87R3077 BPG-D     By: Shaheen H.R. No. 10       R E S O L U T I O N          WHEREAS, For the better part of two decades, China's   communist regime has been engaged in the vile practice of forcibly   removing human organs for transplant; and          WHEREAS, In June 2019, the independent China Tribunal   announced its finding that China's regime had for decades practiced   systematic forced organ removal from prisoners of conscience; it is   believed that organs have been harvested from hundreds of thousands   of incarcerated people, mainly Falun Gong practitioners, but   possibly also Tibetan Buddhists, House Church Christians, and   members of the Uyghur Muslim ethnic minority; and          WHEREAS, China has welcomed an influx of "transplant   tourism," whereby individuals critically in need of transplants pay   thousands of dollars for one of 60,000 to 90,000 transplant   surgeries conducted each year; the number of transplants far   exceeds the number of voluntary organ donations in the country;   moreover, Chinese hospitals are able to schedule transplants of   major organs within two weeks, suggesting nefarious foreknowledge   regarding the "donation" of these organs; by contrast, America's   highly developed organ donation system requires that recipients be   placed on a carefully curated list to await the transplant of an   organ; the timing of these transplants is not predictable, as an   organ may not be available for hundreds of days, or in time for a   specific patient; and          WHEREAS, Falun Gong, a spiritual practice centered on the   values of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, became   immensely popular in the 1990s; in July 1999, the Chinese Communist   Party launched an intensive, nationwide persecution designed to   eradicate the spiritual practice; Freedom House reported in 2015   that Falun Gong practitioners are the primary victims of forced   organ removal and face an elevated risk of dying or being killed in   custody; and          WHEREAS, On July 20, 2020, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo   denounced 21 years of persecution of Falun Gong by China's   communist regime, declaring in a press statement: "We call on the   PRC government to immediately end its depraved abuse and   mistreatment of Falun Gong practitioners, release those imprisoned   due to their beliefs, [. . .] and address the whereabouts of   missing practitioners. Twenty-one years of persecution of Falun   Gong practitioners is far too long, and it must end"; and          WHEREAS, United Nations Special Rapporteurs have called on   the Chinese government to account for the sources of organs used in   transplant practices, and the World Medical Association, the   American Society of Transplantation, and the Transplantation   Society have all called for sanctions on Chinese medical   authorities; resolutions condemning organ harvesting from   prisoners of conscience have been adopted by the parliaments of   Canada and the European Union, as well as by the Foreign Affairs   Committee of the United States House of Representatives, and it is   important to join the international outcry against this major   violation of human rights; now, therefore, be it          RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas   Legislature hereby strongly condemn China's practice of   involuntary organ harvesting; and, be it further          RESOLVED, That the Texas House of Representatives encourage   the medical community to educate Texans about the risks of travel to   China for organ transplants to help prevent Texas residents from   unwittingly becoming involved in murder in the form of forced organ   harvesting from prisoners of conscience; and, be it further          RESOLVED, That the Texas House of Representatives   respectfully urge the United States Congress and the president of   the United States to pass laws and adopt measures prohibiting   collaboration between U.S. medical and pharmaceutical companies   and any Chinese counterparts linked with forced organ harvesting,   banning entry into the United States of those who have participated   in unethical removal of human tissues and organs, and providing for   the prosecution of such individuals.