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President of China |
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
THE ENIGMA
by K.J. Howe
Churchill called the Soviet Union “a
riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside
an enigma,” but this description aptly describes another country as well. For centuries, the very mention of China conjured a mysterious
image, showcasing a complex, ancient culture whose development had almost
nothing in common with that of the west (except perhaps an invasion by Mongols). The Chinese language, alphabet, economics,
and social pressures are very different from those in the west. And this manufacturing-driven country adopted
its own unique form of communism that has distanced their political thought and
value systems from those with which we are familiar. This alien political mindset has recently resulted
in a series of state-sponsored kidnappings that have shocked the world and
threatened international order.
The first series of
abductions centered around the book trade.
Hong Kong, while a part of China, is a “special administrative region” governed
by a Sino-British accord that affords broader freedoms to residents of Hong
Kong than to the people who reside on the mainland. A group of bookstore owners and employees
were involved in selling books critical of the central Chinese government that
included gossip about President Xi Jinping.
These works became popular among tourists visiting Hong Kong and were
officially banned on the mainland.
However, simply banning the books didn’t satisfy the Chinese
authorities.
Between October and
December 2015, Chinese Special Forces operatives kidnapped at least five booksellers
from foreign countries and Hong Kong proper, detaining them without
explanation, including one Swiss citizen.
After a long silence, a series of confessions were released from these booksellers
about their “crimes,” and they were slowly returned to Hong Kong after agreeing
to settlements with the Chinese government that included avoiding any consultation
with lawyers or communicating with their families. Swiss citizen Gui Minhai was released in August 2017, only to be taken
again January 2018 while travelling with Swiss diplomats to Beijing to see a
Swiss doctor for his ALS. Gui remains in
custody despite strenuous Swiss efforts to have him released.
In July of this year, China’s
most successful actress, Fan Bingbing, disappeared without explanation after
making a charity appearance at a children’s hospital. Fan was a rising superstar, the fifth highest
paid actress in the world, starring in the X-Men and Iron Man films, a staple
on the red carpet and major fashion industry events. After a long period of silence punctuated by
a denial of any tax evasion by her company, rumors that Jackie Chan had advised
her to seek asylum in Los Angeles, a deleted tweet from an official Chinese
government agency that claimed to have her “in their control,” an apparent
confession and apology for tax evasion has appeared on the internet from
Fan. The new official story is that she
has confessed to tax evasion. Since she
is a first-time offender, she will avoid jail time by paying a massive fine
that appears to be several times more than her career earnings. Other documents leaked from the Chinese
government indicated that she was targeted by a program to defeat the current
“money worship,” infecting the film industry, which was anathema to good
socialist policy. Fan has not yet been
seen in public, even after her apology. Questions about her current status still
linger.
The most recent disappearance
is perhaps the most concerning from an international perspective. Chinese national Meng Hongwei was elected
President of Interpol in 2016 after a distinguished career in law enforcement. Hongwei and his family lived in Lyon, France where
he carried out his Interpol duties.
Just a few weeks ago, Meng disappeared on a trip home to China. His wife received a mysterious text from her
husband’s phone telling her to wait for a call, and the text was accompanied by
a knife emoji. This message suggested a
potential kidnapping, and a ransom demand was expected to follow.
Mrs. Meng (Chinese wives do
not normally take their husband’s names but Grace has done so now to show
solidarity with her missing husband) reported his disappearance to French
police, and their investigation prompted a Chinese government announcement that
Meng was being held in an unspecified location while being investigated for
taking bribes and other crimes of “willfulness.” After publically disputing the charges, Mrs.
Meng received a threatening phone call indicating that she should remain silent
or two “work teams” would be dispatched to deal with her. She is currently under French police
protection while the search is underway for the teams that targeted her. It seems only a matter of time until a
confession from Meng appears on the internet and a sentence is imposed.
The mystique of China
continues with political machinations and the flexing of economic and
diplomatic muscles via extrajudicial abductions. We are left with the burning question—are
there lines the Chinese authorities will not cross?
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I can't imagine any reason to target a popular actress other than to make it clear that everyone is expendable, and no one is unreachable.
ReplyDeleteGreat column, K.J. - "ripped from the headlines" as they say -- very important headlines highlighting the lengths to which the Chinese government will go to silence their detractors. At the top you mentioned book store owners in Hong Kong which reminded me that a friend who is a recognized top expert on China and has served in several US government positions, Michael Pillsbury, wrote a terrific book on China's long term goals titled HUNDRED YEAR MARATHON which hit the NYT bestseller list and was translated into 12 languages - but interestingly, the book was "classified" in China. Thanks, K.J. for this discussion.
ReplyDeleteWhat an important reminder of the power of an authoritarian regime. From arrests to kidnappings and murder, Beijing rules with a steel fist. Thanks for a great post, KJ.
ReplyDeleteVery disturbing. I can't imagine the terror their families are feeling. Great post, KJ. Disturbing post, though it is!
ReplyDeleteWhat a good idea to discuss this, Kim -- great, important post. It's enormously disturbing. Karna, that's very interesting about your friend's book. I think at some level the impulse to stifle dissent is itself an admission of at least some degree of (self-perceived) weakness. Though unfortunately, at the same time, the officials ordering these disappearances clearly feel they can act with impunity. And with the appalling disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi, it's not just China.
ReplyDeleteOh, man. No wonder people seem to crave comforting Pumpkin Spice Everything...
Truly frightening. The idea that a citizen has no freedom and teams could be dispatched to pick you up outside of China is disturbing. But, the targeting of citizens from a foreign countries, like with the booksellers, is very scary. I wrote about China in my book, and wasn't that flattering. May I'll let it drop into obscurity before I decide to travel there.
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