NR | 1h 16m | Documentary | 2024
In “State Organs,” filmmaker and humanitarian Raymond Zhang shines a searing light on the grotesque practice of forced organ harvesting. Known for his previous documentaries like “The Bleeding Edge” (2016) and “Avenues of Escape” (2017), Zhang continues his mission of exposing human rights abuses being committed by the Chinese regime. His latest project delves into the tragic plight of Falun Gong practitioners, the primary victims of the regime’s organ harvesting industry.
A Chilling Clampdown
Initially celebrated by some officials for its ethical principles and remarkable health benefits, the spiritual discipline attracted tens of millions of practitioners, with estimates ranging from 70 million to 100 million by the late 1990s. However, this surge in popularity drew the ire of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), triggering a campaign of persecution that spiraled into unimaginable cruelty.Jiang Zemin, Chinese paramount leader and head of the CCP during Falun Gong’s meteoric rise, saw the practice as an existential threat. As Julian Wang of the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong explains, Falun Gong practitioners rapidly outnumbered CCP members, sparking paranoia in Jiang.
In a chilling political maneuver, Falun Gong was declared public enemy No. 1 practically overnight, and the practice was banned outright.
The consequences were swift and devastating. Millions of peaceful practitioners were caught in the CCP’s draconian crackdown, swept up in mass arrests, or “disappeared” without a trace. Firsthand accounts from families, former doctors, soldiers, and others entangled in this machinery of persecution paint a grim picture of an unrelenting campaign to erase Falun Gong entirely from Chinese culture.
One particularly haunting narrative involves the Zhang family. Yun Zhang, a vibrant young woman known for her love of singing, dancing, and leading her martial arts team, saw her life shattered alongside her sister Michelle’s. In 1998, Yun married Song-Tao, a cheerful and compassionate man whose influence led many, including Yun herself, to embrace Falun Gong.
Both Gripping and Gritty
This is a tightly paced documentary that holds the viewer’s attention with its seamless blend of realistic reenactments and compelling interviews. One standout account comes from Dr. George Zheng, a graduate of the Dalian Military Medical School, whose testimony offers an unflinching look at the horrors of organ harvesting.
Zheng recounts an incident during the early days of the Falun Gong persecution. He and other doctors operated on a bound, conscious Falun Gong practitioner in the back of a moving van. With no anesthesia administered, the prisoner endured the unimaginable agony as his organs were removed while he was still alive. Zheng’s haunting account underscores the brutal efficiency of the system—and the inherent evil it represents.
What elevates “State Organs” is its ability to corroborate these testimonies with hard data. The film examines the spike in foreign organ transplant seekers, particularly for livers, starting in 1999, the same year the CCP began targeting Falun Gong. While Chinese officials attributed the influx of organ availability to harvesting from condemned prisoners, mounting evidence implicates them in the harvesting of organs from healthy Falun Gong practitioners instead.
Overall, “State Organs” is a crucial educational tool that sheds light on one of the darkest human rights abuses of our time. It’s a film that demands to be seen, not only for its gripping storytelling but for its power to galvanize change.
