The last time the president of Interpol went to China, he texted his wife a knife emoji 🔪… and then he disappeared.
That was Meng Hongwei, Interpol’s first Chinese president. He vanished on a trip home in September 2018. A few weeks later, Interpol was informed that he had “resigned.” A Chinese court later sentenced him to 13 and a half years in prison.
So naturally, Interpol is now holding its entire General Assembly in China.
From November 30 to December 3, more than 1,000 police chiefs and senior officials from Interpol’s 196 member countries will gather in Hong Kong. It’s the third time China has hosted, after Beijing in 1995 and 2017. Hong Kong’s security chief has promised to show off the city’s vitality and institutional strengths. Reporters, meanwhile, are barred from the sessions.
As I’m sure you’ve realized from the movies, Interpol’s most powerful tool is the Red Notice. It’s basically a global “please arrest this person” alert. It’s supposed to be for murderers, traffickers, and fraudsters. Interpol’s own constitution forbids anything political.
But the CCP has a long habit of calling people “terrorists” when their actual crime is criticizing the CCP.
Take Idris Hasan, a Uyghur computer designer who had done work for Uyghur rights groups. In 2021, he flew from Turkey to Morocco and was arrested at the airport on a Chinese Red Notice labeling him a terrorist. Interpol eventually cancelled the notice for breaking its rules. But a Moroccan court approved Hasan’s extradition to China anyway.
Because once the notice goes out, the damage is done.
