Raymond Zhang, a Peabody Award winning filmmaker, has spent nearly two decades investigating one of the darkest allegations against the Chinese Communist Party. In his latest documentary, State Organs, Zhang presents what he calls evidence of a “most secret state crime” involving forced organ harvesting in China.

Zhang’s work builds on his earlier films, including Human Harvest and Avenues of Escape, both focused on persecution and human rights abuses. But he says it was meeting one particular witness that pushed him to make State Organs.

“In 2006, when I first heard about the organ harvesting, I was shocked but not that surprised,” Zhang said. “But in 2016, when I first met Dr. George Zheng, I was utterly shocked. The degree of the cruelty of the organ harvesting is beyond imagination.”

At the center of Zhang’s film is Dr. George Zheng, described as the only known military surgeon directly involved in organ harvesting who has publicly spoken about it.

According to Zhang, Dr. Zheng was summoned years ago for what was described as a “secret military mission” at one of China’s largest military hospitals. The target was a 17 year old soldier who had fallen out of favor with his superior.

The young soldier was reportedly imprisoned in a military jail after a conflict with his officer. While in custody, military command allegedly discovered he was a blood and tissue match for a high ranking military official in need of a transplant.

“The army decided to kill this boy for his two kidneys and one eyeball,” Zhang said. “His parents probably never knew what happened to their kid.”

Dr. Zheng described the moment in chilling detail. “When I looked at him, I saw fear in his eyes. His eyelids were moving. He was alive.”

He said there was no anesthesia. “The surgical knife was in the chest and the blood was spilt out.” He recalled the vessels “still pulsating and trembling” as organs were removed.

Zhang said the experience left Dr. Zheng living in “extreme fear every day” for 17 years, feeling hunted and threatened because he had taken part in a secret military operation.

Other Cases of Organ Harvesting

The film also features a police officer who said he witnessed another forced organ extraction involving a female Falun Gong practitioner. According to his testimony, she was subjected to interrogation and violence before being sent to a mental hospital.

He described a scene where “there was no anesthesia” and the woman cried out, “Falun Dafa is good. You can kill me alone. You can’t kill hundreds of millions of people for their faith.”

The officer said he watched as leaders nodded for the procedure to continue. He later expressed regret, saying he felt sorry he could not save the victims.

Zhang argues these testimonies point to a coordinated system involving military hospitals, provincial police departments, and what he describes as secret departments tied to the People’s Liberation Army.

The Latest Information and International Reaction

According to Zhang, the reaction to State Organs suggests the issue remains highly sensitive in Beijing.

Ahead of screenings in Taiwan, more than 120 death threat letters were reportedly sent. Some venues received bomb threats. Local police investigated and found no explosives, concluding the emails were sent via VPN from outside China.

Zhang said this confirmed what he calls “a typical intimidation tactic used by the Chinese Communist Party.”

Taiwanese officials refused to back down. One city council speaker said the screening would continue as scheduled and that she was not afraid of the threats.

Taiwan President Lai Ching te publicly condemned what he described as “shocking reports of torture, live organ harvesting, and appalling violations of human rights.” He called for “an immediate and independent investigation to expose the truth, stop these crimes, and protect innocent lives.”

Legislators in Taiwan described the documentary as an exposé of what they believe to be “the most secret state crime in China.”

Zhang places responsibility squarely on the Chinese Communist Party and its security apparatus. He points to military hospitals, provincial police departments, and high level command structures as being involved.

He notes that Professor Jim Zhang, the father of a disappeared victim, spent 18 years searching government agencies, police stations, and labor camps. He says the family was met with “evasion, cover ups, intimidation, and eventually a death threat.”

Zhang believes these layers of obstruction show state level coordination rather than isolated misconduct.

Personal Transformation and Redemption

For Zhang, the investigation has not only been professional but personal.

“Producing this documentary is also a journey of self redemption for myself as well,” he said. Born and raised in mainland China, he says he discovered what he calls remnants of “CCP culture” within himself and worked to shed them during the making of the film.

He described gaining “a cleaner and clearer mind” and a sense of “true freedom from the inside out.”

Dr. George Zheng also described a kind of redemption after speaking publicly. After years of fear, he said that once he gave his interview, “this omnipresent fear and never ending pressure suddenly vanished.”

Zhang warns that the issue extends beyond China’s borders. He argues that the lack of action from free countries has allowed abuses to continue and possibly expand.

“We live in a time where great good and great evil coexist,” he said. “This page of history will be turned over soon. I hope when we look back, none of us will have any regrets. We all have done what we should and what we could.”

Zhang credits whistleblowers, victims’ families, and lawmakers who have spoken out as essential to bringing the issue to light. Through State Organs, now streaming on major platforms, he says he hopes to push the international community toward independent investigation and accountability.

The views expressed in the film and interviews are those of the filmmaker and participants. Zhang’s reporting and the testimonies he presents remain central to the growing international debate over allegations of forced organ harvesting in China.

Inside Beijing’s Darkest State Crime—And Those Fighting to Expose It | Raymond Zhang | EpochTV