On July 3, 2024, local time, the cult organization Falun Gong held a news conference in Washington DC, on which a man named Cheng Peiming took off his shirt and showed a scar under his left armpit, claiming that it was left from the "organ harvesting", or the phrase they used to describe their fabricated involuntary organ transplant he suffered 20 years ago during imprisonment in Daqing city, Heilongjiang province. The Falun Gong cult has promoted Cheng as the "first known survivor of organ harvesting by the Communist Party of China(CPC)."

(Cheng Peiming at the news conference, July 3rd)

Notably, just a week before the very press conference, the US House of Representatives passed a bill related to Falun Gong, continuing to slander China by groundlessly claiming large-scale "organ harvesting". After more than a decade on the run and four years in the US, Cheng suddenly emerged as a key "witness" at this time and made appearances at Falun Gong press conferences twice on August 7 and September 4.

Did Cheng Peiming actually undergo forced organ removal surgery as he claimed? Who is Cheng Peiming? Is this so-called most powerful "witness" pushed by Falun Gong really credible?

To answer all these questions, the China Anti-Cult Network has sent journalists to Jixi and Daqing cities in Heilongjiang province to interview Cheng's family members, relatives, and staff from the prison where he was once incarcerated and the hospital where he received treatment.

1. It was Chen's sister who signed for a life-saving surgery

A key member of the Falun Gong cult, Cheng Peiming was born in Jixi city, Heilongjiang province in 1965. Except for his sister, Cheng Peifeng, most of his immediate family members were fanatical Falun Gong believers at the time. In 2002, Cheng was sentenced to eight years in prison for the crime of "using a cult to undermine law enforcement" and was imprisoned at Daqing Prison.

According to several prison officers who were in charge of Cheng's affairs, he exhibited a tendency of self-injury during his terms in prison.

On November 16, 2004, Zhang Zhijie, a prison officer on duty, had just finished lunch when one of Cheng's fellow inmates reported, that Cheng might have swallowed something as they found a note on his bed saying, "I swallowed a nail." Zhang and other officers rushed to help, but Cheng refused to speak despite their questioning.

Without eyewitnesses, it was unclear whether Cheng had really swallowed anything, so the officers decided to send him to the isolation ward where they could together wait for X-ray confirmation. Yet Cheng broke a window in the isolation ward, injuring his wrist, and began shouting that he had swallowed a nail. To prevent further injury, they bandaged Cheng's wrist and sent him to The Fourth Hospital of Daqingfor further treatment.

Hospital records show that on November 16, 2004, at 9 PM, Cheng was admitted to the thoracic surgery department for "foreign objects in the esophagus and stomach". "The patient swallowed foreign objects", the records show, "and chest pain gradually worsened, along with abdominal pain and discomfort."

X-rays revealed that Cheng had not only swallowed a 10-cm-long nail but also a 8.3-cm by 1.7-cm piece of a wallpaper blade. The nail had entered his intestines, while the blade was stuck in his esophagus, posing a severe risk. An investigation later revealed that Cheng had secretly collected the nail and blade from construction debris in the prison canteen.

Initially, the treatment team hoped to remove the objects using an endoscope, but an ENT consultation revealed that the blade was lodged in a narrow part of the esophagus, making it impossible to extract with an endoscope. Surgery was recommended.

"Since the blade and nail were sharp objects, we worried they could damage his esophagus and intestines, so we recommended immediate surgery," recalled Doctor Cheng Liwen, a thoracic surgeon at the hospital. Even 20 years later, he still remembers the unusual case, as it's rather rare for someone to swallow such sharp objects, especially from a prison.

However, Cheng Peiming refused surgery. Given the life-threatening situation, with the blade near the aorta, his family was called in to the hospital. Medical records show, "Both endoscopic and surgical removal of the foreign objects pose certain risks." The hospital requested family cooperation in the hope of the latter persuading Cheng.

On the morning of November 17, another consultation was held. X-rays showed that the nail had shifted slightly, but the blade was still stuck in the esophagus. The ENT department still recommended thoracotomy surgery.

