China criticises Italy's media for its report on Beijing's 'practice' of organ harvesting

Italy has become the target of Chinese propaganda after an article on organ harvesting was published in the Italian weekly magazine Panorama. The Chinese Communist Party is aiming to penetrate democratic countries through its long arm, according to Marco Respinti's article in Bitter Winter, a newspaper that advocates human rights and religious freedom.

An article condemning China's industrial-scale, inhumane practice of organ harvesting was published in the Italian weekly magazine Panorama on August 24. Later on August 28, a response was posted on the Embassy of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Italy's website.

Panorama was accused of slander and plagiarism, and the Embassy expressed its "strong condemnation." It added that China is built on the rule of law and that Chinese laws ban the sale of human organs and the performance of unlawful transplants, adding that all surgical operations of this type are based on voluntary organ donations.

According to the Embassy, coercive people harvesting is a "rumour" that has been "created ad hoc by the heretic cult 'Falun Gong' and other anti-Chinese organisations" in order to "promote Sinophobia and fool the international community." Panorama responded, confirming that the content of its piece on human harvesting was supported by evidence published in peer-reviewed medical journals.

The CCP's abuses of religious groups, ethnic minorities, dissidents, and others are well recorded in hundreds of pages, have been evaluated by international organisations and independent scholars, have been acknowledged by parliaments, and are presented daily, among others, by Bitter Winter.

China-backed project in Myanmar becoming a hub for human trafficking, says report

Meanwhile, Human rights groups in Myanmar are concerned about an increase in human trafficking cases after learning that the Shwe Kokko New City in Karen State, southeast Myanmar, has become a significant hub for the crime. The town, which claims to be a Special Economic Zone and is home to several Chinese-owned enterprises, is governed by the Karen Border Guard Force, a branch of the Myanmar military, and is located on the banks of the Moei River, just across the border from Thailand, according to The Irrawaddy news website.

Furthermore, the majority of human trafficking victims in the area are from Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Laos, according to the online magazine The Diplomat. They are imprisoned and forced to work as online scammers for organised crime syndicates. The presence of casinos and nightclubs in Shwe Kokko New City has attracted a large number of Chinese investors, employees, and tourists. Furthermore, according to certain sources, China's BRI includes Shwe Kokko New City.

Image: AP