China's ambassador to Ireland is to be asked to appear before an all-party parliamentary committee to discuss claims his country's authorities have been harvesting human organs from prisoners. The committee is also asking Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern to raise the issue with his Chinese counterpart at a meeting of the ongoing EU-China dialogue on human rights.
The moves came after the Oireachtas (Gaelic for parliamentary) Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs heard the findings of a report investigating the possible organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners.
The report alleged that "the Chinese Government has over the past half decade put to death a large but unknown number of Falun Gong prisoners of conscience" and "simultaneously seized their vital organs for sale at high prices."
PHOTO: EPA
The committee had been addressed by former Canadian Secretary of State for the Asia Pacific region David Kilgour who co-wrote the report with David Matas, an international human rights lawyer.
Kilgour told the committee that those responsible for these deeds, including the doctors involved, should face the International Criminal Court as quickly as possible.
"We have a new form of evil in the world," he said. "These practices make crimes against humanity as defined by the Treaty of Rome and the International Criminal Court look more like misdemeanours." A misdemanour is a minor offence.
Committee chairman Dr Michael Woods of Prime Minister Bertie Ahern's Fianna Fail ruling party said Kilgour's report "made for compelling reading" and China should permit an independent investigation. (AFP)
中共駐愛爾蘭大使被要求出席跨黨派國會委員會，討論對於中國官方活體摘取囚犯器官的指控。委員會亦要求愛爾蘭外交部長德莫特．埃亨於中國歐盟人權對話會議上，向中國代表提出此項議題。
國會聯合委員會在聽取有關法輪功學員被活體摘除器官的調查發現後，提出這項要求。
這份報告宣稱「中國政府過去五年來處死大量(實際數字未知)的法輪功學員」並且「摘除他們的重要器官以高價賣出」。
加拿大前亞太司司長大衛?喬高，和共同撰寫此份報告的國際人權律師大衛．麥塔斯已在委員會上發表聲明。
喬高對委員會表示，該對這些行為負責的人，包括醫生在內，應該儘速接受國際刑事法庭的審判。
他表示︰「這世界存在著一種新型態的邪惡，這些行為讓羅馬條約和國際刑事法庭所定義的違反人道罪行相形之下如輕罪一般」。輕罪是指不嚴重的罪行。
委員會主席麥可．伍茲博士隸屬愛爾蘭總理博提．阿亨所領導執政的共和黨，他表示喬高的報告「不容忽視」，中國應准許進行獨立調查。（法新社╱翻譯︰鄭湘儀）
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) has been used in cooking for over a century to enhance flavor. It is often found in Chinese dishes and many other cuisines. Despite its common use, many people misunderstand the safety of MSG. The bad __1__ of MSG started in the late 1960s, when a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine described symptoms like a racing heart, weakness, and numbness after the writer ate Northern Chinese food. While no specific cause was __2__, a series of questionable studies in 1968 began to point the finger at MSG. In one such study, neurologist Herbert Schaumburg and
A: The World Expo 2025 is about to open in Osaka. Is Taiwan going to participate in the event too? B: Sure, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) will launch a Taiwan pavilion named “Tech World.” A: That sounds cool, and it can showcase our national strength in technology. B: The theme is “Connecting the world to create better future lives together.” The pavilion aims to attract over one million visitors. A: I hope humans can really create better future lives through this year’s fair. A: 2025年世博會即將開幕，這次台灣也會參加嗎？ B: 當然啦，外貿協會的台灣館將以「Tech World」名義參展！ A: 聽起來蠻酷的，應該是想強調台灣的科技實力。 B: 策展主題則是：「連結世界，共創未來美好生活」，希望能吸引到100萬人次參訪。 A: 希望藉由這次世博會，人類真的能共創美好生活。 （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）
Even as he grows older, Microsoft founder Bill Gates still fondly remembers the catalytic computer code he wrote 50 years ago that opened up a new frontier in technology. Although the code that Gates printed out on a teletype machine may look crude compared to what’s powering today’s artificial intelligence platforms, it played a critical role in creating Microsoft in April 1975 — a golden anniversary that the Redmond, Washington, company celebrated on April 4. Gates, 69, set the stage for that jubilee with a blog post reminiscing on how he and his old high school friend — the late Paul Allen
The study had several issues. Small sample sizes made it hard to draw __7__ conclusions. Additionally, taking a __8__ like pure MSG on an empty stomach is likely to make a person ill in any case. Choosing individuals who already had a history of the symptoms could have created a bias because they were likely to __9__ the reactions again. When real scientific research on the effects of MSG was eventually done, many of the myths surrounding it were proven __10__. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other global organizations have found MSG safe to eat. Today, MSG
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