The disappearance of Meng Hongwei, accused of corruption, deals a blow to China's image.
Meng Hongwei, former president of the
Interpol, who is detained
in china. Photo: Efe
The strange disappearance of former Chinese Interpol president Meng Hongwei, then his appearance and subsequent resignation deals a blow not only to China's image and its ambition to consolidate its presence internationally., but it reveals the crude methods of its repressive apparatus.
The last time Meng was seen –also Chinese Vice Minister of Public Security– it was the past 25 September, after he took a flight in Stockholm to China. But it was just the 4 October when his wife reported him missing to the French authorities, where the police agency headquarters reside and is located.
The alert increased, Well, this was the last disappearance of a senior official in China, since President Xi Jinping began his anti-corruption campaign since coming to power, and which allows suspects to be secretly detained for up to six months without notifying family members or lawyers. For the Government, Meng accepted bribes, but it also compromised national security.
According to official figures, 1,5 millions of alleged perpetrators have already been investigated within the framework of this campaign, which is suspected also serves to persecute opponents of the government.
The wife of the now former police chief added, besides, that on the day of her disappearance her husband sent her a text message to tell her to wait for his call. But, instead of this, Grace Meng received an emoticon indicating that her husband was in danger.
After international pressure and the investigation carried out by France, last sunday, ten days after his disappearance, Beijing acknowledged that Meng was detained and investigated “on suspicion of having violated the law”, without giving more details about it.
But these suspicions are not recent: The Global Times recalls that Meng was removed from the leadership of the Chinese Coast Guard in December 2017, and in April he was excluded from the Communist Party cell in his own ministry. Without this preventing him from continuing to lead Interpol..
Few hours later, The police agency announced that it received the resignation of the official. “(…) The Secretary General of Interpol received the resignation of Meng Hongwei as president with immediate effect”, noted the organization.
The case, that looks like a movie, May affect Beijing's efforts to obtain greater positions in international organizations, but it also represents a setback for Interpol, which has as one of its main tasks to locate missing people in the world.
AFP
