Overseas Chinese Democracy Coalition News and Article Release Issue Number: A1028-O294

中国民主运动海外联席会议新闻与文章发布号：A1028-O294

Release Date: July 23, 2017

发布日：2017年7月23日

Topic: Dissidents Overseas Oppose Meng Hongwei Taking Charge of Interpol (RFA Cantonese report)

标题：海外异见人士反对孟宏伟掌国际刑警（自由亚洲电台粤语部报道）

Original Language Version: Chinese (English at the beginning, Chinese version at the end)

此号以中文为准（英文在前，中文在后）

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Dissidents Overseas Oppose Meng Hongwei Taking Charge of Interpol

-- RFA Cantonese

2017-07-12

The Overseas Chinese democrats question the Chinese Vice Minister of Public Security, Meng Hongwei, becoming the president of Interpol. They are concerned that Interpol will become a tool for the Chinese government to persecute democrats. Wei Jingsheng, the dissident from the USA, together with a number of overseas democrats, recently went to the German Federal Criminal Police Bureau (Bundeskriminalamtes) and demonstrated in front of it. They asked Interpol to protect Chinese democrats from interference and persecution. (Wu Yitong / Cheng Wen report)

Interpol, headquartered in Lyon, France, has 190 member states. It was initiated by detectives in France, Belgium and other Western countries. Its original intention was for the police to pursue transnational escape criminals. Germany is one of the main founding members of Interpol, and the German Federal Criminal Police Bureau (Bundeskriminalamtes) is also an important member of Interpol. At the end of last year, Interpol appointed the deputy minister of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, Meng Hongwei, as its chairman, which had sparked protests from overseas democrats and human rights organizations.

The Wei Jingsheng Foundation and the Association of Students and Scientists in Germany launched a demonstration against Interpol to protest on Monday (July 10) in front of the Bundeskriminalamtes in Wiesbaden, Germany. Wei Jingsheng, the democracy activists from the USA, and Qian Yuejun, chairman of the Association of Students and Scientists in Germany, as well as more than 10 democrats from European countries participated. The protest lasted for 2 hours. A responsible person from the German Federal Criminal Police Bureau received the proposal submitted by Wei Jingsheng.

Qian Yuejun, chairman of the Association of Students and Scientists in Germany, pointed out to the Radio Free Asia reporters that there are dual backgrounds of history and reality for the overseas democrats to select Germany as their second protest location against Interpol. During Germany's Hitler era, the German secret police took over Interpol, which became a division of the Gestapo. It had four Nazi presidents during this time; one of the most well known was Reinhard Heydrich. Today, Interpol's current Secretary-General, Jurgen Stock, was a former deputy director of the German Federal Criminal Police Bureau.

Earlier Wei Jingsheng had contacted Stock, but Stock refused to listen to the proposal to prevent Interpol being abused.

Qian Yuejun: Germany is also the earliest creator of Interpol. It played a leading role in the early years of Interpol, with several of Interpol presidents sentenced as Nazis. So regarding this Interpol issue, Germany has some guilt, concerning it helped the Nazis to arrest people. Jurgen Stock was originally the deputy director of the German Federal Criminal Police Bureau. He was elected as the Secretary General while Meng Hongwei was elected chairman. Wei Jingsheng tried to talk to Jurgen Stock but he refused, saying that we do not engage in politics. So it left us only the choice to protest.

For most Chinese people, Interpol and its mysterious "red arrest warrants", have a strong international power and legal deterrent. In April this year, right before Guo Wengui, the wealthy Chinese businessman now in the USA, released explosive news on a direct broadcast of Voice of America, the Chinese government suddenly claimed that Interpol has issued a "red arrest warrant" for him. Later on, Guo Wengui explained in the social media the real name of "red arrest warrant" in practice is "Red Notice", which the international organization releases on behalf of the related country. While the member country also has to pay a release fee, it is not an "Arrest Warrant", and implies no coercion.

Qian Yuejun explained to the RFA station that theoretically after the release of the red notice, the member states have the obligation to assist the issuing country in tracking the individual. In order to avoid the political persecution by the member countries, Interpol has regulations explicitly prohibiting any country to pursue people due to political, military and religious reasons. But there are still authoritarian states that use other charges to threaten and persecute overseas democrats with "red notices".

Qian Yuejun: In fact, Interpol is equivalent to an association. It is not a power body, but in terms of its size is only after the United Nations. However, it is also independent, with the periphery having no way to monitor it. Thus it is also easy to be used. If a person of a country was named in a Red Notice, then Interpol itself can explain that it just released a notice and it is up to any country to decide do anything with it or not. For example, authoritarian countries will use Interpol to put people that they are not comfortable with on the order of "red notices" in an attempt to gain assistance in tracking and/or apprehending or detaining.

