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As I see it | Why Grace Meng’s claims of injustice won’t spark a Peng Shuai-style outcry
- The wife of ex-Interpol chief Meng Hongwei described the Chinese government as a ‘monster’ for her husband’s detention and bribery conviction
- But her claims that he was punished for his reformist zeal ring hollow, especially since there’s no evidence to substantiate them
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Much has been said in recent weeks about the plight of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai, who disappeared from public view after accusing a high ranking government official of sexual assault.
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But amid the global outcry over her safety and whereabouts, scant attention has been given to another woman surfacing claims of injustice against Chinese authorities.
Grace Meng, the wife of former Interpol chief Meng Hongwei, was thrust into the limelight following an exclusive interview last week with American news agency, the Associated Press, in which she described the Chinese government as a “monster” and claimed that her husband’s bribery conviction was “a lie”.
Meng – also a former vice-minister of public security in China – was sentenced in January last year to 13 years and six months in prison for accepting more than US$2 million in bribes.
Grace Meng said she had not been in contact with her husband and did not even know if he was still alive, lamenting that her twin boys would grow up fatherless. She said she was under round-the-clock protection from the French police following what she claimed were attempts by Chinese agents to kidnap her.
In most cases, people describing such situations after their family members have been detained by the Chinese state would often garner some attention and sympathy from international observers. Activists such as Chen Guangcheng have received diplomatic help, while wives of detained Chinese dissidents – and the human rights lawyers campaigning on their behalf despite intimidation and harassment – have usually been able to obtain some form of international support in the past.
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