Bagging Another Tiger?

China has confirmed Meng Hongwei of Interpol is being investigated

Hot on the heels of actress Fan Bingbing's tax evasion ordeal, on Friday evening there was a curious piece of breaking news -- the Chinese head of Interpol had disappeared and his wife reported him missing to French police.

It has now transpired that Meng Hongwei, 64, was detained by Chinese authorities as soon as he landed in China on a flight from Lyon, France on September 29.

His wife Grace is worried for her and her children's safety

He has been detained for allegedly taking bribes and "gravely jeopardizing" the country's ruling Communist Party and police. On Sunday Interpol received his resignation letter and has been replaced by South Korean Kim Jong Yang.

Who knows how long Meng will be investigated for and then possibly put on trial.

What is ironic is that when he was appointed head of Interpol in 2016 there were fears he would abuse Interpol's powers to forcibly repatriate Chinese dissidents and fugitives.

But in 2017 he only issued one red notice -- which means a request to provisionally arrest a suspect pending extradition -- for Chinese fugitive tycoon Guo Wengui at Beijing's request.

In 2014 China issued notices for 100 Chinese fugitive officials living overseas.

Beijing's campaign of cracking down on corruption has not abated, and it is willing to sacrifice its reputation on the world stage to take down senior officials, as Meng was also vice-minister of public security in China.

Meng's last message to his wife was an emoji of a knife

His disappearance would have been kept quiet longer if it wasn't for his wife reporting him missing to the French police. It shows that no one -- not even the first Chinese national to head Interpol -- is safe from being investigated, and that domestic issues trump international ones.

Grace Meng, his wife, showed the authorities and the media her last communication with her husband. He told her to wait for his call and then posted an emoji of a knife, hinting danger.

Did he know what would happen if he went back to China? Or did he only find out the moment he landed?

There are too many questions, but one thing is for sure -- it doesn't matter how high up you are, if you have allegedly done something wrong, you will be taken down.

Fan Bingbing's Big Fine

Actress Fan Bingbing must pay a hefty fine for tax evasion

The big news today is that finally after months of no word from actress Fan Bingbing, it has now been revealed that she has been fined nearly 884 million yuan (US$129 million) for tax evasion.

In the office we were speculating if she could even pay that amount.

According to Forbes she made 300 million yuan from July 2016-July 2017, and 1.4 billion yuan between 2003 and 2016. But surely she spent a chunk of that money. She will probably be cleaned out after paying the fine and will have to lay low for a while before re-starting her career again.

She was an ambassador for Louis Vuitton

It's unfortunate she was singled out as an example of what happens if you evade paying your taxes.

It was found that she had two contracts, one at a lower amount to pay less taxes, and another that was her actual income. Her production companies were also fined 117 million yuan for also omitting income and not paying tax on it.

Apparently Fan will escape criminal charges if she pays the hefty bill by December 31.

While she was invited by several luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, De Beers, Montblanc, and Guerlain to be an ambassador, probably no money or not much changed hands, but now it'll make fashion, jewellery and cosmetic brands think twice about using Chinese artists as brand ambassadors.

It puts these companies in a tough position because they want to target mainland Chinese consumers, but don't want to be caught using the wrong celebrity for promotional purposes.

The whole fiasco started in May, when outspoken state television presenter, Cui Yongyuan posted pictures on Weibo of two contracts that appeared to be for Fan's upcoming film. One showed a salary of US$1.6 million to be reported to the tax authorities, and another with US$7.8 million.

This is a common practice called yin-yang contracts. It is also not unusual for companies to have two books, one for the tax department to look at, the other containing actual figures.

Fan also promoted De Beers

After there was public outcry about his whistle-blowing, Cui later apologized to Fan and in June he withdrew his claims altogether. But that didn't stop the State Administration of Taxation from launching an investigation, which led to her disappearance the same month.

Fan was held under "residential surveillance at a designated location", where the police can detain anyone suspected of endangering state security, terrorism, or significant corruption at an undisclosed location for up to six months. It is a practice widely condemned by human rights groups.

Today Fan released a letter apologizing to fans and the Communist Party for her transgressions, saying she would "overcome all difficulties" to pay what she owed.

"One could say that every bit of the achievement I have made cannot be separated from the support of the state and the people," she wrote. "Without the good policies of the Communist Party and the state, without the people's love and care, there would be no Fan Bingbing."

Who knows what she went through when she was in detention for several months. Regardless of what people think of her, we can only hope she will get through this terrible period and eventually move on.

Li Na's Story Plays Out on Screen

Li Na holding the trophy after winning the 2014 Australian Open

Tennis star Li Na has retired and is expecting her first child later this year. But the tennis player who was the first Asian to win a Grand Slam tournament at the French Open in 2011 and did it again at the 2014 Australian Open, is going to have her career played out on the big screen.

Hong Kong filmmaker Peter Ho-Sun Chan will make a biopic of Li and she will act as consultant on Li Na: My Life, based on her autobiography.

Tang Wei is a possible contender for the role of Li...

Her story is compelling because she went through the state-sponsored system, got frustrated and broke through to have her own say in her training and managed to prove to not only China but the world she could win on her own terms.

The relationship between her and her husband is also intriguing, as he helped her build her career and upended the typical male-female dynamic, particularly in Chinese culture.

"The story between her and her husband is very atypical, in fact a lot of things with Li Na are very atypical for Chinese people. It shows a very different side of contemporary China," Chan said.

"She broke the rules and defied conventions and, against all odds, became a legend. I'm mesmerized by what she has been able to accomplish and what she represents as a symbol of hope for millions of people around the world," the director added.

... and so is Fan Bingbing...

"I had to make a lot of sacrifices in my life in order to become the best tennis player I could be and the film project makes it all worth it. Hopefully, the film will be able to inspire others to believe in themselves and follow their dreams," Li said.

Filming will start this fall with a release date in 2016. Chan is looking at either having an actress play Li or get a tennis player to play her. Some names already mentioned include Li Bingbing, Fan Binging, Tang Wei, Vicky Zhao Wei and Hong Kong actress Isabella Leong Lok-sze.

If one of those actresses are chosen, they will have to ditch the salad lunches and reall start to gain those muscles in the arms and legs otherwise who will believe she is Li Na?