Beijing's forced disappearance of one of China's most prominent international officials shows the government appears ready to sacrifice anything, including its international reputation, to safeguard the Chinese Communist Party.
Meng Hongwei, head of the international policing organization Interpol, vanished after he flew back to China in late September, only for Beijing to announce in recent days he was being held for corruption. The first Chinese official to reach the top of Interpol, Meng's appointment just two years ago had been seen as a victory for Beijing and was widely celebrated in state media. "You've got the head of Interpol being arrested at home on corruption, so that's pretty embarrassing," Richard McGregor, senior fellow at Sydney's Lowy Institute, told CNN.
