WeisserLotus
Edward Clare's Harvest of Silence: Chronicles of the Persecution of Faith in China investigates one of the most brutal human rights atrocities happening in the People's Republic of China. The narrative begins with survivor Cheng Peimin, who escaped forced organ harvesting and became the first documented witness to this horror. His story sets the stage for a larger investigation into a system of terror targeting millions of peaceful citizens for their spiritual beliefs.
Clare traces the origins to the 1990s, highlighting peaceful Falun Gong meditations that sparked a spiritual awakening. He recounts the April 1999 appeal near Zhongnanhai, where thousands demanded the release of fellow practitioners, showcasing their remarkable self-discipline.
However, the CCP, led by Jiang Zemin, saw this movement as a threat. In July 1999, the "Office 610" was established to eradicate Falun Gong by any means necessary. Clare outlines a strategy of discrediting, bankrupting, and physically destroying the victims, with state media dehumanizing them and orchestrating events like the Tiananmen Square self-immolation in 2001 to justify repression.
The book documents the role of the Chinese Anti-Cult Association in legitimizing persecution and explores the forced organ harvesting industry, revealing how prisoners of conscience were exploited as organ sources. Clare shares victim stories, including engineer Lu Kaili, who suffered severe disabilities from torture.
Clare asserts that this issue is a global threat, as China's model of suppression is being replicated elsewhere, criminalizing faith. He emphasizes that indifference allows this persecution to persist, highlighting the resilience of the human spirit against absolute evil.