Wei Jingsheng said in an interview with the RFA Cantonese, that he himself was included in the list before due to the Chinese government. He was detained briefly when he went to Switzerland to participate in activities. However, the Swiss released him after it understood his background. But even now, he cannot enter Qatar and other countries. Wei Jingsheng also revealed that overseas Uyghur and other dissidents were also arrested by some countries because they were on the "red notices". One of the tactics the Chinese government used is to name some dissidents as terrorists and ask Interpol members to assist in the arrests. The much-criticized Turkish President Erdogan also used Interpol to arrest journalists who criticized him.

Wei Jingsheng thinks that there are all kinds of facts showing that the Chinese authorities manipulate and abuses the function of Interpol -- by holding a criminal offense as a pretext to abuse the use of a "red notice" as a way to pursue dissidents and human rights activists globally, as well as to create obstacles to the actions of the overseas dissidents and human rights activists. So this time the democrats have come to the German Criminal Police Bureau to protest, to hope Interpol will remember the lessons it learned when it was abusively used during the Nazi era and prevent the Chinese government from manipulating Interpol as well.

Wei Jingsheng: Now Interpol has begun to be infiltrated by the authoritarian regime in China. Over the years, it has helped China to put enormous pressure on exiled dissidents. They have made an excuse by calling these overseas dissidents, including ethnic minorities, as terrorists. The Chinese Communist Party has done a lot of bad things with Interpol. When the Vice-Minister of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security became the chairman, Interpol itself slipped into the direction of becoming a Nazi helper as during the Second World War, by becoming the minions of the Chinese Communist regime. We hope that they will not become the thugs of authoritarian regimes. Interpol should have the discernment, instead of speaking for whoever gives it money. If so, then it has become a Triad organization [Chinese transnational organized crime syndicate].

HUANG Ciping, the executive director of the Wei Jingsheng Foundation, expressed to RFA Cantonese that their continued protests are effective. Recently, the official website of Interpol has removed its presidents who were Nazis from 1938 to 1946. After they learned that Wei Jingsheng would attend a press conference in Lyon, France, in April of this year, Interpol's website removed hundreds of Chinese names from its "red notices", keeping only some violent criminal offenders on that list.

Original link of this report:

http://www.rfa.org/cantonese/features/hottopic/interpol-07122017064729.html?encoding=simplified

Related audio:

http://www.weijingsheng.org/interviews/interviews2017/feature-interpol.mp3

Related photos:

http://www.weijingsheng.org/pic/newsletters/newsletters2017/newsletters2017-3/protestInterpol170710atWiesbaden-c-5.jpg

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中文版

Overseas Chinese Democracy Coalition News and Article Release Issue Number: A1028-O294

中国民主运动海外联席会议新闻与文章发布号：A1028-O294

Release Date: July 23, 2017

发布日：2017年7月23日

Topic: Dissidents Overseas Oppose Meng Hongwei Taking Charge of Interpol (RFA Cantonese report)

标题：海外异见人士反对孟宏伟掌国际刑警（自由亚洲电台粤语部报道）

Original Language Version: Chinese (English at the beginning, Chinese version at the end)

此号以中文为准（英文在前，中文在后）

如有中文乱码问题，请与我们联系或访问：

http://www.weijingsheng.org/report/report2017/report2017-07/WeiJSprotestsInterpol170723RFAcantoneseA1028-O294.htm

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海外异见人士反对孟宏伟掌国际刑警

-- 自由亚洲电台粤语部

2017-07-12

中国公安部副部长孟宏伟出任国际刑警组织主席，受到海外中国民主人士的质疑，担忧国际刑警组织会成为中国政府迫害民主人士的工具。旅美异见人士魏京生联同多位海外民主人士，日前到德国刑事局门前示威，要求国际刑警组织保护中国民主人士，免受干扰和迫害。(吴亦桐 / 程文报道)

总部设在法国里昂的国际刑警组织有190个成员国。最早是由法国、比利时等西方国家的侦探发起，初衷是为警方追缉跨国逃跑的罪犯。德国是国际刑警组织的主要创始国之一，德国联邦刑事局亦为国际刑警组织重要成员。去年底，国际刑警组织任命中国公安部副部长孟宏伟为主席，当时曾引发海外民主人士和人权组织抗议。

