Meng Hongwei

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Meng Hongwei (2017)

Meng Hongwei ( Chinese  孟宏伟 , Pinyin Mèng Hóngwěi ; born November 1953 in Harbin , Heilongjiang Province , People's Republic of China ) is a Chinese politician and police officer . From November 2016 to October 2018 he was President of the international police organization Interpol based in Lyon . He was arrested in China in 2018 and sentenced to a long prison term for corruption in 2020.

Life

Meng graduated from Beijing University with a law degree and joined the Chinese Communist Party in June 1975 . He earned a master's degree from Zhongnan Technical University in Changsha .

Meng was Deputy Minister of Public Security and Director of the Chinese Coast Guard from 2013 to 2017. On March 18, 2013, Meng was appointed deputy director of the Chinese Territorial Waters Management Authority.

Election as Interpol President (2016)

On November 10, 2016, he was elected President of the organization during the 85th session of the Interpol General Assembly in Bali. He was the first Chinese in this office and was considered a bearer of political hope. His election was seen as the success of the Chinese leadership in seeking greater influence on the international scene. The election met with criticism from human rights organizations such as Amnesty International , who voiced fears that Interpol could be instrumentalized for the purposes of China and that political refugees could be listed as suspected criminals. Although Interpol has no direct powers to arrest people, it can publish search calls and has not inconsiderable influence. At the time of Meng's appointment, more than 100 citizens of the People's Republic who had fled abroad were wanted through Interpol on allegations of corruption.

People's Republic of China (from 2018)

On September 25, 2018, Meng set off from Lyon on a trip to the People's Republic of China. After his wife Grace Meng had no longer heard any signs of life from him, she reported her husband to the French police as missing on October 5, 2018. He sent her a knife emoji , which she understood as a sign of danger.

On October 7, 2018, Interpol announced that Meng had sent her his immediate declaration of resignation from office. The Chinese Communist Party's Central Disciplinary Commission (CCDI) said that Meng has been under the supervision of the authorities since arriving in China and that the National Supervisory Commission (NSC) is investigating him. The NSC is responsible for investigating corruption cases. The Meng case was seen in connection with the anti-corruption campaign ordered by President Xi Jinping , which observers viewed as Xi's strategy for eliminating critics. The criminal trial began in Tianjin on June 20, 2019 . After admitting the acceptance of bribes equivalent to 1.86 million euros in the course of the investigation, Meng confessed guilty right at the start. The allegations related to the terms of office as head of the naval police and as deputy minister for public security. In January 2020, Meng was sentenced to 13 years and six months in prison and a fine. He was expelled from the Communist Party.

Vice-President Kim Jong Yang from South Korea took over the chairmanship of Interpol on a provisional basis and was elected President in November 2018.

Web links

Commons : Meng Hongwei  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. 坚决 贯彻 落实 习近平 总书记 重要 讲话 精神 以 实际 行动 不断 推进 公安 边防 事业 长远 发展 (“Implement the spirit of Secretary General [Xi] Jinping's important speech resolutely, and continue to promote the long-term development of border security and public security "). In: legaldaily.com.cn. 2014, accessed October 5, 2018 (Chinese).
  2. 孟宏伟 会见 荷兰 客人 (“Meng Hongwei meets guests from the Netherlands”). In: legaldaily.com.cn. 2013, Retrieved October 5, 2018 (Chinese).
  3. 孟建柱 会见 俄罗斯 联邦 内务部 长 郭 声 琨 汪永清 孟宏伟 钱 洪山 参加 会见 ("Meng Jianzhu meets with the Minister of Interior of the Russian Federation - Guo Shengkun, Wang Yongqing, Meng Hongwei and Qian Hongshan attend the meeting"). In: legaldaily.com.cn. 2013, Retrieved October 5, 2018 (Chinese).
  4. Meng Hongwei 孟宏伟. In: chinavitae.com. Retrieved October 5, 2018 .
  5. 85th INTERPOL General Assembly 7-10 November 2016 - Bali, Indonesia. Interpol, accessed on October 8, 2018 .
  6. a b c Ex-Interpol boss Meng sentenced to long imprisonment in China. The mirror. January 21, 2020.
  7. Chinese official Meng Hongwei to head Interpol. BBC News, November 10, 2016, accessed October 5, 2018 .
  8. Interpol President Meng Hongwei is missing. In: FAZ.net . October 5, 2018, accessed October 5, 2018 .
  9. Interpol chief Meng Hongwei vanishes on trip to China. BBC News, October 5, 2018, accessed October 5, 2018 .
  10. Wife says Interpol officer sent knife image as danger signal . In: AP News . ( Online [accessed October 7, 2018]).
  11. Meng Hongwei: China confirms detention of Interpol chief. BBC News, October 7, 2018, accessed October 8, 2018 .
  12. Ex-Interpol boss pleads guilty of corruption. Spiegel Online, June 20, 2019, accessed on the same day.
  13. a b More than 13 years imprisonment for the former Interpol boss. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. January 21, 2020.
  14. ^ Interpol President Quits; China Says It's Investigating Him for Illegal Conduct. In: bloomberg.com . October 7, 2018, accessed October 7, 2018 .
  15. Media Statement. October 7, 2018, accessed October 7, 2018 .
  16. ^ Interpol presidency vote: Russia in surprise loss to South Korea. In: BBC News , November 21, 2018 (English).