Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
First off, I'd like to thank the witnesses, specifically the three individuals who have agreed to testify today before the committee. I am profoundly touched by and extremely sympathetic to your cause.
I also want to let you know what our party's foreign affairs critic, Ms. Lalonde, is doing. Last April, she forwarded a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Peter MacKay, informing him that the Falun Dafa Association had contacted parliamentarians to relate to them the persecution they were experiencing at the hands of the government and to tell them about certain ongoing practices, specifically the practice of removing and selling vital organs and human tissue.
In my view, it's important for the committee to hear about some of these horror stories.
The letter also talks about the existence of 36 concentration camps in China which may house up to 120,000 people. It informs the minister that the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture announced last March that he would be conducting an investigation.The association calls on the minister to press for this international investigation as soon as possible in order to shed light on this situation and as well, to give his utmost consideration to this letter.
We've also been told of cases where persons applying for refugee status who claim to have been persecuted have had their applications denied. Had the refugee appeal section been operational, it likely would have allowed these individuals to state their case, contrary to what we are now seeing.