Why Xi Purged Zhaowei: Jack Ma’s Call, Interpol & the $5M Trap That Shook CCP’s Elite

On April 29, 2025, at the Sanlitun Cinema in Beijing, Zhao Wei quietly appeared at the premiere of the film The One and Only. Once adored across Asia for her role as Little Swallow in My Fair Princess, Zhao now wore black, a mask covering her face, and sat beside her longtime friend Chen Kun. She didn't give interviews or make speeches, only nodding occasionally or whispering to familiar faces. One striking moment caught attention. She gently leaned her forehead against screenwriter Zhang Ji from My Dear, as if offering mutual comfort. But behind her low profile lies a shocking story. Her ex-husband, Huang Yulong, was once under a red notice by Interpol. A powerful political network in Beijing had set a trap that pulled him into the purge targeting former Vice Minister of Public Security Sun Lijun. This isn't celebrity drama. It's a high-stakes political play, where names like Jack Ma, Zhao Wei, and Sun Lijun are swept into the storm of the nation's machinery. The Call from Bordeaux Jack Ma's Threat It all began on a cold afternoon in Bordeaux, France, in 2021. Huang Yulong, a Chinese businessman holding Singaporean citizenship, received a phone call. The caller wasn't a stranger. It was Jack Ma, the billionaire founder of Alibaba and once a symbol of the Chinese dream. But there was no warmth in Ma's voice. He said coldly, They said I'm the only one who can convince you to come back. Who were they? Huang didn't need to ask. It could only be the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, National Security, or the police, the shadowy forces behind the Chinese Communist Party's machinery of power. Jack Ma wasn't calling for a chat. He delivered a message sharp as a knife. If you don't return, they'll hunt you down. Not just you. Your entire family. Huang, long accustomed to multi-million dollar deals, now felt the noose tightening around his neck. He was accused of money laundering, a vague charge, but enough for Interpol to issue a red notice. French authorities confiscated his passport and detained him pending possible extradition. But Huang wasn't naive. He recorded the call with Ma, just as he had done with previous calls from friends and state security agents. These recordings, later accessed by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, ICIJ, revealed a chilling truth. Huang Yulong wasn't a suspect. He was a target. Prey in a political manhunt aimed at Sun Lijun. During the call, Jack Ma complained. Why did you drag me into this? He revealed that Chinese police had contacted him, spoken very seriously, and pressured him to persuade Huang. Ma made it clear. If you return, they promise you a chance at immunity. You have no other choice. The rope will only tighten. And Ma didn't just call once. He reached out to Huang's lawyer, repeating the same ultimatum. Come back, cooperate, or lose everything. At the time, Ma had just re-emerged after a three-month disappearance, triggered by his speech criticizing China's financial system in October 2020. Alibaba had been fined 18.228 billion yuan, Ant Group's IPO was scrapped, and Ma had become an unwilling instrument of the regime. Huang Yulong, who had known Ma for years, understood one thing clearly. His old friend was no longer a free man. Sun Lijun, the man who held deadly secrets. Why did Huang Yulong, a relatively low-profile businessman, become a target? The answer lies with Sun Lijun, the former vice minister of public security, who once held sweeping control over China's judicial and intelligence systems. Sun was no ordinary official. In 2017, he was put in charge of security in Hong Kong, right as anti-Beijing protests erupted. With far-reaching power, Sun had access to highly sensitive files, from shady financial dealings among China's elite to the inner political conspiracies of the Communist Party. He was a double-edged sword, both an enforcer and a threat. In 2020, Sun was arrested on charges of corruption, stock market manipulation, and illegal possession of firearms. By 2022, he was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve. But this wasn't just another anti-corruption case. According to reports from the ICIJ and international media, Sun's downfall was part of a broader high-level political purge. A power struggle within the Communist Party under Xi Jinping's leadership. To take Sun down, the Party needed more than ledgers. They needed witnesses to construct a seamless narrative. Wang Yulong, who had transferred $5 million to a security firm at Sun's request in 2018, became the perfect target. What secrets might Sun Lijun have held? Based on ICIJ findings and media reports, underground financial networks, Sun had connections to businessmen like Huang, who invested in security firms, often used as channels for money laundering or moving capital overseas. These deals could implicate powerful CCP families behind major conglomerates. Political conspiracies. As head of security, Sun was deeply aware of the Party's internal power struggles. He may have possessed evidence on who orchestrated certain anti-corruption campaigns, often wielded as weapons to eliminate Xi Jinping's rivals. Transnational repression. Sun oversaw Hong Kong's security and was involved in global operations to hunt down dissidents abroad. He likely knew how Interpol red notices were abused, how espionage was conducted, and the workings of China's global surveillance web. These secrets made Sun a danger. Wang Yulong, though just a small link in the chain, was dragged into the fight because of his dealings with Sun. According to court documents in France, the money laundering charge was merely a pretext. The real goal was to force Huang into court to testify against Sun, strengthen the case, and complete the purge. Wang Yulong, the prey who fought back. Wang Yulong wasn't someone who gave in easily. Living in Bordeaux with Singaporean citizenship, he had the resources to fight back. When detained and facing possible extradition, Huang relied on his legal team to defend him. His lawyer, Rodrigues, declared, if Huang returns to China, he will be arrested, detained, and possibly tortured to force a confession until he agrees to testify. They used recordings, including Jack Ma's call, to demonstrate that the pressure from Beijing was part of a coordinated psychological campaign. One friend even called to warn Huang, within three days your entire