Kovrig and Spavor letter

AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT XI JINPING REGARDING MICHAEL KOVRIG AND MICHAEL SPAVOR

就康明凯和迈克尔·斯帕沃案件，致习近平主席的一封公开信

This letter was originally published on January 21, 2019 in the Globe and Mail under the headline "Mr. Xi, release these two Canadian citizens."

Institutional affiliations of signatories are included for identification purposes only and do not imply institutional endorsement. For media inquiries or to add your name to this letter, please email .

本公开信最初以《习主席，释放两名加拿大公民》为标题发表于环球邮报。机构职务信息仅为注明身份所用，不代表署名人所在机构对此公开信的支持。如媒体咨询或想签署此信，请邮件联系kovrigandspavor@gmail.com。

Dear President Xi Jinping,

We, the undersigned scholars, former diplomats, and others with an interest in understanding China and building bridges, are deeply concerned about the recent detentions of Canadian citizens Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. We request that you immediately release Messrs. Kovrig and Spavor so that they may be reunited with their families.

Many of us know Michael Kovrig through his work as a diplomat in Beijing and as the senior expert for Northeast Asia at the International Crisis Group, an organization whose mission is to “build a more peaceful world.” In both roles, Kovrig regularly and openly met with Chinese officials, researchers, and scholars to better understand China’s positions on a range of important international issues. Michael Spavor has devoted his time to the task of building relationships between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and China, Canada, the US, and elsewhere.

These meetings and exchanges are the foundation of serious research and diplomacy around the world, including for Chinese scholars and diplomats. However, Kovrig and Spavor’s detentions send a message that this kind of constructive work is unwelcome and even risky in China. We who share Kovrig and Spavor’s enthusiasm for building genuine, productive, and lasting relationships must now be more cautious about traveling and working in China and engaging our Chinese counterparts. That will lead to less dialogue and greater distrust, and undermine efforts to manage disagreements and identify common ground. Both China and the rest of the world will be worse off as a result.

We therefore respectfully ask you to free these two Canadian citizens.

January 21, 2019

尊敬的习近平主席，

此信谨代表署名如下的学者、前外交官、以及其他致力于了解中国和搭建中外桥梁的人士，就加拿大公民康明凯（Michael Kovrig）及迈克尔·斯帕弗（Michael Spavor）近期被拘一事，深表担忧。我等请求中方立即释放康先生和斯帕弗先生，使他们得以与家人团聚。

我们中不少人和康明凯通过工作往来认识。康先生曾任加拿大驻北京外交官，现任国际预防危机组织（International Crisis Group）东北亚高级顾问。该组织以“建立一个更和平的世界”为宗旨。在此两个岗位上，康先生常与中国官员、研究人士和学者进行公开会面，目的是对中国在多项重要国际事务上的立场增进了解。迈克尔·斯帕弗一直致力于搭建朝鲜民主主义人民共和国与中国、加拿大、美国和其他国家之间的纽带。

此类会面和交流是全球学术研究和外交工作的基本组成部分，对中国学者和外交官也是如此。然而，对康明凯和斯帕弗的拘禁则传递了与此相悖的信息，即这样的建设性工作在中国不受欢迎，甚至存在风险。我们和康明凯及斯帕弗一样，热衷于与中国建立真诚、富有成效和长久的联系，但在当下的环境下必须对在华旅行、工作以及与中方同僚接触慎之又慎。这将减少对话并加深互疑，还将为管控分歧和寻求利益共同点造成障碍。中国与世界其他各国均将受损。

因此，我等恳请中方释放这两位加拿大公民。

肃此。敬颂

二〇一九年一月二十一日

Diplomatic Signatories

外交界署名

Alton, Lord David. Member of the House of Lords, former member of the House of Commons, United Kingdom

Berner, Örjan. Former Ambassador of Sweden to Russia, Poland, India, Germany and France

Bild, Fred. Former Ambassador of Canada to China

Caron, Joseph. Former Ambassador of Canada to China

Chhabra, Tarun. Former Director, Strategic Planning, U.S. National Security Council; Fellow, the Brookings Institution

Drake, Earl. Former Ambassador of Canada to China and Indonesia

Edel, Charles. Former senior adviser to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry; Senior Fellow, U.S. Studies Center, University of Sydney

Evans, Gareth. Former Foreign Minister of Australia; President Emeritus of International Crisis Group