"The situation was so urgent that an immediate surgery had to be performed," said Doctor Cheng who participated in the entire operation, explaining that the blade's proximity to the aorta meant any damage to the esophagus could lead to fatal bleeding.

In light of the urgent situation and Cheng's uncooperative attitude, on November 17 afternoon, an emergency joint meeting was convened by the prison, hospital, and other relevant departments in Daqing City, on which a lawyer provided legal consultation opinions about how to save his life.

"To save my brother's life, it was I who finally signed the consent for the surgery," said Cheng Peifeng. Subsequently, the hospital successfully performed the surgery on Cheng Peiming at 4:30 PM, which records indicate an "exploratory thoracotomy, removal of foreign objects from the esophagus and jejunum.

(Cheng Peifeng signed the consent for the surgery)

It also showed that "After anesthesia, the patient was placed on his right side, with an incision made between the fifth ribs on the left side."

"We designed the surgery based on the locations of the metal objects. One was in the lower esophagus, the other in the intestines. Using a combined chest and abdominal approach would have been more traumatic, so we opted for a less invasive method for less injury and faster recovery," explained Doctor Cheng.

During the surgery, the blade was first located in the esophagus and extracted through the mouth with assistance from the ENT department. Cheng recalled that the blade was rusty.

Next, the nail was found in the small intestine, and a small incision was made to remove it.

(the blade and the nail extracted from Cheng Peiming's body, 2004)

The surgery lasted about three hours, leaving a 20-cm scar. After the operation, Cheng was kept in the hospital for seven days and recovered well. He was transferred back to the prison hospital on November 24 for further rehabilitation and fully recovered by December 2.

Additionally, Cheng's prison records show that he had a pre-existing condition: tuberculosis. An April 2002 medical exam diagnosed him with "infiltrative pulmonary tuberculosis", which was treated before he was re-incarcerated.

2. Spiritual control alienated Cheng from his family

It is not uncommon for criminals worldwide to implement self-harms, trying to escape punishment. The case of Cheng Peiming, who had been deeply brainwashed by the Falun Gong cult, swallowing foreign objects is a typical one.

Starting in the 1990s, Falun Gong grew into the largest cult organization in China. Many people were deceived, brainwashed, and spiritually controlled, becoming loyal followers of Li Hongzhi and his Falun Gong cult. Cheng Peiming was one of them.

"He used to be a simple and honest man," said Wang Min (pseudonym), Cheng Peiming's ex-wife. Cheng had some education and a respectable job at Zhangxin Coal Mine, a well-regarded company at the time. They married in 1987 and soon had a well-behaved, adorable son. Life was happy. But after Cheng became obsessed with Falun Gong, he got stuck in the cult and sank deeper.

"At first, when he started practicing Falun Gong, it didn't seem like a problem. It felt like it was teaching people to be good, like returning found money, avoiding greed, and staying out of conflicts with others," Wang Min recalled. "But later, he was rarely at home, gave up his job, ignored our child — Falun Gong was everything that occupied his mind."

"He stopped caring about the family altogether," Wang Min didn't understand and asked him, "You say you are believing in a religion. But isn't it a cult actually? Or how could a good, respectable religion teach its followers to abandon family? "

Wang Min's brother, Wang Qiang (pseudonym), also tried hard to persuade Cheng Peiming. "Brother-in-law, anything that teaches you to abandon family for no reason is dangerous," he said, but all their persuasions were in vain that Cheng no longer showed up at home.

The family fell apart. Wang Min had to leave their young child with her parents and find work elsewhere to make ends meet. At one point, they even relied on social welfare. Wang Qiang, feeling sorry for his sister, would often help her with money.

"Now, when I think of Cheng Peiming, all I feel is disgusting. He failed his responsibilities as a father, a husband, a brother and a son." Wang Min said angrily, claiming Cheng had ruined her life, and Falun Gong had destroyed their family.

After the Chinese government legally banned the Falun Gong cult, most former members voluntarily left and returned to normal life. However, Cheng Peiming and a few others remained deeply controlled by the cult's teachings and resisted leaving, even though knowing their activities are illegal.

