The faculty and staff of Stanford's Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL), as well as the undersigned alumni of the Fisher Family Summer Fellows Program (FFSF, formerly known as the Draper Hills Summer Fellows Program, DHSF), demand the immediate and safe release of our friend and colleague, Jesús Armas, who has been kidnapped by agents of the Venezuelan government.

Jesús has bravely worked with the opposition to promote fair elections and uphold democracy in Venezuela. His abduction is a blatant act of repression aimed at silencing his vital work for freedom and justice.

We call on the Venezuelan government to release Jesús immediately and urge the international community to condemn this attack on democracy and human rights. Jesús inspires us all, and we stand united in solidarity with him and his fight for a brighter future for Venezuela.

Signed,

Tatevik Matinyan, Armenia (DHSF 2022)

Daria Minsky, Belarus (DHSF 2022)

Mariana Mello, Brazil (DHSF 2022)

Tainah Pereira, Brazil (DHSF 2022)

Assefa Getaneh, Ethiopia (DHSF 2022)

Zurab Sanikidze, Georgia (DHSF 2022)

Gabriel Reyes Silva, Guatemala (DHSF 2022)

Ritu Sain, India (DHSF 2022)

Aida Aidarkulova, Kazakhstan (DHSF 2022)

Carol Kiangura, Kenya (DHSF 2022)

Jacqueline Akinyi Okeyo Manani, Kenya (DHSF 2022)

Ainura Usupbekova, Kyrgyz Republic (DHSF 2022)

Alaa Al Sayegh, Lebanon (DHSF 2022)

Jad Maalouf, Lebanon (DHSF 2022)

Natasha E. Feghali, Lebanon (DHSF 2022)

Mariela Saldivar Villalobos, Mexico (DHSF 2022)

Bulgantuya Khurelbaatar, Mongolia (DHSF 2022)

Sarita Pariyar, Nepal (DHSF 2022)

Dr. Babatunde Omilola, Nigeria (DHSF 2022)

Daniel Alfaro, Peru (DHSF 2022)

Andréa Ngombet, Republic of Congo (DHSF 2022)

Jamus Lim, Singapore (DHSF 2022)

Anchal Baniparsadh, South Africa (DHSF 2022)

Geline Alfred Fuko, Tanzania (DHSF 2022)

Ornella Moderan, Togo (DHSF 2022)

Denis Gutenko, Ukraine (DHSF 2022)

Nariman Ustaiev, Ukraine (DHSF 2022)

Yulia Bezvershenko, Ukraine (DHSF 2022)

Rayhan Asat, Uyghur human rights lawyer / USA (DHSF 2022)

Tien Trung Nguyen, Vietnam (DHSF 2022)

Brett Carter, Assistant Professor, University of Southern California; Hoover Fellow, Stanford University; Affiliate, CDDRL, Stanford University, USA

Biljana Spasovska, Executive Director, BCSDN, North Macedonia (FFSF 2024)

Sunny Cheung, Hong Kong (FFSF 2023)

Hector Fuentes, Visiting Scholar at CDDRL, Venezuela (FFSF 2024)

Erik Jensen, Affiliated Faculty, CDDRL, USA

Khatia, Former member of the Parliament, Georgia (FFSF 2024)

Mykhailo Pavliuk, Chernivtsi Oblast Legislature, Ukraine (FFSF 2023)

Alice Siu, Deliberative Democracy Lab, USA

María Ignacia Curiel, Researcher at Poverty, Violence and Governance Lab, CDDRL, Stanford, USA 

Thao Dinh, Coordinator of Civil Society Forum, Vietnam (FFSF 2024)

Tem Fuh, Project Manager, Institute for Security Studies, Kenya (FFSF 2023)

Dagva, Open Society Forum, Mongolia (FFSF 2024)

Margaret Levi, Senior Fellow, CDDRL, USA

Halyna Yanchenko, Member of Parliament of Ukraine, Ukraine (FFSF 2023)

Iaroslav Liubchenko, Head of the Department on Building Integrity in The Defence and Security Sector at the National Agency on Corruption Prevention, Ukraine (FFSF 2023)

