His Attorney’s Letter of 11/27: Gutmann Has Not Denied or Amended References to Ko in His Book

 His Attorney’s Letter of 11/27: Gutmann Has Not Denied or Amended References to Ko in His Book

 Sources: All Taipei newspapers

November 28, 2014

In his book, The Slaughter: Mass Killings, Organ Harvesting, and China's Secret Solution to Its Dissident Problem, US journalist Ethan Gutmann mentioned that Ko Wen-je, a physician of the National Taiwan University Hospital, had gone to the Mainland a number of times to, quote, “negotiate reduced kidney and liver prices,” unquote, for patients in Taiwan. His remarks instantly caused a controversy in Taiwan. 

Yesterday, Gutmann stated in a letter through his attorney that Ko had never been an organ broker, nor had he profited from organ sales, adding that Taiwan’s media outlets had treated Ko and himself unfairly. 

However, a media commentary stressed that after Gutmann’s book was published in August this year, no media outlets in Taiwan had ever attacked Gutmann, adding that the only ones in Taiwan attacking Gutmann were Ko himself and his campaign team. The commentary noted that the public had never accused Ko of having been involved in brokering human organs, but merely called on Ko to clarify his role in organ harvesting on the Mainland. 

Furthermore, in his letter, Gutmann did not deny or amend the content of passages of his book with regard to organ sales, which mentions that, quote, “Dr. Ko went to China and meticulously worked through the checklist of intimacy with his medical colleagues: The go-to-hell banquet. The karaoke bar. The cognac followed by the Mao-Tai. The subtle flattery and the jokes about his accent. And when the ritual was truly finished, the Chinese surgeons summoned him. You are one of us and you are a brother. So we will give you the family price. But we are going to do more than that. We noted your worries and concerns about organ quality. So you will have no worries for your patients. They will receive nothing but the best: all the organs will come from Falung Gong,” unquote. 

Ethan Gutmann testified before the Foreign Affairs Committee of the US House of Representatives on September 12, 2012 with regard to organ harvesting on the Chinese Mainland. He confirmed that a surgeon from Taiwan had participated in the organ trade. 

In addition, Ethan Gutmann testified before the Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development in the Canadian Senate on October 21, 2014. He stated, quote, “Ten years ago Dr. Ko went to a mainland hospital to negotiate reduced kidney and liver prices for his department’s elderly patients. After a friendly banquet, Dr. Ko was given the Chinese price, which was about half of what a foreigner pays,” unquote. Gutmann went on to praise Ko, saying that, quote, “Dr. Ko is now the leading candidate to be mayor of Taipei, largely due to the perception that he is a man of integrity. I’ll go further. Dr. Ko’s testimony has done more for this investigation than all the world’s health organizations put together,” unquote. 

【Editor’s Note: All quotes are verbatim quotes in this news story.】

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