A New York-based research group faced malicious cyberattacks after publishing the testimony of a whistleblower doctor. The doctor had spoken to a Falun Gong practitioner in China who had her kidney forcibly removed by the communist regime. Shortly after the conversation, the woman died. The organization that published the testimony, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG), experienced a severe cyberattack immediately after the release. The attack lasted for a week, demonstrating the communist regime’s efforts to silence the issue.
Falun Gong has been the target of persecution by the Chinese Communist Party for the past 24 years. An independent tribunal in 2019 confirmed that the regime engaged in forced organ harvesting, with Falun Gong adherents being the primary source of organs. The cyberattack on WOIPFG revealed the regime’s determination to suppress information on forced organ harvesting.
Dr. Wang Zhiyuan, the lead researcher at WOIPFG, noted that Beijing authorities swiftly reacted to the testimony’s release. The Ministry of Public Security ordered an investigation into the matter and sent someone to receive the report in Harbin city, where the military hospital is located. These actions indicated the authorities’ fear and apprehension. Dr. Torsten Trey, the executive director of Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting, saw the cyberattack as confirmation of the validity of the video recording provided by the whistleblower doctor.
The Chinese Communist Party has consistently employed a strategy of blocking, covering up, and downplaying information regarding forced organ harvesting. However, there have been instances when the regime was forced to acknowledge the issue. In 2006, witnesses exposed organ harvesting at the Sujiatun concentration camp, leading Chinese authorities to close the facility and arrange a tour for U.S. diplomats. Later that year, an undercover investigation by WOIPFG revealed a doctor admitting the sourcing of organs from Falun Gong practitioners. In response, state-owned media released an interview with the doctor denying the conversation. However, this attempt to refute the evidence ultimately backfired and further confirmed the authenticity of WOIPFG’s recording.
Dr. Wang emphasized the importance of continuing public discussion and news coverage to address the issue of forced organ harvesting.