魏京生基金会与德国学生学者协会，发起针对国际刑警组织的示威行动，周一(10日)到德国威斯巴登的德国刑事局门前抗议，旅美民主人士魏京生、德国学联主席钱跃君及10馀名来自欧洲各国的民主人士参加。抗议行动持续2小时，德国联邦刑事局一位负责人接收了魏京生提交的建议书。

德国学联主席钱跃君向本台指出，海外民主人士将第二次对国际刑警组织的抗议地选在德国，有其历史和现实双重背景。德国希特勒时代，德国秘密警察曾接管国际刑警组织，成为盖世太保辖下的一个分部，先后有4任主席是纳粹党员，其中最知名的为莱因哈德·海德里希；国际刑警组织现任秘书长施托克（Jurgen Stock），曾担任德国联邦刑事局的副局长。

早前魏京生曾与施托克联系，但他拒绝听取防范国际刑警组织有机会被滥用的建议。

钱跃君：德国也是Interpol最早的创建人，早年的时候是主角，几任主席都是被判为纳粹的，德国在Interpol的问题上还是有些负罪感的，等于也协助过纳粹去抓人了。Jurgen Stock本来就是德国联邦刑事局的副局长，孟宏伟选为主席时他被选为秘书长，魏京生找到Jurgen Stock，他一概拒绝，说我们不搞政治，我们只能选择抗议。

对于大多数中国人来说，国际刑警组织与神秘的红色通缉令，具有强大的国际权力及法律威慑力，今年4月，旅美富商郭文贵在美国之音的直播节目爆料之前，中国政府突然称国际刑警组织已向他发布红色通缉令，其后郭文贵曾在社交媒体上解释红色通缉令的英文名字为Red Notice，国际组织代当事国发布，当事国也需缴纳发布费用，但其并非逮捕令，也不具强制力。

钱跃君向本台解释，理论上红通令发布后，其成员国有义务协助发布国追查，为避免成员国迫害本国的政治人士，国际刑警规章中明令禁止协助任何国家追捕涉政治、军事和宗教原因人士。但依然有专制国家利用其它罪名以红通令威胁和迫害海外民主人士。

钱跃君：实际上国际刑警组织相当于协会，它不是权力机构，但从规模来讲仅次于联合国，又是独立的，外围是没办法监督它的，正因为这样也容易被人利用。如果某个国家某人列入红通令的话，Interpol本身可以解释我只是发了通知，至于做不做是每个国家的事情。比如专制国家就会利用Interpol，把政府看不舒服的人放到红通令中去。

魏京生在接受本台访问时表示，他本人早前因被中国政府列入红通名单上，到瑞士参加活动时短暂被扣，瑞士了解其背景后放行，直至目前他也无法入境卡塔尔等国家；魏京生也透露有海外维吾尔人和其他异见人士因在红通名单上遭一些国家拘捕；中国政府常用的手法是将一些异见人士变成恐怖分子，要求国际刑警组织成员国协助逮捕。另备受诟病的土耳其总统埃尔多安也曾利用国际刑警组织逮捕批评他的记者。

魏京生认为，目前有种种事实显现，中国当局操纵和滥用国际刑警组织的功能，以追究刑事犯罪为幌子，滥发红色通知，在全球范围内追捕持不同政见者和人权活跃人士，亦给海外持不同政见者和人权活跃人士制造行动障碍。而此次到德国刑事局抗议，是希望国际刑警组织记取纳粹时代遭利用的教训，阻止中国操控国际刑警组织。

魏京生：现在的国际刑警组织又开始被中国的专制政权渗透，他们多年来协助中国对流亡海外的异议人士造成了巨大的压力，他们制造一个理由就把这些海外人士、包括少数民族都列为恐怖分子。中共利用国际刑警组织做了很多坏事，中国公安部的副部长当主席，国际刑警组织本身也在一步步向二战时期成为纳粹帮手的方向滑过去了，正在成为中共的爪牙。我们希望他们不要去做专制政权的打手。他们应该有辨别力，不能拿谁的钱就替谁说话，那样就成为黑社会组织了。

另据魏京生基金会的执行主任黄慈萍向本台表示，确信他们的持续抗议是有效的，最近国际刑警组织官网删除了从1938至1946年担任主席的纳粹成员名单。今年4月魏京生发布将到法国里昂召开新闻发布会的消息后，国际刑警组织网站上的红色通知名单，有数百名中国人名字被撤下，只保留了一些暴力刑事罪犯名单。

报道的原始链接：

http://www.rfa.org/cantonese/features/hottopic/interpol-07122017064729.html?encoding=simplified