wed1328 15 Aug 2007 David T. Nicholson's Wednesday-Night.com

David Kilgour was the long-serving (May 1979 until January 2006) Member of Parliament for the southeastern area of Edmonton.. In addition to serving as an MP (and Secretary of State for Latin America & Africa, later for Asia-Pacific), David is an author, with three books[1] to his credit and a new one about to be published, Uneasy Neighbors, which is co-authored with our friend, American diplomat David Jones.
Recently, David has devoted much of his energies to producing with his co-author David Matas http://www.cjlsa.ca/cdavid.html the report “Bloody Harvest” on the Chinese government sanctioned harvesting of organs from members of the Falun Gong (see also).
On August 9, he launched a Global Human Rights Torch Relay through 100 cities around the world. The year-long relay is designed to draw attention to crimes against humanity committed by the Chinese government against practitioners of Falun Gong.
In line with his longstanding commitment to Human Rights, David is also active on issues related to Tibet and to Darfur see also

On the subject of Darfur, we would like to call to your attention the Montreal Conference on Darfur, an event organized by Beryl Wajsman’s Institute for Public Affairs of Montreal in conjunction with The Suburban newspapers and the Dym Family Foundation on Thursday the 16th.

We look forward to the reports of this year’s Couchiching Conference titled The Stranger Next Door: making diversity work which looks at diversity, social cohesion and citizenship. The questions posed are ones that have frequently been discussed at the Wednesday Night table: With our increasingly diverse society, how do we maintain a core set of values and cultural harmony? Is there a mainstream culture? What role do government and business play in drawing on the talents of such a multiplicity of cultures? What does patriotism mean in this new world? Does diversity threaten security? What can we learn from our friends south of the border, or across the Atlantic, in living together in harmony – and what can they learn from us?

[1] Uneasy Patriots: Western Canadians in Confederation, which examines Western alienation (1988)
Inside Outer Canada, which examines Canadian regional alienation, was first published in 1990
Betrayal: The Spy Canada Abandoned about the case of Ryszard Paszkowski (1994)

Organ Harvesting in China: 'Bloody Harvest' Soon in Book Form

Canadian Human Rights Investigators to Publish By Christmas

The latest version of the Kilgour-Matas report on organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners in China , Bloody Harvest, will be published in book form later this year.

Canadian former Secretary of State, David Kilgour, one of the key investigators into these gross human rights violations, said Bloody Harvest would focus on the "terrible practice" of involuntary removal of organs from prisoners of conscience in China.

Speaking to the press while in Vienna, Kilgour said that the best time for release would be just before the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. He expects to finish the text by the end of next month, after which the book will go through editing and revision before publishing date. Kilgour expects the book to be available before Christmas.

Kilgour felt that after doing so much research and conducting so many interviews with people involved in every aspect of the illegal organ trade, publishing his compiled results as a book seemed like a logical consequence. He did not elaborate on what new evidence of organ harvesting might be included in the new publication.

Kilgour, a former secretary of State for the Asia/Pacific, has a long history as a champion of human rights. In 2006, he and Canadian Human Rights attorney David Matas undertook an independent investigation of the Chinese Communist Party's alleged organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners. Kilgour and Matas, after a two-month investigation, concluded that without a doubt tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners had been killed on demand and their organs sold for transplant, all under the auspices of the CCP. Many of the transplant patients came from overseas, they said in the report.

David Kilgour gives two examples for the effect that the report has had on western society. Israel had been in the habit of sending patients for organ transplantations to China, including transport and organs, since federal health care paid for the treatment. "As soon as the report appeared, they stopped it immediately", said Kilgour. Israel will no longer pay for its citizens to receive organ transplants in China.

He also mentioned that many Australians had traveled to China for organ transplants due to the quick delivery of desired organs, "That has now collapsed, after the report appeared." The media in Australia were very helpful with the circulation of the report. Australians were immediately aware that the organs that were so readily available for transplant were not coming from condemned criminals but from innocent people arrested for their faith and beliefs.

On the 31st January of this year, David Kilgour and David Matas published a revised and extended report "Bloody Harvest". In this report, the authors reached the conclusion that in the span of six years more than 40,000 Falun Gong practitioners have been murdered for their organs.

Welcome to Wednesday Night #1328 15 Aug, 2007

Organ Harvesting in China: 'Bloody Harvest' Soon in Book Form

Canadian Human Rights Investigators to Publish By Christmas

2007

PLEASE RSVP - even if you can't come, we enjoy your feedback

2007 W-N Links

the Computer Box