family will be arrested. Sure enough, a few days later, Huang's sister was detained in China, and actress Zhao Wei was summoned for questioning and placed under soft surveillance. But Huang wasn't alone. He was also linked to an online lending platform, Duandai Wang, whose founder had been sentenced to 20 years in prison for illegal fundraising. Chinese authorities accused Huang of helping to transfer money overseas and conceal assets. However, his lawyers argued these were just pretexts to coerce his cooperation. By July 2021, the Bordeaux Court of Appeal rejected China's extradition request, and Interpol withdrew its red notice. Huang narrowly escaped, at least for now, but the cost had been steep. Zhao Wei Silence as survival, Zhao Wei was never officially wanted, but she didn't escape the storm. On August 26, 2021, her name was wiped from all online platforms. Films and TV shows she starred in vanished, and her trending Weibo topics were shut down. No explanation was given. She simply disappeared. The media speculated, was it because of the military flag controversy? Illegal investments? A broader crackdown on celebrities? But the real trigger was the Sun Legion case and Huang Yulong's refusal to cooperate. Zhao was summoned for questioning and placed under soft control. No handcuffs, but arguably more effective. Kuo Fu Jie, deputy head of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection's task force, once told Huang, I've spoken to your wife. The content of that conversation remains unknown, but the results were clear. Zhao Wei stayed silent, quietly dissolved her companies, had her assets frozen, and cut all ties. Before their divorce, she posted on Instagram, drawing a clear line, declaring she would stay out of it. When she reappeared in 2025, she kept silent. No social media accounts. No mention of the past. It wasn't a comeback. It was submission. Red notices, a political weapon. The case of Huang Yulong exposed how the Chinese Communist Party, CCP, has been abusing Interpol's red notice system, originally meant for serious crimes like terrorism or murder, as a tool for political persecution. According to the ICIJ, China has used red notices to pursue over 100 individuals across 23 countries, from businessmen like Huang to dissidents and Uyghurs. The system is easy to exploit because Interpol does not verify the authenticity of a case. It only reviews documentation provided by the requesting country. With broad charges like money laundering or financial fraud, China can fabricate seemingly legitimate accusations to mask political motives. Huang is a textbook example. The red notice branded him a global criminal and restricted his ability to travel. French authorities relying on the notice confiscated his passport and detained him. But as his lawyer Rodriguez put it, this is legalized transnational kidnapping, a political shakedown executed with state resources. The ICIJ also revealed similar cases. A Uyghur activist monitored in Turkey by Chinese hired spies, and a businesswoman jailed for 200 days in Italy before being released, completely innocent. But China's repression network doesn't end with Interpol. According to the ICIJ's April 28, 2025 report, backed by 42 media outlets, China has also infiltrated the United Nations with fake NGOs to praise Beijing, disrupt meetings, and surveil human rights activists. The China Target Project focused on the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, where pro-China organizations portrayed Beijing's actions as brilliant, contradicting UN expert reports. The ICIJ found that out of 106 NGOs registered with the UN from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, 59 were closely tied to the CCP. During China's 2024 Human Rights Review, more than half of the speaking organizations were pro-Beijing. U.S. Ambassador Michelle Taylor called it erosion and dishonesty. The ICIJ interviewed 15 activists and Chinese human rights lawyers who said they were surveilled and harassed at UN offices and around Geneva. In March 2024, a group of dissidents secretly met with UN High Commissioner Volker Turk in a nearby building, fearing Chinese informants inside the UN headquarters. Four individuals claiming to represent the Guangdong Human Rights Association showed up uninvited, asking questions about the meeting. Two Uyghur participants were photographed as they left by someone in a black car. Zumertai Arkin, vice president of the World Uyghur Congress, later received a chilling message. We're watching you. You can't escape. The Limitless Machine of Power The pursuit of Huang Yilong is not just a personal story. It's a reflection of the true nature of China's political system, a ruthless machine willing to sacrifice anyone to protect its grip on power. Huang Yilong, Jack Ma, and Zhao Wei, once symbols of success, became targets the moment they crossed an invisible line. Sun Lijun, with his vault of deadly secrets, proved how fragile power truly is. A predator one day, prey the next. This story also reveals the deep entanglement between business and politics in China. Entrepreneurs like Huang and Jack Ma once thrived on political connections, but those same ties can turn into liabilities overnight. Jack Ma, once a symbol of entrepreneurial freedom, became an instrument of the regime. Zhao Wei, once a global superstar, now survives in silence. Huang Yilong may have escaped the Red Notice, but he lives in exile, forever shadowed by the Chinese Communist Party. The saga of Huang Yilong, Zhao Wei, Jack Ma, and Sun Lijun reads like a spy thriller, where every character is trapped in a script written by the CCP. Huang escaped, but the price was separation from his family and a life on the run. Zhao Wei bought her pardon with silence, but lost her spotlight. Jack Ma lost his freedom, becoming a mouthpiece of the state. Sun Lijun, keeper of fatal secrets, is now just another name in a file. But a more haunting question lingers. Who will be next? In a world where a Red Notice can turn anyone into a criminal, where a phone call from Jack Ma can seal your fate, and where a star like Zhao Wei can vanish overnight, no one is truly safe. The case of Huang Yilong is not just a story. It is a warning. A warning about a system with no limits, where power writes the only script, and every individual is just another pawn. What do you think about today's story? Let us know in the comments below. Thanks for watching and see you in the next episode.