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Whistleblower: Ex-husband Forcibly Removed Corneas From 2,000 Living Prisoners

Chinese surgeon’s ex-wife, Annie (alias), revealed that her ex-husband had participated in the forcible removal of corneas from about 2,000 Falun Gong prisoners of conscience.
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Whistleblower: Ex-husband Forcibly Removed Corneas From 2,000 Living Prisoners
Annie (alias), ex-wife of a brain surgeon who removed organs from thousands of Falun Dafa prisoners of conscience in China in the early 2000s, speaks at a press conference in Washington, D.C., on April 20, 2006. The Epoch Times
Joan Delaney
Updated:
Editor’s note: The Epoch Times is publishing a number of articles on torture and abuse meted out against innocent prisoners of conscience in China. 
In 2006, a Chinese surgeon’s ex-wife, Annie (alias), revealed that her ex-husband had participated in the forcible removal of corneas from about 2,000 Falun Gong prisoners of conscience at a hospital in Sujiatun in Northeast China.
Annie, whose ex-husband is a brain surgeon, claimed he always carried a mobile phone with him and at any time it rang, day or night, he would immediately go to remove organs from Falun Gong practitioners, who were still alive at the time of extraction.
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A group of surgeons worked together to remove all major organs, even the skin, and the dead bodies were cremated, Annie said. Between 2001 and 2003, about 3,000-4,000 Falun Gong practitioners died as a result of forced organ harvesting at the hospital she and her husband worked at in Sujiatun, according to estimates by some of the doctors involved, she said. 
After Annie escaped to the United States, she went public with her story. Following are excerpts of her testimony in separate interviews with The Epoch Times and David Kilgour, a former MP and prosecutor in Canada.  

‘Some Were Still Breathing’

“My ex-husband and I worked at the Liaoning Provincial Thrombosis Hospital in Sujiatun between 1999 and 2004. My ex-husband used to be a neurosurgeon who participated in removing organs from Falun Gong practitioners.
"Organ Crimes," an oil painting by Xiqiang Dong depicting the seizure of organs from a living Falun Dafa practitioner in China. (Courtesy of Xiqiang Dong)
"Organ Crimes," an oil painting by Xiqiang Dong depicting the seizure of organs from a living Falun Dafa practitioner in China. Courtesy of Xiqiang Dong
“Our hospital started to detain these Falun Gong practitioners in 2001, about 5,000 to 6,000 of them. Live organ removal was conducted secretly. At that time I did not know about it.
“This hospital removed organs from a large number of living Falun Gong practitioners. Some practitioners were still breathing after their organs were removed against their will, but they were thrown into the hospital’s incinerator anyway. The hospital’s incinerator in the boiler room was also used as a crematory oven.
“At the beginning, fearing information could leak out, different organs were removed by different doctors in different rooms. Later on, when they got money and they were no longer afraid, they started to remove the organs together.
“If the victim’s skin was not peeled off and only internal organs were removed, the openings of the bodies would be sealed and an agent would sign the paperwork. The bodies would be sent to the crematorium near the Sujiatun area. If the skin was removed, they would be sent to the hospital boiler room.
“[My husband] was asked to help out [with organ removal] in other hospitals. Every time he did this, he got lots of money and cash awards—several dozen times his normal salary … hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars.
“The majority of the Falun Gong practitioners were transferred from Dabei Prison, Masanjia Forced Labour Camp, and other prisons in Shenyang. Others were kidnapped from parks or their homes. They were kidnapped because they refused to give up their belief in Falun Gong. The police didn’t have any search warrant and their families didn’t know it when they were arrested. Because the Chinese communist government’s state policy authorizes killing Falun Gong practitioners without any legal consequences, the death of Falun Gong practitioners in China’s penal system is nothing. So far, no Falun Gong practitioner has come out alive.
“Our hospital was only in charge of removal … the organs were sent to other hospitals
“This whole scheme and the trading of organs was organized by the government health system. The doctors’ responsibility was simply to do what they were told to do.
“There are a lot of hospitals in China that do this. They have removed organs from many living Falun Gong practitioners in secret.”

‘You Have No Idea of My Agony’

“I found out about this at the end of 2003. At the time my husband had become absent-minded and almost robotic. He had been doing it for years but had never told me about it. He often had terrible nightmares and would wake up shrieking and terrified. He would stare blankly at the TV. When our child or I touched him, he would shriek. I found him becoming abnormal.
Chinese doctors carry fresh organs for transplant at a hospital in Henan Province on Aug. 16, 2012. (Screenshot/Sohu.com)
Chinese doctors carry fresh organs for transplant at a hospital in Henan Province on Aug. 16, 2012. Screenshot/Sohu.com
“He told me, ‘You have no idea of my agony. These Falun Gong practitioners were alive. It would be okay if we removed organs from dead bodies, but these people were truly alive.’
“These things were done in secret. The involved surgeons in our hospitals were actually interns transferred from other hospitals. Because the government does not protect Falun Gong practitioners’ lives, their lives are regarded as nothing. The intern doctors used Falun Gong practitioners’ bodies for experimentation.
“There were a lot of transfers in and out of our hospital. Some doctors felt very pained after they had done it. Some were transferred elsewhere. Some changed their names and moved elsewhere. Some went abroad. Some may have been killed to eliminate evidence.
“Some other people know about it but do not dare to speak up, as they are afraid of being killed.
“In 2004, I asked my husband quit his job and he agreed. However, quitting put him in mortal danger. … We received threats by phone at home and we were the target of an assassination incident. ... My family decided to run away from everything by moving abroad.
“I have divorced my husband because I cannot accept that fact that he removed organs from Falun Gong practitioners. I myself have been severely traumatized and devastated.
“This is a state crime. I know this is the state that is committing the crimes. I know I alone will not be able to change this, but I know a lot of doctors will step out. I truly hope that these doctors, after hearing my heartfelt testimony, will act according to their conscience.”
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Joan Delaney
Joan Delaney
Senior Editor, Canadian Edition
Joan Delaney is Senior Editor of the Canadian edition of The Epoch Times based in Toronto. She has been with The Epoch Times in various roles since 2004.
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