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CIPFG Media Release
19th of August
                 	
Human Rights Lawyer Gao Zhisheng detained by Government of China as
Vice President of the EU Parliament visits Australia

Prominent human rights lawyer Mr Gao Zhisheng, member of the Coalition to Investigate the
Persecution of Falun Gong (CIPFG), is confirmed to have been in detention since 15 August.

The arrest coincides with the visit to Australia of Mr Edward McMillan-Scott, Vice President of
the European Parliament - who spoke at length to Gao after his visit to Beijing in May - and
former Canadian minister Hon. David Kilgour, who have independently confirmed reports that
Falun Gong practitioners are being killed for transplant organs in China.

Mr Gao's law practice was shut down and he has been under house arrest since February
because of his criticisms of the Beijing regime, notably regarding their treatment of Falun
Gong practitioners.

Gao's commitment to peaceful transition to democracy and the rule of law has been likened to
that of Nelson Mandela or Lech Walesa. In 2005, he wrote a series of open letters to
President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, demanding an end to human rights abuses and
calling for democracy in China.

For interview with Edward McMillan-Scott and David Kilgour please call :
Lee Hutchison +61 (0)4 06 662 867 or Sandra Hatting +61 (0)4 03 107 156
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The Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (CIPFG)

The CIPFG was initiated so that people with a sense of justice all around the world could come together to
participate in or provide help to investigate the persecution of Falun Gong.
The goal of the coalition is to unite all interested parties in conducting a thorough and independent investigation,
to uncover the truth about the Chinese Communist Party's persecution of Falun Gong, in particular the
harvesting of organs from live Falun Gong practitioners, in secret concentration camps, prisons, labour camps,
and all other relevant facilities.

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Press information 18 August 2006    		              For immediate release

Call for international support for Australian position on organ 
harvesting in China

As cross-party support in Australia was confirmed for an international inquiry into
reports of organ harvesting for profit in China, a leading churchman said the world's
conscience should be awakened.

"We need to act now on human rights violations occurring in China or lose the
opportunity forever," Rev Hon Dr Gordon Moyes, a member of the New South Wales
Parliament and China specialist, said today.

"The 2008 Beijing Olympics offers an unprecedented opportunity for democratic nations
to pressure the Chinese Government to act against these crimes against humanity."

"The volume of evidence is now so strong that it warrants an independent, international
investigation," Dr Moyes said.

Dr Moyes' call came as European Parliament Vice President Mr Edward McMillan-Scott
and former Canadian cabinet minister Hon David Kilgour visited Australia and New
Zealand to encourage parliamentary support for an international inquiry into organ
harvesting - the sale of body parts from Falun Gong prisoners of conscience.

A preliminary report released on July 6 by Kilgour and human rights lawyer David Matas
presented 18 categories of evidence on organ harvesting across China.

McMillan-Scott and Kilgour said that they were profoundly relieved that Australia had
now reached a cross-party consensus on the issue.

On Australian Broadcasting Corporation's "Lateline"* on August 17, the Australian
government was confirmed as committing itself to an independent investigation into the
reports by Opposition Foreign Affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd, who also supported the
call.

"We welcome the bi-partisan consensus on an international inquiry into organ
harvesting. The 20 million population of Australia is bound together by democracy and
the rule of law, but also cherishes its well-established trade ties with China.
So the position of the Australian government and opposition on this matter is highly
significant and welcome," said McMillan-Scott, who visited China to investigate organ
harvesting in May.

"As a leading Asian Pacific democracy, Australia is showing leadership on this issue,
which other parliamentarians in the region and beyond, including Canada, the United
States and Europe, should now follow"," said Kilgour.

Further support for an end to organ harvesting came in a statement this week referring
to the Matas-Kilgour report, when the U.S. National Kidney Foundation** said it "is
deeply concerned about recent allegations regarding the procurement of organs and
tissues through coercive or exploitative practices abroad, or practices which violate
worldwide human rights standards."

ENDS

*http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2006/s1717752.htm
**http://www.kidney.org/news/newsroom/newsitem.cfm?id=336
NOTE TO EDITORS: The Matas-Kilgour report is now available in seven languages at
http://organharvestinvestigation.net
For further information or for interviews please contact:
Sandra Hattingh - +61 (0)403 107 156

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