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Comment by hbarka | Hacker News Reader

I don’t know anything about Rose Pak but your rumor post feels so vile like political propaganda. Your links have no substantiation whatsoever and you’re comfortable with that?

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"vile propaganda"... project much?

It clearly says she had gone to China for a kidney transplant: https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Rose-Pak-SF-political-po...

Her connections to mainland China are well documented. From Wikipedia:

“Pak was an overseas executive director of the China Overseas Exchange Association (COEA), an organization overseen by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office (OCAO) of the State Council of the People's Republic of China.”

“At various times she spoke out in favor of the Chinese government's views, e.g. in 2012 calling all "overseas Chinese" to "defend the homeland” in the conflict about the Diaoyu Islands, and in 2008 opposing a resolution of the SF Board of Supervisors that criticized China for the Tiananmen Square massacre and other repression measures, passed on occasion of the Beijing Summer Olympics torch relay reaching San Francisco.”

“As revealed in a 2018 Politico report after Pak's death, among U.S. intelligence officials "there were widespread concerns that Pak had been co-opted by Chinese intelligence". These also extended to her work in organizing many "junket" trips to China for leading Bay Area politicians.”

Regardless of that, or the source of her kidneys, Pak is a textbook case of political cronyism, and how one person who never held elected office can use financial connections, backroom dealmaking, and sheer force of will to shape elections and policy for decades and steer the direction of a major city.

Literally the first result on google from a reputable source says she went to China to get a transplant: https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-rose-pak-20160919-...

And China has an extremely well documented practice of doing exactly what OP said: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organ_harvesting_from_Falun_Go...

I'm not disputing anything said, but just a heads up since I also heard about the Fulan Gong organ harvesting thing years before I heard any thing else about what Fulan Gong even is: read up on it. It has its own weird nest of conspiracy around it.

Not authoritative, but I thought this was interesting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JaPzJKycxc

The most interesting thing about Falun Gong is that their leaders believe that Trump was sent by heaven to destroy the communist party, as reported by the LA Times.

https://web.archive.org/web/20200526081806/https://www.lamag...

Fascinating video, thanks

> I'm not disputing anything said, but just a heads up since I also heard about the Fulan Gong organ harvesting thing years before I heard any thing else about what Fulan Gong even is: read up on it. It has its own weird nest of conspiracy around it.

Honestly, who cares? IMHO, Fulan Gong is only notable as an example of the kind of insane persecution the Chinese government can conduct against a group. They probably weren't the most sensible to begin with (which is no excuse for their persecution), and the level of persecution they've received it probably enough to make anyone an nut (e.g. going all in for Trump). Focusing too much on that mainly has the effect of distracting from the persecution.

And I do believe they're persecuted. Besides all the documented stuff, the (Chinese) mother of one of my friends can't travel outside her hometown because she was (mistakenly) put on some list of Fulan Gong people.

Follow the trail. Are the LA times a reputable source?

Yes. Yes they are

That's the trick: do something so horrendous that the natural response of normal people is to think, "There's no way it's actually that bad."

So then nobody asks questions.

How do you travel to another country, and come back with new kidneys specially when you are already of old age and so not so high on a donation waiting list?

Is there something about being old that prevents you from traveling on planes or receiving organ transplants?

I assume it's usually the younger, higher scored potential organ recipients, even in your own country.

China has one of the largest organ transplant programs in the world and there's a very well documented practice of well connected CCP members getting preference.

No. But China had very recently only 31 ( yes 31 ) persons officially registered as organ donor. So how do you travel to another country, and come back with new organs that fast? How do you jump the queue? In the West you are even refused a heart transplant if you are not vaccinated for Covid...

Life threatening blood clots for one. Deep vein thrombosis is a very real killer in long haul flights.

I know other western countries were people in their 60ies regularly receive transplants.

This is in itself nothing sinister and cause for questioning. I don't know about the regulations in mainland China that govern organ donations, so I am not equipped to argue in this specific case.

Just the fact that one received a transplant doesn't mean that there is suspicious activity involved.

> not so high on a donation waiting list?

The CCP will move you to the top of this list if you're powerful and well-connected, as she was.

I mean you can replace CCP with any large groups of people or say any country and that’s going to be true.

Steve Jobs travelled to Tennessee and came back with a new liver.

Also very much out of left field. If this is as common as claimed, only one example would've been needed (and more examples could've been sourced with less controversial contexts). The second example:

1. isn't verified ("rumor"), and

2. mentions many points entirely incidental to the operation itself and doesn't materially contribute to the topic of organ harvesting from inmates.

What's more telling to me is that I wouldn't be surprised if this turned out to be true.

They said it's a rumor. One way to stop such a rumor would be to stop the practice of taking organs from condemned prisoners.

Pot, Kettle, Black.

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