In addition, Grace has fought to expand opportunities for communities of color, young people and women, and she secured resources to help local small-businesses. Using his Interpol mobile phone, he sent her the emoji image of a kitchen knife that day, four minutes after he sent a message saying, "Wait for my call.". There are suspicions that he fell out of favor with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has carried out a wide-ranging crackdown on corruption and perceived disloyalty that observers say is calculated to strengthen party control while bringing down potential challengers to his authority. Position Sought. / CBS/AP. Flu numbers are down as COVID-19 cases surge in the U.S. Biden's inauguration will be virtual. Age as of Election Day (Nov. 3) 45. Missing Interpol chief Meng Hongwei might already be dead, wife fears. Grace Meng detailed the last messages she exchanged with her husband, Interpol President Meng Hongwei, to reporters as part of her unusual appeal. She has filed a lawsuit against Interpol. Grace Meng said she hadn’t heard from her husband since Sept. 25. F: 202-225-1589, 40-13 159th Street, Suite A He has not been seen since. Some of them might even have been pursued by Chinese authorities under Meng's watch. He has also used a popular and wide-ranging anti-corruption campaign to boost supervision of the party and as a powerful weapon with which to purge his political opponents. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All Staff Are Working Remotely. Prior to serving in Congress, Grace was a member of the New York State Assembly. First published on October 7, 2018 / 10:57 PM. Grace Meng . "The term … NYC neighborhood of residence. DC OFFICE. https://www.grunge.com/209981/the-tragic-real-life-story-of-grace-kelly Her English name, Grace, is one she has long used, she said. New COVID restrictions target Christmas gatherings in U.K. SpaceX closes out record year with 26th launch, Fire in ICU unit treating COVID-19 patients kills 9, Trumps wear matching tuxedos in final White House Christmas card. Grace Meng has claimed the moral high ground, describing her husband as a clean and dedicated police official, with a humble beginning and an aspiration to see the rule of law in China. Grace Meng detailed the last messages she exchanged with her husband, Interpol President Meng Hongwei, to reporters as part of her unusual appeal. F: 718-445-7868, 118-35 Queens Blvd, Suite 1610 "He is a … Washington, DC 20515 This photo shows the last message sent by missing Interpol President, Meng Hongwei, to his wife, Grace Meng. Picture: AP Photo/John Leicester Grace Meng says she cannot believe the bribery accusation against her husband and claims he's the target of "political persecution." His wife first learned about the party statement from The Associated Press; she said she was struggling to believe what it said. Before he shared the knife image, she sent him a photo of two animal figurines, one of a bear and another of a horse, meant to represent their two children; one of them loves horses, she said, and the other "looks like the bear.". Zhou was one of the highest-profile figures caught up in President Xi Jinping's sprawling campaign against graft at all levels of government, military and state industry. Grace resides in Queens with her husband, Wayne, and two sons, Tyler and Brandon. Grace Meng unleashed the emotional tirade against Beijing in an interview with the BBC. However, Meng's wife sought to distance her husband from Zhou, saying the two men did not get on. Copyright © 2020 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. "From now on, I have gone from sorrow and fear to the pursuit of truth, justice and responsibility toward history," she said, her voice trembling with emotion. COVID relief talks drag into weekend as shutdown looms. The Chinese government admitted they had detained Meng saying he was being investigated for corruption. from the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University. Also signed into law were her measures to assist veterans and members of the military, and provisions to improve consumer protections and safeguards for children. Born in Elmhurst, Queens, and raised in the Bayside and Flushing sections of the borough, Grace attended local schools, and graduated from Stuyvesant High School and the University of Michigan. The agency said Saturday it has used law enforcement channels to inquire with China about Meng's status, citing concerns for his safety. Grace Meng claims her husband is a victim of political persecution in China. While in the Assembly, she was a dedicated bridge builder and a fighter for equality. Days after she reported him missing, Interpol on Oct. 7 said he had resigned as its president. Such targets, who have been subject to arbitrary detention and made unexplained disappearances, include pro-democracy activists, human rights lawyers, officials accused of graft or political disloyalty and the estimated one million ethnic minority Muslims who have vanished into internment camps in the country's far west. "This is the last, last message from my husband," she said. Party Affiliation. Grace Meng has remained in France since her husband Meng Hongwei disappeared in September. U.S. Congress. Bayside. Grace is the first and only Asian American Member of Congress from New York State and the first female. He had been on a three-country tour, to Norway, Sweden and Serbia, for Interpol before his latest trip back to China, she said. There are suspicions that he fell out of favour with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has carried out a wide-ranging crackdown on corruption and perceived disloyalty that observers say is calculated to strengthen party control while bringing down potential challengers to his authority. Grace has passed several pieces of legislation in law. Beijing's one-sentence announcement about Meng being the focus of an investigation, issued when it was nearly midnight in China, said only that Meng was in the custody of party investigators. China had announced less than an hour after Grace Meng spoke Sunday that Meng was under investigation on suspicion of unspecified legal violations. Grace Meng says "cruel" China is persecuting him – and that she's now a target – in her first UK media interview. He was elected to lead the international police agency in 2016 and his term was not set to end until 2020. Using his Interpol mobile phone, he sent her the emoji image of a kitchen knife that day, four minutes after he sent a message saying, “Wait for my call.” She said the call never came and she does not know what happened to him. "We're in a crisis": Biden introduces climate policy team, Pompeo blames Russians for massive cyberattack. Before entering public service, she worked as a public-interest lawyer. Her English name, Grace, is one she has long used, she said. Meng's professional experience includes pro bono work as an attorney for Sanctuary for Families and work as a partner in Yoon and Kim, Limited Liability Partnership. She passed laws to extend unemployment coverage during the worst economic … She said he was in China when he sent the image. LYON, France -- The wife of Interpol's president made an impassioned plea Sunday for help in bringing her missing husband to safety, saying she thinks he sent an image of a knife before he disappeared in China as a way to warn her he was in danger. Her Husband also worked at her lab and she begged her husband to go with her and says while her spouse, a reputable scientist himself, had initially been supportive of her research, he suddenly had a change of heart. Photograph: Jeff Pachoud/AFP/Getty Images Meng Hongwei’s abrupt removal is … In a statement posted on a government website Monday, the authorities said Meng Hongwei, China's vice minister for public security, was being investigated due to his own "willfulness and for bringing trouble upon himself.". Meng, a member of the Communist Party, worked with former security chief and Politburo Standing Committee member Zhou Yongkang, who is now serving a life sentence for corruption. Grace Meng defended her husband as an innocent man and criticized the Chinese government for the disappearances and lack of transparency over the detentions. A French judicial official confirmed to AP that police are investigating the threat against Mrs Meng, but said the probe has yet to determine whether Chinese teams were sent to Lyon. Grace Meng denied bribery allegations against her husband, and said speaking out about his disappearance was placing her ‘in great danger’. Earlier Sunday, at an emotional press conference in Lyon, Grace Meng spoke for the first time about his disappearance. Grace Meng sued Interpol at the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague shortly after her husband’s alleged reemergence, in July 2019, for doing nothing to protect Meng and his family and responding tepidly to Meng’s arrest. "After that I have no call and he disappeared.". Biography District: New York - 6th District Political Highlights: N.Y. Chinese authorities said Monday they're investigating Meng for bribery and other crimes and indicated political transgressions may also have landed him in trouble. Before entering public service, she worked as a public-interest lawyer. pic.twitter.com/c2daKd9N39. China has said it … The appeal by Meng's wife for justice and fairness echoed pleas from the families of scores of people who fell afoul of the Chinese Communist Party under President Xi Jinping's rule. Meng's unexplained disappearance in China, which had prompted the French government and Interpol to make their concerns known publicly, threatened to tarnish Beijing's image as a rising Asian power. Husband. She has remained in the French city of Lyon, where Interpol is based, since her husband Meng Hongwei disappeared last September during a visit to China. Grace resides in Queens with her husband, Wayne, and two sons, Tyler and Brandon. The disciplinary organ of China's ruling Communist Party said in a brief statement on its website that Meng was "suspected of violating the law and is currently under the monitoring and investigation" of China's new anti-corruption body, the National Supervision Commission. Grace Meng said she hadn't heard from her husband since Sept. 25. She’s educated and refined and clearly doesn’t belong there. The statement was the first official word on the fate of 64-year-old Meng since French judicial officials said he was missing Friday. U.S. Congresswoman Grace Meng is serving her fourth term in the United States House of Representatives. In the wake of her husband's detention, Grace Meng … She helped create and serves as a founding member and former Co-Chair of the Quiet Skies Caucus which works to mitigate excessive aircraft noise that adversely affects communities. Officials under suspicion often disappear into the party's investigatory body, which can hold them for months without releasing information or providing them with legal counsel. Grace Meng said during in an exclusive interview Wednesday with The Associated Press that her husband, a long-serving vice minister of public security, had been part of a reformist faction of China's secretive ruling party. Forest Hills, NY 11375 Grace Meng told reporters that she had not heard from her husband since September 25. "I can't believe because the rule of law (in) China is his lifelong pursuit.". 2209 Rayburn Office Building media caption Grace Meng says "cruel" China is persecuting her husband The wife of Meng Hongwei, the Interpol president held in China since September, has sought asylum in … Democrat. OFFICE LOCATIONS . Grace Meng said the man who called her spoke in Chinese and identified himself as someone who used to work for her husband, suggesting he … An official enquiry was sent to the Chinese government asking for the whereabouts of Meng Hongwei by the Interpol. Li-Meng Yan is married, her husband is of Indian Origin and they have been together for more than six years, when Yan decided to leave China things got complicated. P: 718-358-6364 An investigation was opened by the French authorities after Grace Meng reported her husband missing. Updated on: October 8, 2018 / 2:27 AM Grace Meng. "This is a political case," she told the AP. A 2018 photo of Grace Meng, the wife of the disgraced former Interpol President Meng Hongwei, who did not want her face shown. Grace represents the Sixth Congressional District of New York encompassing the New York City borough of Queens, including west, central and northeast Queens. © 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. "For the husband whom I deeply love, for my young children, for the people of my motherland, for all the wives and children, so that their husbands and fathers will no longer disappear.". Grace Meng blasted a statement by China’s anti-corruption watchdog, which said Meng Hongwei had spent ‘lavish’ amounts of state funds and abused his … Grace Meng says husband is a victim of 'political persecution' and calls Chinese officials 'cruel' and 'dirty' She was accompanied to the hotel where she held her press conference by two French police officers who were assigned to look after her. Mrs Meng said she has done so now to show her solidarity with her husband. Of the knife image, she said: "I think he means he is in danger." Grace told the BBC that she hadn't told her children about their … She said they had been in daily contact during his trip before he went missing in China. Meng admitted his guilt in a trial last year. VANCOUVER — A former executive with the Canada Border Services Agency says she had no concerns about the conduct of border officers involved in detaining Chinese tech executive Meng … In a sign of her nervous apprehension, Meng's wife would not allow reporters to show her face, saying she feared for her own safety and the safety of her children. Why is he fundraising for it? Meng admitted his guilt in a trial last year. She then earned a law degree from Yeshiva University’s Benjamin Cardozo School of Law. Family. Grace Meng said that China has failed to provide a shred of evidence to support the accusations. President Xi Jinping's sprawling campaign, California Privacy/Information We Collect. WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. 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