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CHINA-FRANCE-INTERPOL-POLICE-INVESTIGATION-LEAD
Interpol’s former Chinese chief accused of bribery
BEIJING, Oct 8, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The former Chinese head of Interpol, who
went missing last month, was accused of accepting bribes on Monday, becoming
the latest top official to fall in President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption
dragnet.
After days of concealing the fate of Meng Hongwei — who is also China’s
vice minister for public security — from the international community, the
public security ministry said Monday he had accepted bribes but provided no
further details on the allegations or the conditions and location of Meng’s
apparent detention.
French officials disclosed on Friday that Meng had been reported missing
after leaving France for China, while his wife voiced concern for his life on
Sunday some two weeks after he texted her an ominous knife emoji.
His case could tarnish Beijing’s efforts to gain leadership posts in
international organisations, but it is also a black eye for France-based
Interpol, which is tasked with finding missing people, analysts say.
Interpol said Sunday that Meng had resigned and would be temporarily
replaced by a South Korean official until a new election in November — hours
after China’s anti-graft body, the National Supervisory Commission, said he
was under investigation for violating unspecified laws.
The public security ministry released a statement Monday afternoon,
saying Meng accepted bribes and that the investigation “clearly expressed
comrade Xi Jinping’s” determination to fully carry out the struggle against
graft.
It did not provide more details about the allegations.
“It shows that no one is above the law with no exceptions. Anyone who
violates the law will be seriously investigated and severely punished,” the
statement said, adding others suspected of accepting bribes alongside Meng
would be investigated and dealt with.
Meng is the latest high-profile Chinese citizen to disappear, with a
number of top government officials, billionaire business magnates and even an
A-list celebrity vanishing for weeks or months at a time.
When — or if — they reappear, it is often in court.
Meng, the first Chinese president of Interpol, was last heard from on
September 25 as he left Lyon, where Interpol is headquartered.
Meng was appointed in 2016, despite concerns from human rights groups
about giving Chinese President Xi Jinping a win in his bid to paint the
communist-led country as a responsible player in global affairs.
But the episode could be a setback for China. Interpol was kept in the
dark about Meng’s disappearance, prompting its secretary general Juergen
Stock, who oversees day-to-day operations, to say Saturday the agency was
seeking “clarification” on his whereabouts.
“Any international organisation should think twice going forward before
considering a Chinese candidate to be its head,” Bonnie Glaser, senior Asia
adviser at Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies, told
AFP.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Beijing will continue to
support Interpol’s work and “strengthen pragmatic cooperation” with its
member states to crack down on crime.
– Danger emoji –
Meng had lived with his wife and two children in France since 2016.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Meng’s wife Grace said she had received
a message from his phone containing a knife emoji before his disappearance.
That day, Grace Meng said he sent a message telling her to “wait for my
call”, before sending the emoji signifying danger.
“This matter belongs to the international community,” she told a press
conference with her back turned to the cameras out of fear for her safety.
“I’m not sure what has happened to him,” she said.
The recently established National Supervisory Commission holds sweeping
powers to investigate public servants, with few requirements for
transparency.
Some critics of Xi’s anti-graft campaign — which has punished more than
one million officials — say it also functions as a tool for the Communist
Party general secretary to eliminate his political rivals.
– Red notices –
Meng rose through the ranks of the country’s domestic security apparatus
when it was under the leadership of Zhou Yongkang, a rival to Xi and the
highest-ranking official to be brought down on corruption charges.
Zhou — who was jailed for life in 2014 — was subsequently accused of
conspiring to seize state power.
The security ministry called for “Meng Hongwei’s acceptance of bribes to
be deeply understood” and to “thoroughly eliminate the pernicious influence
of Zhou Yongkang”.
Zhou appointed Meng vice security minister in 2004.
In that role, Meng has been entrusted with a number of sensitive
portfolios, including the country’s counter-terrorism division, and was in
charge of the response to several major incidents in China’s fractious
western region of Xinjiang.
Critics of Meng’s rise to Interpol’s presidency said he would use the
position to help China target dissidents abroad.
Interpol downplayed those concerns, saying the president has little
influence over the organisation’s day-to-day operations.
BSS/AFP/RY/1554 hrs