Fuchs, Michael. Former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs

Garnaut, John. Former Senior Adviser to Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull

Garside, Roger. Former First Secretary (Political), British Embassy Beijing; former Director of Public Affairs, London Stock Exchange

Guajardo, Jorge. Former Ambassador of Mexico to China

Hum, Sir Christopher, KCMG. Former Ambassador of the U.K. to China

Locke, Gary. Former Ambassador of the U.S. to China; former U.S. Commerce Secretary

Lord, Winston. Former Ambassador of the U.S. to China; former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs

Medeiros, Evan S. Penner Family Chair in Asian Studies, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University; former Senior Director

for Asian Affairs, U.S. National Security Council

Mitchell, Derek. Former Ambassador of the U.S. to Myanmar; former U.S. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense; President, National

Democratic Institute

Mulroney, David. Former Ambassador of Canada to China; Senior Fellow, Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto

Parton, Charles. Adviser, U.K. House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee; former adviser, British Embassy in Beijing; former adviser, E.U. Delegation to Beijing

Patten, Christopher, CH. Former European Commissioner for External Relations; Chancellor of the University of Oxford

Piccuta, Daniel W. Former U.S. Charge' d'Affaires, a.i. in Beijing

Rifkind, Sir Malcolm, KCMG, QC. Former Foreign Secretary of the U.K.; Distinguished Fellow, Royal United Services Institute

Saint-Jacques, Guy. Former Ambassador of Canada to China

Shirk, Susan. Former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State

Skala, Björn. Former Ambassador of Sweden to China; Former Swedish Under Secretary for Political Affairs

Smith, Ric. Former Ambassador of Australia to China

Stanzel, Volker. Former Ambassador of Germany to China; Vice President, German Council on Foreign Relations

Wright, Robert. Former Ambassador of Canada to China

Young, Stephen M. Former U.S. Consul-General, Hong Kong; former Director, American Institute in Taiwan; former Ambassador of the U.S to the Kyrgyz Republic

Research Community Signatories

研究界署名

Aaronson, Susan Ariel. Research Professor of International Affairs, Institute for International Economic Policy and GWU Cross Disciplinary Fellow, Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University

Ako, Tomoko. Associate Professor, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo

Alford, William P. Vice Dean, Graduate Program and International Legal Studies, and Director, East Asian Legal Studies Program, Harvard Law School

Almén, Oscar. Research Fellow, Department of Government, Uppsala University

Ansley, Clive. International Law, Chinese Law Specialist, Ansley & Company

Attrill, Nathan. Ph.D Candidate, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University

Baksi, Kurdo. Sweden-based writer and commentator; winner of the Olof Palme Prize in 1999

Barmé, Geremie. Professor Emeritus, Australian National University; Founding Director, Australian Centre on China in the World

Batongbacal, Jay L. Professor, College of Law, University of the Philippines

Baviera, Aileen. Professor of China Studies, Asian Center, University of the Philippines

Beaugrand-Champagne, Jerome. Li Ka Shing Visiting Professor of Practice, Faculty of Law, McGill University

Beeson, Mark. Professor of Political Science and International Relations, University of Western Australia

Béja, Jean-Philippe. Emeritus Senior Research Fellow at the National Center for Scientific Research and the Center for International Studies and Research, Sciences-Po

Belkin, Ira. Executive Director and Adjunct Professor of Law, U.S.-Asia Law Institute, New York University School of Law

Benner, Thorsten. Director, Global Public Policy Institute

Berger, Bernt. Director, Asia Department, German Council on Foreign Relations

Berkofsky, Axel. Professor, Department of Political and Social Sciences, University of Pavia, Italy

Bisley, Nick. Head, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Professor of International Relations, La Trobe University

Blanchette, Jude. Crumpton Group

Blum, Susan D. Professor of Anthropology, The University of Notre Dame

Bonnin, Michel. Director of Studies, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales

Brady, Anne-Marie. Professor in Political Science and International Relations, University of Canterbury

Brook, Timothy. Republic of China Chair, Department of History, University of British Columbia

Bring, Ove. Professor Emeritus of International Law, Stockholm University

Bush, Richard C. Washington-based senior scholar on Northeast Asia studies

Callahan, Bill. Professor of International Relations, London School of Economics and Political Science

Carrico, Kevin. Senior Lecturer, Monash University

Carter, James. Professor of History, Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Cheung, Alvin Y.H. Non-Resident Affiliated Scholar, US-Asia Law Institute, New York University

