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April 20, 2006

Letters | Of human rights and a successful exhibition

I was disappointed to read Peter Dobrin's April 11 article on the popularity of Gunther von Hagens' "Body Worlds" exhibit at the Franklin Institute (" 'Body World' draws 500,000; likely to outdo 'Cézanne' ").

While I think it is wonderful that our newly reenergized city can attract such large numbers, I, and many others, do not think human rights violations are a valid form of attracting business. Von Hagens' exhibit uses the bodies of executed prisoners from China, a country we can trust does not value human lives, and which has, since the Communist Party's inception in China in 1949, murdered and persecuted billions to serve their own selfish interests. It is probable that the Body Worlds exhibit includes the bodies of Falun Gong practitioners, who have been brutally persecuted in China since 1999.

Dobrin reports that Body Worlds "did not generate much controversy in Philadelphia." This is untrue. Local Falun Gong practitioners have publicly stated their concerns - through calls and letters to government officials and to the Philadelphia Inquirer - and have staged a rally in front of the Franklin Institute.

Jessica Dean Russo
Philadelphia