The press conferences of the Falun Gong practitioner mightily disturbed the CCP. It launched a slander campaign in China and tried to harass Cheng even in the US.
by Marco Respinti
Falun Gong practitioners, Uyghurs, and others have denounced for years that organs are forcibly taken from prisoners of conscience and used for transplants. The People’s Republic of China has mobilized its fellow travelers, including academics, anti-cultists, and religionists, around the world to claim that “organ harvesting” is just Falun Gong propaganda (ignoring parallel reports by Uyghurs and others).
The fact that the European Parliament through Resolution 2022/2657 of March 5, 2022, has officially stated that reports of organ harvesting are believable has not stopped the pro-Chinese propaganda. On the other hand, there is increasing evidence that the organ harvesting issue is now being discussed in China, despite the severe censorship trying to eliminate any online reference.
Cheng Peiming, a Falun Gong practitioners who escaped to the U.S., is the first-known survivor of China’s forced organ harvesting. This year, he shared his survival story of organ harvesting prohibition at public events nationwide, including panel discussions and documentary screenings. He detailed his imprisonment for practicing Falun Gong and the forced organ harvesting he endured. Upon request of Falun Gong, two Australian medical experts, both college professors, also examined Cheng, corroborating his testimony with findings that confirm parts of his liver and lung were indeed removed.
Cheng’s press conferences were impressive. “The Diplomat” wrote in August that “Cheng Pei Ming’s testimony offered a rare and disturbing glimpse into the horrors faced by prisoners of conscience in China.”
The testimony of Cheng is making inroads in China too through clandestine channels. This led the Chinese Communist Party to mobilize the China Anti-Xie-Jiao Association, which is directly controlled by the Party and claims to be the largest anti-cult organization in the world (the claim is probably true). The Association prepared a report that was shared by the China Court Network, “China Youth Daily,” and other official sources.
Note that these are Chinese websites for domestic Chinese consumption. Very few people read them abroad. The fact that they felt the need to attack Cheng Peiming shows that his story has gained traction in China, managing to break through the censorship. The rebuttal is based on alleged statements by Cheng’s relatives (including his sister, who says she believes the authorities and the jail personnel), doctors, and prison staff, but is contradicted by the medical examinations of the victim in the West. Under what kind of pressures the victim’s sister and other relatives may have been put in China is also easy to guess.
Cheng has also filed reports with the U.S. authorities about the harassment he is a victim of in the United States. On November 2, 2024, between 4:00 AM and 6:00 AM, unidentified individuals broke into his New York home, forcing the garage door bolt open and leaving two doors unlocked and ajar. Deep tire tracks were found in the backyard, while his security cameras and alarms were offline from 1:12 AM to 6:18 AM. Cheng filed a police report at 11:15 AM.
The break-in followed several attempted attacks on Cheng and his vehicle over three months. After an October screening of the documentary film “State Organs” in Delaware, where Cheng spoke, his car was keyed. Twice, nails were found in his tires. One incident resulted in a tire burst while he was driving, but luckily no one was injured.