He had “disregarded the principles of being a party member” and had “seriously tarnished the image of the party and seriously harmed the interests of the state,” the commission continued. It said it had referred Meng’s case for prosecution.

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Meng was a member of the party’s powerful central committee and a vice minister for public security who had become the first Chinese president of Interpol in 2016, part of Beijing’s efforts to garner greater influence in international bodies.

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But when he returned to China on a visit in September last year, he vanished. He apparently anticipated trouble, sending his wife a message to “wait for my call,” accompanied by a knife emoji.



His wife, Grace Meng, contacted the French authorities a week later to report her husband missing.

After Interpol, an international organization facilitating police cooperation across borders and which is headquartered in Lyon, France, requested information from the Chinese government, the authorities said he had been detained in connection with an investigation into alleged corruption.

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Interpol put out a statement saying it had accepted Meng Hongwei’s resignation, and a South Korean was chosen to replace him.

There has been no word about Meng since his arrest, although his wife has been pressing his case. She has also applied for asylum in France, saying she feared for her safety and that of their children.

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The statement from the party watchdog also took aim at her, saying that Meng “used the influence of his position to seek employment for his wife, and connived with his wife to use his authority to win special and personal gains.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping has led a multiyear anti-corruption campaign, during which thousands of officials and business executives have suddenly vanished, only to reemerge months later to face government charges.



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As part of this campaign, China has asked ­Interpol to issue “red notices” for the repatriation of people it says are corrupt fugitives who should be brought home. As head of Interpol, Meng had power over this process and also could help Beijing find human rights advocates criticizing Xi’s government from abroad.

In a statement about Meng soon after his disappearance, Public Security Minister Zhao Kezhi said the authorities would “firmly and thoroughly eradicate pernicious influence from Zhou Yongkang,” an ominous sign.

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Zhou, who once led the Ministry of Public Security and was a member of the Politburo’s powerful standing committee, in 2014 became the highest-ranking politician to be convicted of bribery. He is serving a life sentence.

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The news of the prosecution against Meng comes just after Xi wrapped up a visit to Europe that included a stop in Paris and a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Before Xi’s arrival, Grace Meng had sent Macron a letter, urging him to raise her husband’s case with Xi. In a letter to the Elysee Palace dated March 21, she “asks to know where and how he is,” Agence France-Presse reported.

“I hope the president can help Mr. Meng and his family, to protect our fundamental human rights,” she told France 24 in an interview broadcast Sunday.

There was no indication that the two leaders discussed his case in their meeting this week.

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