The ministry said the Interpol chief left Lyon, France, where the international police organization is based, and arrived in China at the end of September. A vice minister of public security in China, he previously served as vice chairman of the national narcotics control commission and director of the National Counter-Terrorism Office for China. Previously, Interpol had said that reports about Meng’s disappearance were “a matter for the relevant authorities in both France and China.”

The South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong newspaper, has suggested that Meng may have been the latest target of an ongoing campaign against corruption in China. The newspaper said that upon landing last week Meng was “taken away” for questioning by what it said were “discipline authorities.” The term usually describes investigators in the ruling Communist Party who probe graft and political disloyalty. At the time, Amnesty International called Meng’s appointment “at odds with Interpol’s mandate to work in the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”

Diplomats say the role of Interpol president is largely ceremonial, with day-to-day work carried out by its secretary general, Juergen Stock, and his staff. The International Criminal Police Organization, more commonly referred to as Interpol, is a France-based organization that links together international police forces and helps facilitate cooperation between them. Meng’s appointment as president in 2016 — amid Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s sweeping anti-corruption drive — alarmed some human rights organizations, fearful it would embolden China to strike out at dissidents and refugees abroad.
French police launch an investigation into the disappearance of Meng Hongwei, the president of Interpol. He was reported missing after traveling to his native country of China last week.