Nora Sulots, Communications Manager, CDDRL, USA

Cristofer Correia, Voluntad Popular, Venezuela (FFSF 2023)

Stephen Stedman, Senior Fellow, CDDRL, Stanford, USA

Sally Abi Khalll, Oxfam, Lebanon (FFSF 2023)

Ivetta Sergeeva, Postdoctoral Fellow, CDDRL, Russia

Valentin Bolotnyy, Kleinheinz Fellow, Hoover Institution, USA

Gulsanna Mamediieva, Georgetown University, USA (FFSF 2023)

Tamar Khulordava, Former MP, founder of Egeria Solutions, Georgia (FFSF 2023)

Francis Fukuyama, Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and Director, Ford Dorsey Masters in International Policy, Stanford, USA

Betilde Muñoz-Pogossian, Director of Social Inclusion at the Organization of American States, USA (DHSF 2021)

Sophie Richardson, Visiting Scholar, CDDRL, Stanford University, USA

Diego Zambrano, Professor of Law, Stanford Law School, USA/Venezuela

Beatriz Magaloni, Graham H. Stuart Professor, Political Science and Senior Fellow, FSI, Stanford University, USA and Mexico

Didi Kuo, Center Fellow, CDDRL, USA

Dinsha Mistree, Affiliated Researcher, CDDRL; Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, USA

Evan Mawarire, Senior Fellow, USA (DHSF 2018)

Raihana Maqbool, Independent Journalist, India (DHSF 2021)

Alon Tal, Visiting Professor, USA/Israel

Nikita Makarenko, Independent Journalist, Uzbekistan (DHSF 2021)

Ghina Bou Chakra, Amnesty International, Lebanon (FFSF 2023)

Alberto Díaz Cayeros, Senior Fellow, CDDRL, Stanford University, USA / Mexico

Aisha Yesufu, Citizens Hub, Nigeria (DHSF 2021)

Gillian Slee, Gerhard Casper Fellow in Rule of Law, CDDRL, USA

Victor Spinu, Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, Republic of Moldova (FFSF 2024)

Denis Gutenko, AirLittoral Cofounder, Ukraine (DHSF 2022)

Ali Carkoglu, Political Scientist, CDDRL Visiting Scholar, USA

Jamie O'Connell, Lecturer in Residence, Stanford Law School and Affiliated Scholar, CDDRL, USA

Ruben Mascarenhas, National Joint Secretary, Aam Aadmi Party, India (FFSF 2023)

Kumi Naidoo, Payne Distinguished Lecturer, 2023-25, USA / South Africa

Mary-Therese Heintzkill, Program Manager, CDDRL, USA

James Fearon, Professor, Stanford University, USA

Kim Juárez Jensen, Poverty, Violence, and Governance Lab, USA

Larry Diamond, Senior Fellow, Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, Stanford University, USA

Manasi Subramaniam, India (FFSF 2023)

Why have democracies failed in curtailing Xi Jinping’s human rights abuses? And how can they better insulate themselves from Beijing's transnational threats? At a CDDRL research seminar, Sophie Richardson — CDDRL Visiting Scholar and former China Director at Human Rights Watch — presented her research on the Chinese government’s deteriorating human rights record. 

While the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s human rights violations are longstanding, Richardson noted, they witnessed a notable escalation under Xi Jinping’s rule. Among them are free speech restrictions, the silencing of civil society, increased surveillance, and forced labor. 

But, as Richardson pointed out, these violations do not stop at China’s borders and have taken on a transnational dimension.

Illustrating the severity and scope of Beijing's human rights abuses, Richardson provided examples of both activists and party members who have been targeted by the CCP. These include an activist who was arrested on the charge of “picking quarrels and causing trouble” and later fell ill and died in detention, as well as the former Chinese ambassador to the US — a loyal party member — who was called back to China and disappeared for some time.

What have democracies done in the face of these abuses? Sanctions, visa bans, and import/export controls are common levers. Some countries — Canada being a prime example — have expanded their refugee status for communities targeted by Chinese authorities.

