Interpol chief’s wife and children are guarded by French police after phone threats – as he’s held in China for ‘antagonising’ Communist government
- Meng Hongwei’s wife and kids placed under special protection by French police
- Country’s interior ministry said family received threats over phone and online
- They haven’t heard from Meng, 64, since he left Lyon for China on September 25
- It’s thought that Meng antagonised Chinese Government somehow, possibly through his role as Interpol chief
French police investigating the disappearance of Interpol president Meng Hongwei have placed his family under special protection.
The country’s interior ministry said they were under police supervision in Lyon – where Interpol’s headquarters are located – after Meng’s wife was threatened over the phone and on social media.
Meng, who held many senior positions in Chinese Government since entering politics in 1972, ‘disappeared’ on September 25 after travelling to his native country.
A source familiar with the investigation said the working assumption was that the 64-year-old had antagonised Chinese authorities and had been detained as a result.
Meng Hongwei’s wife and children have been placed under special protection by French police
Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post said the Interpol chief had been taken away for questioning by Chinese authorities as soon as he landed in the country.
Interpol said it was aware of reports of the ‘alleged disappearance’ of its president and said the issue was a matter for France and China.
In a statement, it said: ‘This is a matter for the relevant authorities in both France and China.’
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The organisation went out of its way to say that its secretary general, not Meng, was responsible for the day-to-day running of Interpol.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Communist Party’s secretive internal investigation agency, had no announcements on its website about Meng and could not be reached for comment.
Meng became the first Chinese citizen to be elected as president of Interpol in November 2016 when he replaced French police officer Mireille Ballestrazzi. Meng’s term is due to run until 2020.
The Interpol director ‘disappeared’ after travelling to China last month from Lyon, France
At the time, his appointment raised fears among human rights organisations, such as Amnesty International, that he would be used by the Chinese Government to pursue political dissidents who fled the country.
In 2014, China worked through Interpol to issue notices for 100 Chinese corruption suspects who fled abroad.
Meng has held many senior positions in Chinese Government since entering politics in 1972.
The working assumption is that the he’d antagonised Chinese authorities and had been detained as a result
The 64-year-old served as vice minister of Public Security in China, vice chairman of the national narcotics control commission and director of the National Counter-Terrorism Office for China.
News of Meng’s apparent disappearance comes after Chinese officials announced that Hollywood star Fan Bingbing, who also vanished without a trace several months ago, has been ordered to pay millions of dollars in alleged back taxes and penalties.
The announcement of the fines this week by Communist Party officials shed no light on her current whereabouts.
Chinese actress Fan Bingbing disappeared from public view after a scandal over tax evasion
Fan took to social media for the first time in months on Wednesday to apologise to fans and the Communist Party for tax evasion, shortly after news broke that authorities had ordered her to pay nearly $130 million in back taxes and fines.
The 36-year-old took to China’s Twitter-like Weibo to acknowledge her wrongs, beg for her supporters’ forgiveness, and apologise to ‘society, the friends who care about me, the public and the national tax authorities.’
‘Without the Party and country’s good policies, without the loving attention of the masses, there would be no Fan Bingbing,’ she wrote to her 62 million followers.
The 36-year-old actress was previously the highest paid Chinese actress following her role in X-Men (pictured)
She added: ‘I’ve been suffering unprecedented pain recently. I’m so ashamed of what I’ve done. Here, I sincerely apologize to everyone.
‘I completely accept all the penalty decisions made according to law, after the investigation done by tax authorities. I will follow the order, try my best to overcome difficulties, raise fund, pay taxes and fines.’
The actress, model and producer had been a ubiquitous household name in China for years and tasted Hollywood success with a role in the 2014 blockbuster ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past.’
But she disappeared from the public eye and her once active social media presence went silent in May after allegations emerged that she had evaded taxes on a lucrative movie shoot, charges her studio called ‘slander’.
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