Interpol, the international organization to coordinate policing between 192 nations, is confronting an unsolved mystery in its own ranks with the disappearance of its president, Meng Hongwei. He hasn’t been seen since September 29, when he left France for China. In 2016, Meng became the first Chinese citizen to become head of Interpol. At the time, there was concern among human rights groups that he would be compromised because of China’s human right’s policy.
On Twitter, journalist Isaac Stone Fish, former Asia editor of Foreign Policy, speculated that Meng might have run into difficulties with the Communist Party.
So the president of the global policing body Interpol Meng Hongwei has disappeared after a trip top China. This is obviously a huge deal. Why it's problematic to appoint Chinese Communist Party officials to head international bodies. (thread). https://t.co/kjz1OoYP0A
— Isaac Stone Fish (@isaacstonefish) October 5, 2018
When Meng -- who remains a vice minister of public security -- was appointed in 2016, rights groups criticized the decision because they thought Interpol would issue arrest warrants to political enemies of Beijing, like the exiled tycoon Guo Wengui.
— Isaac Stone Fish (@isaacstonefish) October 5, 2018
But the bigger problem is that Party members must follow the rules, dictates, and whims of the Party above anything else. Meng couldn't be expected to serve the interests of Interpol, but rather the interests of the Party.
— Isaac Stone Fish (@isaacstonefish) October 5, 2018
Furthermore, if the Party decides that he is under investigation, or acted corruptly (which seems to be what has happened), it doesn't feel the need to explain what happened.
— Isaac Stone Fish (@isaacstonefish) October 5, 2018
Contrast this with the 2011 scandal involving then IMF managing director Strauss-Kahn, accused of sexually assaulting a maid, which played out publicly. The IMF could respond accordingly. I'd be surprised if Interpol itself knows what happened to Meng.
— Isaac Stone Fish (@isaacstonefish) October 5, 2018
Meng's situation is a warning that international organizations should think twice before appointing Party members to run them.
— Isaac Stone Fish (@isaacstonefish) October 5, 2018