Chinoy, Mike. Non-Resident Senior Fellow, USC U.S.-China Institute

Chiu-Duke, Josephine. Associate Professor, Asian Studies, University of British Columbia

Chubb, Andrew. Postdoctoral Fellow, Columbia-Harvard China and the World Program, Columbia University

Clarke, Donald. Professor of Law and David Weaver Research Professor, George Washington University Law School

Coggins, Bridget L. Associate Professor of Political Science, University of California, Santa Barbara

Cohen, Jerome A. Professor, Chair of U.S.-Asia Law Institute, New York University School of Law; Adjunct Senior Fellow for Asia, Council on Foreign Relations

Conner, Alison W. Professor of Law and Carlsmith Ball Faculty Scholar, University of Hawaii/Manoa

Cook, Malcolm. Non-resident Fellow, Lowy Institute

Cooper, Zack. American Enterprise Institute

Corr, Anders. Corr Analytics

Creutzfeldt, Benjamin. Non-resident Fellow, Foreign Policy Institute, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University.

Davis, Michael C. Professor of Law and International Affairs, O.P. Jindal Global University

Davies, Gloria. Professor of Chinese Studies, Monash University

Doshi, Rush. Brookings-Yale Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Dube, Clayton. University of Southern California

Duke, Michael S. Professor Emeritus, Asian Studies, University of British Columbia

Dussel Peters, Enrique. Professor, National Autonomous University of Mexico; Director, Centre for China-Mexico Studies

Dutton, Peter A. Senior Fellow, U.S.-Asia Law Institute, New York University School of Law

Economy, Elizabeth C. C.V. Starr Senior Fellow and Director, Asia Studies, Council on Foreign Relations; Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University

Engebretsen, Elisabeth Lund. Associate Professor, Network for Gender Studies, University of Stavanger, Norway

Elliott, Kimberly. Center for Global Development and George Washington University

Ellström, Lars. Sinologist; retired banker; former Swedish Cultural Attaché to China

Esteban, Mario. Senior Analyst, the Elcano Royal Institute; Senior Lecturer at the Centre for East Asian Studies, the Autonomous University of Madrid

Falkenheim, Victor C. Professor Emeritus, Department of Political Science, University of Toronto

Fällman, Fredrik. Associate Professor of Sinology, University of Gothenburg

Fewsmith, Joseph. Professor of International Relations, Boston University Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies

Fiskesjö, Magnus. Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, Cornell University

Foale, Simon. Head of Social Sciences, College of Arts, Society and Education, James Cook University

Forsby, Andreas Bøje. Researcher, Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, University of Copenhagen

Fraser, John. Chair of the National NewsMedia Council of Canada

Fravel, M. Taylor. Arthur and Ruth Sloan Professor of Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Freeman, Carla P. Director, Foreign Policy Institute; Associate Research Professor, China Studies, Johns Hopkins SAIS

Friedman, Edward. University of Wisconsin

Fulda, Andreas. Assistant Professor, School of Politics and International Relations, University of Nottingham

Fullilove, Michael. Executive Director, Lowy

Funabashi, Yoichi. Chairman, Asia Pacific Initiative

Gallagher, Mary E. Professor, Department of Political Science and Director, Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan

Geall, Sam. Associate Fellow, Chatham House

Glaser, Bonnie. Senior advisor for Asia and director of the China Power Project, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Goddard, Stacie. Professor, Department of Political Science, Wellesley College

Godement, François. Senior Advisor for Asia, Institut Montaigne

Goldstein, Avery. University of Pennsylvania

Hart, Melanie. Senior Fellow and Director of China Policy, Center for American Progress

Hawksley, Humphrey. Author and broadcaster

Hayes, Anna. Senior Lecturer, Politics and International Relations, and Honorary Research Fellow at the East Asia Security Centre, James Cook University

Hayton, Bill. Associate Fellow, Chatham House

Heginbotham, Eric. Principal Research Scientist, Center for International Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Hemmings, John. Director, Asia Studies Centre, Henry Jackson Society

Heydarian, Richard. Manila-based columnist and scholar

Hilpert, Hanns Günther. Berlin-based senior researcher on Asia Studies

Hockx, Michael. University of Notre Dame

Hosein, Everold. Senior Communication Advisor-Consultant, WHO/UNICEF/UNFPA/UNDP/UNEP/UNWOMEN; Distinguished Scholar, School of Public Health, City University of New York; President, The COMBI Institute

