China accuses ex-Interpol chief Meng Hongwei of bribery, other crimes
Chinese authorities said today they are investigating the former President of Interpol for bribery and other crimes and indicated that political transgressions may have also landed the Chinese official in trouble. In a statement posted on a government website, the authorities said Meng Hongwei, China's Vice Minister for Public Security, was being investigated due to his own "willfulness and for bringing trouble upon himself".
Meng, a high-ranking official, has an unusually prominent international standing
The statement elaborated on a terse announcement late yesterday by an agency of the ruling Communist Party of China that investigates graft and political disloyalty that said that Meng was suspected of unspecified legal violations. Meng is now the latest high-ranking official, and one with an unusually prominent international standing, to fall victim to a sweeping crackdown by the ruling party.
Public Security Ministry chaired meeting early today to discuss matter
In a sign of how seriously the authorities regard the case, Zhao Lezhi, the Minister for Public Security, chaired a meeting in the early hours of today with senior officials of the Ministry's party committee to discuss it, the statement said.
Meng resigned yesterday after facing investigation
French judicial officials had said on October 5 that 64-year-old Meng was missing. His unexplained disappearance while on a trip home to China late last month had prompted the French Government and Interpol to make their concerns known publicly. Interpol announced yesterday that Meng had resigned as President of the International Police agency, effective immediately, shortly after China announced that Meng was under investigation.
Beijing and its image-building initiatives
The revelation that China's system of shady and often-arbitrary detentions could ensnare even a senior public security official with international stature has cast a shadow over the image Beijing, China's massive capital, has sought to cultivate as a modern country with the rule of law.
Statement says Meng might be tainted by former corrupted official
Today's statement on the Ministry of Public Security's website provided no details about the bribes Meng allegedly took or the other crimes, but suggested that he was also being investigated for political lapses. It indicated that Meng, a member of the Communist Party, may have been tainted by the former Security Chief Zhou Yongkang (pictured), who is now serving a life sentence for corruption.
Zhou was also convicted of conspiracy against party leadership
Meng's various jobs likely put him in close contact with Zhou and other Chinese leaders in the security establishment, a sector long synonymous with corruption, opacity and human rights abuses. Zhou and other senior figures prosecuted in Xi's anti-corruption crackdown were mostly convicted of corruption but officials have since also said they were accused of "conspiring openly to usurp party leadership".