"Cheng had a book called Zhuan Falun that he cherished like cherishing his eyeballs," said Cheng Peiming's sister Cheng Peifeng, the only sibling who didn't believe in Falun Gong, "preventing them from practicing was like taking their lives."

She had witnessed her parents, siblings, and brother-in-law descending into near madness. "They really wouldn't take medicine or go to the hospital when they were sick. No matter how much pain they were in, they refused to go to the hospital, thinking Falun Gong would cure them."

"You could talk to him about anything, but he had a godlike figure in heart, namely his 'master' Li Hongzhi." said prison officer Tai Feng who once tried to talk to Cheng about his family, encouraging him to behave for their sake and work toward early release for family reunion. "Think about your child who is still so young and in dire need of a father", he said, but Cheng's heart was as hard as stone. "When you talked about his family, he was completely indifferent, as if he had no emotions left. The only thing that moved him was Falun Gong and his master, Li Hongzhi," Tai said. "Never before had I ever seen a person so deeply brainwashed."

3. Once again, he swallowed a saw blade

The prison officers said that Cheng Peiming recovered well after his 2004 surgery, while medical and daily records showed his health was good despite him frequently going on hunger strikes. On the afternoon of March 2, 2006, Cheng swallowed foreign objects again and was taken to Longnan Hospital in Daqing for treatment.

The hospital's tests revealed he had swallowed three broken saw blades, which had already reached the small intestine and had the chance of passing naturally.

Doctor Li Shuangqi noted, "If the metal passes the ileocecal valve, it may exit the body naturally. He was given oral paraffin oil and was closely monitored."

But out of Li's expectation, the next day when he arrived at work, he got the news that Cheng had escaped.

It was via the hospital's fire exit that Cheng, who had been staying on the fifth floor, escaped.. The security department explained that at the time, the hospital lacked modern security measures, and the fire exit was usually unlocked. The main entrance to the hospital was often left open due to the frequent comings and goings of mothers and newborns.

That night, Cheng got up several times to use the bathroom. At dawn, he told the guard that he needed to use the toilet again but complained of stomach pain and a lack of toilet paper. While the guard went back to the room to get paper, Cheng disappeared.

Looking back, prison officials guessed that Cheng saw the hospital as a weak point in their security after his previous visit and used this chance to escape.

After Cheng's escape, his whereabouts remained unclear for some time. It was later learned that he had fled to Thailand and was detained there by local police in late 2019. By early 2020, Cheng had escaped to the United States.

Recently, during the investigation of a Falun Gong case, law enforcement officials discovered that the scar left from Cheng's surgery has become a useful tool for Falun Gong operatives, who planned to smuggle him out of the country. They intended to hype Cheng up as a "survivor of organ harvesting", a "living witness" who could testify to alleged large-scale organ harvesting in China.

At a Falun Gong press conference on September 4, 2024, former US Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) Robert Destro admitted that he was involved in this so-called "rescue" mission, calling it one of his "greatest achievements" as Assistant Secretary.

Doctor Cheng Liwen, who performed the surgery, found the claimed of Cheng's organ harvesting so absurd as laughable. "It can't be more ridiculous! Our hospital didn't even have the capability to perform organ transplants back then, which we still don't have today," he said. The surgery hadn't involved any removal or injury of Cheng's liver or lungs, two organs often used for transplantation.

Even Cheng's family was shocked. "I was there during both hospitalizations and didn't notice anything unusual," said Cheng Peiming's sister, Cheng Peifeng. Wang Min, who divorced Cheng in 2005, added, "When I went to the prison to handle the divorce, there wasn't any mentioning of the so-called 'organ harvesting'."

In conclusion, the rumor that Cheng Peiming had his organs harvested is entirely fabricated, a political drama orchestrated by the Falun Gong cult to smear China's image. But the drama is so absurd as only to deal a fatal blow to the credibility of its own fabricators.

(For the sake of protecting their privacy, some interviewees' appeared in pseudonyms. This story is submitted from China Anti-cult Net, with its website being Chinafxj.cn.)