematic, state-sanctioned harvesting of |
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organs from prisoners of conscience in the People's Republic of |
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China. |