Hosoya, Yuichi. Professor of International Politics, Faculty of Law, Keio University

Howson, Nicholas Calcina. Professor, University of Michigan Law School

Hughes, Christopher. Professor of International Relations, London School of Economics and Political Science

Hui, Victoria Tin-bor. Associate Professor, University of Notre Dame

Huotari, Mikko. Deputy Director, Mercator Institute for China Studies

Ishii, Tomoaki. Professor, Meiji University

Jacobs, J. Bruce. Emeritus Professor of Asian Languages and Studies, Monash University

Jones, Bruce. Former senior officer, United Nations; foreign policy scholar, Washington, DC

Jonsson, Gabriel. Associate Professor Korean Studies, Stockholm University

Joseph, William A. Professor of Political Science, Wellesley College

Kaikkonen, Marja. Professor of Sinology, Stockholm University

Kastner, Scott. Professor, Department of Government and Politics, University of Maryland, College Park

Kawashima, Shin. Professor, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo

Kennedy, Scott. Senior Adviser, Freeman Chair in China Studies, and Director, Project on Chinese Business and Political Economy, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Kirchberger, Sarah. Head, Center for Asia-Pacific Strategy and Security, Institute for Security Policy at Kiel University

Kleine-Brockhoff, Thomas. Vice President, German Marshall Fund of the United States

Koh, Swee Lean Collin. Research Fellow, Nanyang Technological University

Kotar, Sasa Istenic. University of Ljubljana

Kuo, Kaiser. Host, the Sinica Podcast

Kuok, Lynn. Visiting Scholar, Paul Tsai China Center, Yale Law School

Laliberté, André. Professor, School of Political Studies, University of Ottawa/ Université d'Ottawa

Lampton, David. Professor Emeritus and Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Institute, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University

Lankov, Andrei. Professor, Kookmin University

Laurenceson, James. Deputy Director, Australia-China Relations Institute (ACRI), University of Technology Sydney

Leblond, Patrick. Associate Professor, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa

Legarda, Helena. Research Associate, Mercator Institute for China Studies

Leonard, Mark. Director, European Council on Foreign Relations

Levine, Steven I. Senior Fellow Maureen & Mike Mansfield Center, University of Montana

Lewis, Margaret K. Professor of Law and Ronald J. Riccio Fellow Seton Hall University School of Law

Lodén, Torbjörn. Professor Emeritus of Chinese Language and Culture, Stockholm University

Lorentzen, Peter. Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, University of San Francisco

Lynch, Daniel C. Professor of Asian and International Studies City University of Hong Kong

Mair, Victor H. Professor of Chinese Language and Literature, University of Pennsylvania

McCuaig-Johnston, Margaret. Senior Fellow, Institute for Science, Society and Policy, University of Ottawa; Senior Fellow, China Institute, University of Alberta

McGregor, James. Chairman, Greater China, APCO Worldwide

McGregor, Richard. Senior Fellow, Lowy Institute

Mearsheimer, John J. R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago

Medcalf, Rory. Professor and Head, National Security College, Australian National University

Millward, James. Professor of History, Georgetown University

Møllgaard, Eske. Professor of Philosophy, University of Rhode Island

Munro, Kelsey. Researcher, The Lowy Institute

Musu, Constanza. Associate Professor, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa

Nakayama, Toshihiro. Professor, Faculty of Policy Management, Keio Univerity

Naughton, Barry J. Sokwanlok Chair of Chinese International Affairs, School of Global Policy and Strategy, University of California at San Diego

Novotna, Tereza. Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Fellow, Free University Berlin

Nilsson-Wright, John. Senior Lecturer in Modern Japanese Studies, University of Cambridge

Odgaard, Liselotte. Research Fellow, the Danish Foreign Policy Society

Oertel, Janka. Transatlantic Fellow, the Asia Program, German Marshall Fund of the United States

Ohlberg, Mareike. Research Associate Mercator Institute for China Studies

Otero-Iglesias, Miguel. Senior Analyst, Elcano Royal Institute; Professor of Practice in International Political Economy, IE School of Global and Public Affairs

Paderni, Paola. Associate Professor of the History and Institutions of China, University of Naples “L’Orientale"

