On this episode of China Uncensored,
the president of the international crime fighting force Interpol
has resigned after getting 'disappeared' in China.
Hi. Welcome back to China Uncensored.
I'm your host, Chris Chappell.
The International Criminal Police Organization, or INTERPOL.
It's world's largest international police organization,
with 192 member countries.
Sounds impressive,
but what does Interpol actually do?
It's like a global FBI, but with one important difference.
They don't have the power to make actual arrests.
As you may have learned from Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego,
Interpol coordinates international law enforcement activities.
But they don't actually make arrests.
They get local police to do the hands-on stuff.
For example, the real Interpol coordinates efforts
across multiple jurisdictions to fight ivory poachers in Africa…
…or help catch murder suspects with some unfortunate face tattoos
who may be trying to flee across international borders.
They issue a number of color-coded notices.
Red is bad.
It's the closest thing to an international arrest warrant.
And they do sometimes get their man, like Triston Jay Amero...
…a mentally deranged terror suspect
in multiple bombings in Bolivia
who described himself as both a vampire
and "The Superman of Losers."
Sorry Amero, that's Tommy Wiseau.
So when the president of Interpol, Meng Hongwei,
vanished without a trace a few weeks ago
while on a visit to China,
speculation ran rampant
that a nefarious crime syndicate with global reach
had turned the tables on Interpol to get their man.
But now it turns out that Meng Hongwei,
who happens to be a Chinese national,
was abducted by none other than...
the Chinese Communist Party.
So a nefarious crime syndicate with global reach did get their man.
Although let's be honest,
they don't look as good in a fedora.
China's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection,
the party's watchdog against graft and political disloyalty,
said in a statement on Sunday that Meng had been arrested in China
and was being investigated on suspicion of violating the law.
China's Ministry of Public Security said
"the investigation against Meng Hongwei
taking bribes and suspected violations of law is very timely,
absolutely correct and rather wise."
Interestingly, Meng had a second job:
Vice Minister of Public Security in China.
I guess not anymore.
Meng was also linked to disgraced former security czar
and meat space Thwomp Zhou Yongkang.
He's now in prison for embezzling 300 million dollars.
He got a life sentence.
And worst of all,
they won't let him keep his black hair dye in prison.
In fact, the Ministry of Public Security
specifically said that the investigation of Meng
was needed to "utterly rectify the poisoned stream of influence
brought by Zhou Yongkang."
Viewers of my favorite soap opera,
General Hostilities,
may remember that Zhou Yongkang
was a big part of the faction
led by former Chinese leader
and mummified toad Jiang Zemin.
His faction is locked in a power struggle
with current leader Xi Jinping.
So it looks like Meng probably had some shady things going on.
Not great for the head of an international crime-fighting task force.
But even more embarrassing is that the Chinese Communist Party
arrested one of the few Chinese nationals
who hold important positions in international organizations.
Back in 2016, Meng became the first ever Chinese national
chosen as president of Interpol.
His election was viewed as a success for China's ambitions
to gain influence in international organizations.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs
said at the time it was a sign that China
was ready to "take on bigger responsibility
and make greater contribution to push for global law enforcement."
And then they had to go spoil it all with a secret arrest.
Reinforcing the view that China may not ready
to lead important international organizations
is the fact that for nearly two weeks after Meng disappeared
while on a trip to China,
the Chinese Communist Party refused to admit
that they had arrested him,
even when Interpol made a formal request for information
about what happened to their boss.
It seems what may have prompted Chinese authorities to fess up
was when Meng's wife held a tearful press conference
on Oct. 7 in Lyon, France,
where Interpol is headquartered.
That's her in the middle,
with her back to the cameras.
She said she's been threatened,
and French police have placed her
and her kids under protective custody.
She told reporters she was speaking out
on behalf of "all the wives and children,
so that their husbands and fathers will no longer disappear."
She showed them the last message she received from him,
a "wait for my call" text along with a creepy knife emoji.
At first, I assumed it meant "I'll be bringing back
the most amazing set of steak knives!"
But Meng's wife later said the knife was their code for danger.
Which is pretty intense.
My code for danger is just a panda emoji.
It's led to some confusion.
Anyway, after 12 days of silence following creepy knife emoji,
Interpol tweeted that it had received Meng's resignation
"with immediate effect."
And that Interpol now has a new acting president—
Kim Jong Yang.
He's from South Korea.
Actually what I'd like to know is,
how did a senior official from China's Ministry of Public Security
get the respectable job of Interpol president in the first place?
After all, the Ministry is notorious for
arresting Chinese dissidents without a warrant,
often detaining them for long periods in black jails.
Which I'm pretty sure is not the way
an international police force is supposed to operate.
China's Foreign Ministry said on Monday that China
would continue to provide support for Interpol's work.
But I wonder whether Interpol is really
all that keen to take them up on the offer.
Because if it turns out the Chinese Communist Party
feels entitled to detain the president of Interpol on a whim
and not bother to tell anybody about it for 12 days,
you gotta wonder—
are they really the kind of partner
you want to have in international law enforcement?
Professor Julian Ku,
a specialist in China's relationship with international law,
told the New York Times that while Meng's appointment
two years ago was a sign of China's international presence
and growing influence,
the fact that Meng was 'disappeared' without any notice to Interpol
will undermine China's global outreach effort.
He said, "It is hard to imagine another international organization
feeling comfortable placing a Chinese national
in charge without feeling nervous that this might happen."
And if Chinese authorities can do this to prominent people
like the head of the international police—
or to Chinese superstar actress Fan Bingbing,
who went missing for three months
and reappeared with $130 million in fines and back taxes,
along with a deep apology to the Communist Party—
what it really means is that
when it comes to the Chinese Communist Party,
nobody's safe.
Especially in a case like Meng Hongwei's,
where his arrest is likely related to the power struggle
going on within the Chinese Communist Party.
So what do you think about the president of Interpol
getting 'disappeared' by the CCP
without notice or notification?
Leave your comments below.
And now it's time for me to answer a question from you,
a fan who supports China Uncensored
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on the crowd funding website Patreon.
Trung Nguyen asks:
"Chris, Is this your official channel
China Uncensored in Vietnamese?
Ah, you've found my Vietnamese doppelganger.
He looks like me,
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It is an official channel.
Many years ago,
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Now it's mostly just China Uncensored.
I gave them permission, under one condition:
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My most popular episode on that channel
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It got 2 million views,
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I don't know how to explain that.
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Once again, I'm your host Chris Chappell.
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