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Missing Chinese Interpol Chief Meng Hongwei Could Be Dead, Wife Says

Former top official said to be held by Beijing in secret detention.

The wife of Meng Hongwei, the former chief of Interpol who has been detained in secret by China on corruption charges, says she is no longer sure if he is alive. Grace Meng called the Chinese Communist Party “cruel” and “dirty,” and said she tells her children, “Daddy is on a long business trip.” Meng was still the president of Interpol when he flew to China on Sept. 25 and disappeared. Days later, Interpol received his resignation and on Oct. 7 authorities in Beijing announced they were holding him and that he was under investigation for bribery. Most observers say the corruption crackdown is a thinly disguised political purge to root out rivals and officials disloyal to President Xi Jinping.