China ‘unaware’ of alleged threats against ex-Interpol president Meng Hongwei’s wife
Grace Meng says she received a phone call from a man speaking Chinese who told her that a pair of ‘work teams’ had been dispatched ‘just for you’
Beijing said it is “not aware of the situation” surrounding reports that the wife of the detained Chinese former president of Interpol has been threatened.
However, it would be “natural” for Chinese consular officials to contact the wife of Meng Hongwei, who vanished after travelling to China late last month from France, where Interpol is headquartered, foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Wednesday.
Days after his disappearance, Beijing said Meng was under investigation for corruption and possibly other crimes. His wife, Grace Meng, said she received a phone call from a man speaking Chinese who told her that a pair of “work teams” had been dispatched “just for you”.
Grace Meng was placed under French police protection in the city of Lyon while they investigate whether Chinese agents had indeed been sent to possibly do her harm.
Responding to a question about Meng Hongwei at a daily briefing, Lu said “relevant people should not attempt to make excuses for their corrupted and criminal acts” by “slandering” the government of President Xi Jinping, who has waged a wide-ranging and politically charged campaign against corruption.
While saying he had no information about contact between Grace Meng and Chinese officials, Lu said that, “if Meng Hongwei’s wife is a Chinese citizen, it’s natural for Chinese diplomatic missions to contact her. Every government does so”.