Notwithstanding these initiatives, Richardson argued, the reach of the CCP’s repression may be much larger than conventionally assumed. Understanding the transnational scope of its repression is key to any effort to devise mechanisms to combat it. 

A prime example is the threat that the CCP continues to pose to democratic elections in other countries. Richardson cited efforts by the CCP to ensure that officials friendly to Xi’s government are elected. Threats of censorship, surveillance, harassment, and physical violence against Chinese students abroad have hampered academic freedom in democracies. Regime actors also threaten the UN human rights system, blocking unwanted scrutiny of the CCP’s human rights transgressions.

High-profile individuals with relatives in China remain vulnerable, as authorities can retaliate against their family members if they voice critical views.

As the scope of Xi’s influence becomes more evident, the question remains: Why have democracies failed to contain it? Richardson believes they are in denial of the overall trajectory, choosing to prioritize other interests at the expense of human rights. Their inability to coordinate in the long term presents an additional challenge. Finally, many democracies have dismissed anti-democratic threats posed by the CCP on grounds that they are idiosyncratic and unworthy of a broader response.

Richardson underscored the importance of greater precision in characterizing the threats posed by the Chinese government to democracy and the imperative to build an international commitment to protecting human rights in China.

The Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law at Stanford University is proud to announce the appointment of Sophie Richardson as a Visiting Scholar. Dr. Richardson, a longtime activist and scholar of Chinese politics, human rights, and foreign policy, will be in residence with the Center through December 2024.

From 2006 to 2023, Dr. Richardson served as the China Director at Human Rights Watch, spearheading the organization's research and advocacy efforts. She has published extensively on human rights and testified to the Canadian Parliament, European Parliament, and the United States Senate and House of Representatives. Dr. Richardson is the author of China, Cambodia, and the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence (Columbia University Press, Dec. 2009), an in-depth examination of China's foreign policy since 1954's Geneva Conference, including rare interviews with Chinese policymakers.

Dr. Richardson speaks Chinese and earned her doctorate from the University of Virginia and her BA from Oberlin College. Her current research focuses on the global implications of democracies’ weak responses to increasingly repressive Chinese governments, and she is advising several China-focused human rights organizations.

During her tenure at Stanford, Dr. Richardson will embark on individual research endeavors while focusing on completing her forthcoming book project, titled "Great Changes Unseen in a Century: How to Save Democracy and Human Rights from Xi Jinping."

The Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law is pleased to share that Olga Karach, an alumna of our Leadership Academy for Development, has received the 2022 Weimar Human Rights Prize for her work with the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and "Nash Dom (Our House)," an organization she founded that organizes public campaigns, supports activists when they become victims of state repression and violence, and exposes abuses in Belarusian politics.

The Weimar Prize is awarded annually on December 10, which has been recognized as International Human Rights Day by the United Nations. The city's official website notes that "The prize is awarded to people, groups or organizations that are particularly committed to protecting and enforcing fundamental rights. Likewise, the work for humanity and tolerance between people and peoples is taken into account in the award. Another important criterion for awarding the prize is commitment to projects abroad that promote democracy."

Reunions are always marked by the distinct nostalgia of your most memorable moments with people whom you shared lengths of time with. No doubt that the Leadership Network for Change reunion held this past summer at Stanford was one such event for me. Right from walking back into Munger residence, I immediately remembered how, with newly made friends in the Draper Hills class of 2018, we chatted as we walked back and forth to our classes or spent many hours sitting on the benches talking about global events or sharing personal stories – almost always with a bottle of wine (the famous room 555 of the class of 2018 comes to mind). For most of the people I spoke to during this reunion, there was a shared sense despite our different cohorts, of how ‘not long ago’ it was since leaving (not even the occurrence of the pandemic made it seem like it was a long time ago). It felt like we’d just been there months earlier. It speaks to how impactful our time together was and the deep connections made in and out of class experiences. 

Seeing the familiar faces of Larry Diamond, Francis Fukuyama, Michael McFaul, Kathryn Stoner, and Erik Jensen reminded me how fortunate I was to have had access to legendary global democracy shaping minds. What is always humbling, however, is when they each tell you that it is an honor for them to meet us.