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Human Rights torch relay stop in Missoula spotlights alleged abuses in China, local support
Summary
Speakers at Missoula’s stop on the international Human Rights Torch relay condemned alleged human-rights abuses in China, including claims of organ harvesting and persecution of Falun Gong and Christians, and read supportive letters from U.S. officials.
The Human Rights Torch relay made a stop in Missoula on an international campaign calling attention to alleged human-rights abuses in China.
Organizers Catherine Combs and Laurie Gorham opened the event, which they said is part of a relay “making stops on 6 continents in over a 50 cities and 37 countries” to press for better treatment of people inside China. Combs introduced a lineup of local and visiting speakers who described persecution of religious groups and urged continued public pressure ahead of and during the Beijing Olympics.
The event’s principal speaker on Falun Gong, Heather Ming, identified herself as a practitioner and said she spoke “representing 100,000,000 Falun Gong practitioners, the majority of which are in China.” Ming described years of reported repression and told the audience that “they have been harvesting organs from living Falun Gong practitioners, selling the organs for profit, and then cremating their bodies to destroy the evidence.”…
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