Panda, Ankit. Adjunct Senior Fellow,Federation of American Scientists

Patey, Luke. Senior Researcher, Danish Institute for International Studies

Paltiel, Jeremy. Professor, Department of Political Science, Carleton University

Paris, Roland. Professor of International Affairs, University of Ottawa

Pei, Minxin. Tom and Margot Pritzker '72 Professor of Government and Director, Keck Center for International and Strategic Studies, Claremont McKenna College

Perry, Elizabeth J. Henry Rosovsky Professor of Government, Harvard University

Pieke, Frank. Director, Mercator Institute for China Studies; Professor of Modern Chinese Studies, Leiden University

Pils, Eva. Professor of Law, King’s College London

Piquet, Hélène. Canada Research Chair in Chinese Law and Globalization, Juridical Sciences Department, Quebec University in Montreal

Poggetti, Lucrezia. Research Associate, Mercator Institute for China Studies

Potter, Pitman. Professor of Law and Director, Chinese Legal Studies, Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia

Pugliese, Giulio. King's College London

Rabgey, Tashi. Research Professor of International Affairs and Director, Tibet Governance Lab, George Washington University

Raine, Sarah. Non-resident Transatlantic Fellow, German Marshall Fund of the United States

Rapp-Hooper, Mira. Senior Research Scholar in Law and Senior Fellow, Paul Tsai China Center, Yale Law School

Ratner, Ely. Executive Vice President and Director of Studies, Center for a New American Security

Read, Ben. University of California, Santa Cruz

Reilly, Benjamin. Professor of Politics and International Relations, University of Western Australia

Richey, Mason. Associate Professor, Graduate School of International and Area Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies

Rosen, Daniel H. Partner, Rhodium Group; Adjunct Professor, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University

Schak, David. Griffith Asia Institute

Schell, Orville. Arthur Ross Director, Center on U.S.-China Relations, Asia Society

Schrader, Matthew. China Analyst, German Marshall Fund

Segal, Adam. Director, Digital and Cyberspace Policy Program, Council on Foreign Relations

Shih, Victor. Professor, University of California San Diego

Shi-Kupfer, Kristin. Director, Research Area on Public Policy and Society, Mercator Institute for China Studies

Sidel, Mark. Doyle-Bascom Professor of Law and Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Simon, Scott. Professor and co-chair of the Research Chair of Taiwan Studies, École d’études sociologiques et anthropologiques, Université d'Ottawa

Small, Andrew. Senior Transatlantic Fellow, Asia Program, German Marshall Fund of the United States

Stanzel, Angela. Senior Policy Fellow, Institut Montaigne

Storey, Ian. Senior fellow, ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute

Strating, Bec. Department of Politics, Media and Philosophy, La Trobe University

Swaine, Michael D. Senior Fellow, Asia Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Szonyi, Michael. Director, Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, Harvard University

Takahara, Akio. Dean, Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Tokyo

Thayer, Carlyle. Emeritus Professor, University of New South Wales, Canberra

Tiffert, Glenn. Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution

Tønnesson, Stein. Research Professor, Peace Research Institute Oslo

Town, Jenny. Research Analyst, Stimson Center

Townshend, Ashley. Director, Foreign Policy and Defense, U.S. Studies Centre, Sydney University

Trevaskes, Sue. Professor, Griffith University; Adjunct Director, Australian Centre on China in the World, Australian National University

Tsang, Steve. Director, China Institute, School of Oriental and African Studies

Tucker, Joseph D. Associate Professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Associate Professor, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Varrall, Merriden. Non-resident Fellow, The Lowy Institute

Wacker, Gudrun. Berlin-based senior researcher on Asia studies

Waldron, Arthur. Professor, University of Pennsylvania

Walsh, Jim. Security Studies Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Wasserstrom, Jeffrey N. Chancellor's Professor of History, University of California, Irvine

Weidenfeld, Jan. Head of European Affairs and Business Strategy, Mercator Institute for China Studies

Weiss, Jessica Chen. Associate Professor, Cornell University

Wesley, Michael. Dean, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University

White, Lynn. Professor Emeritus and Senior Research Scholar, Princeton University

Williams, Mark. Chief Asia Economist, Capital Economics

Wolfe, Robert. Professor Emeritus, Queen’s University

Wright, Thomas. Senior Fellow, the Brookings Institution

Yang, Dali L. William C. Reavis Professor of Political Science, The University of Chicago

Zenglein, Max J. Head of Program Economic Research, Mercator Institute for China Studies