Cheng Zhi

"My people will not abandon me like you abandoned Jack Bauer."

— Cheng Zhi, "Day 6: 5:00am-6:00am"

Cheng Zhi was Head of Security at the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles. When Consul Koo Yin was killed during a raid on the consulate, Cheng was appointed by Deputy Consul Su Ming to lead the investigation. Cheng eventually learned from Howard Bern that Jack Bauer was behind the attack on the consulate and captured him at the end of Day 5. He was responsible for the torture of both Bauer and Audrey Raines. His acquisition of the Russian FB subcircuit board sparked an international incident between the United States and Russia.

Day 4

During the events of Day 4, Habib Marwan planned on using a nuclear warhead against the American people. When CTU learned that Lee Jong could help capture Marwan, he hid at the Chinese consulate. The Chinese government agreed to cooperate, but not in the appropriate time frame. President David Palmer authorized for Jack Bauer to run a covert operation in order to get Jong into custody. During the operation, Chinese guards fired and accidentally shot and killed Consul Koo Yin. Yin's successor, Su Ming, was convinced the US government was behind it.

Cheng confronts Bill Buchanan at CTU. ("Day 4: 3:00am-4:00am")

As head of security at the consulate, Cheng Zhi investigated the death of the consul and he wanted someone to be brought to justice for Yin's death. When Cheng looked through security cameras, he noticed one of the Chinese guards managed to pull the mask off one of the agents. Cheng was able to run the face of the agent and he discovered that it was the face of Howard Bern, a field agent with CTU Los Angeles. Cheng headed over to the Los Angeles office, in order to question them about the raiding of the consulate.

Cheng arrived at CTU and spoke with Bill Buchanan, the Regional Director of CTU. Buchanan was able to fake hourly reports, that proved that Jack Bauer and his team were at CTU during the raid. When Cheng confronted Audrey Raines, the Senior Policy Analyst of Secretary of Defense James Heller, she confirmed that she was with Jack Bauer during the midst of the operation. When Cheng asked about Howard Bern, CTU was able to prove he was at a different domestic office and Jack helped Bern escape from the building. After speaking with Edgar Stiles, Cheng realized he wouldn't be able to implicate the government and that Bauer was behind the attack.

Cheng threatens Howard Bern, in order to extract information. ("Day 4: 5:00am-6:00am")

While Bern tried to get out of the city, Cheng and his men were able to find his location. They illegally abducted him and pulled him in a van. Cheng interrogated Bern and told him he would let him go if he told him who ran the operation. Bern eventually confessed that Jack Bauer was the one who ran the operation. Cheng contacted the US government and told President Charles Logan that the Chinese government would put aside the involvement of the US government if Bauer was given to them and prosecuted under Chinese laws.

With no other choice, Logan agreed to Cheng's terms and told him a Secret Service agent would deliver Bauer to the Chinese. Logan's Chief of Staff, Walt Cummings, was convinced Bauer would give up National Security information. He sent Dale Spalding to apprehend Bauer and kill him. When Bauer attempted to escape from CTU, he faked his own death to make it look as though he was shot and killed by Spalding. Cheng and the Chinese government did not go forward with accusing Logan's administration of being involved in the covert operation.

Day 5

Cheng at the end of Day 5 ("Day 5: 6:00am-7:00am")

During the events of Day 5, Jack Bauer was forced to come out of hiding when a terrorist threat struck the US nation. Some time during the course of the day, Graem Bauer contacted the Chinese and informed them that Jack was still alive. After Bauer was released from custody for kidnapping President Charles Logan, Cheng's men apprehended him. Bauer was brought aboard the freighter China Queen, where Cheng reminded him of the events that happened 18 months earlier. Bauer asked for Cheng to kill him, but Cheng told him he was too valuable to kill.

The freighter left Los Angeles for China, bringing Bauer and Cheng with it.

After Day 5

"Season 6 Prequel"

After Cheng arrived in China with Jack Bauer, he was ordered by his government to oversee the interrogation and torture of Jack. Cheng had his men engage in several torture tactics during seven months, but Jack wouldn't break and didn't speak a word. Cheng and his men left Bauer alone but soon two men, apparently Americans, approached Jack. They claimed to be a special operations team that were sent to rescue him.

Cheng had hired the mercenaries to pose as a special ops team and he tricked Jack to give up information. Cheng learned that Hong Wai (and not the other suspect, Li) was the mole within the Chinese government. Cheng killed Hong in front of Jack and had his men dismiss Jack back to his cell. The only information Cheng was able to extract from Jack was Hong's involvement with the US government. Despite Jack being interrogated for 13 more months, Cheng wasn't able to gain any new intelligence.

Day 6

Cheng Zhi hands over Jack Bauer to Bill Buchanan. ("Day 6: 6:00am-7:00am")

Prior to the start of Day 6, the US suffered from a series of bombings and terrorist attacks. Abu Fayed, who played a pivotal role in the attack, willingly negotiated with the US government. He would hand over the location of leader Hamri Al-Assad in exchange for $25 million and Jack Bauer. President Wayne Palmer was forced to agree to Fayed's terms and he exchanged for the release of Bauer from the Chinese.

Cheng Zhi and his men brought Jack to Los Angeles shortly after 6am on Day 6. After they loaded Jack off the plane, Cheng revealed that Jack hadn't spoken a word in nearly two years. Bill Buchanan asked for Jack to be uncuffed and Cheng instructed one of the guards to release him. Curtis Manning escorted Jack away, while Bill Buchanan signed for the release. Before Cheng left, he revealed that America paid a steep price for the release of Bauer.

Over the course of the day, Cheng learned that Jack Bauer was leading an investigation to recover five nuclear bombs from terrorist Abu Fayed. Cheng saw this as an opportunity, not only to get revenge on Bauer, but also to increase China's military power and start a war between Russia and the United States.

Seconds after Jack killed Fayed and secured nuclear bombs, Cheng placed a call to the Los Angeles Counter Terrorist Unit. The call was patched over to the cellular phone of Mike Doyle, who was appointed to Director of Field Operations after Jack was forced to kill Curtis in the line of duty. Doyle handed the phone over to Jack, who was shocked to hear Audrey's voice. Cheng grabbed the phone from her and told Jack that he would call back in ten minutes maximum on a secure line, or Ms. Raines would be killed.

Cheng speaks to Jack about Audrey Raines. ("Day 6: 11:00pm-12:00am")

When Jack called back, Cheng made a proclamation of his plans. Cheng explained that Audrey's death was staged, as Jack was an uncooperative prisoner and the Chinese saw her as a future asset. Jack offered to capitulate in exchange for Audrey's freedom, but Cheng insisted that there wasn't a point to hold an uncooperative prisoner. Cheng wanted an FB subcircuit board from one of the Russian suitcase nukes, which were handed over to the military after CTU secured them. The component would break defense codes found in most Russian military technology. Russia had successfully concealed the codes from China for a number of years. Jack claimed that this would create an international crisis, possibly the third World War. Cheng insisted that was for the diplomatic parties to decide and the only way to secure Audrey's survival, was for Jack to acquire the component.

Cheng gave Jack an hour to get the component and he received a call from Jack approximately at 11:30pm. Jack confirmed that he had the circuit board in his possession. Cheng instructed Jack to take the first exit past mile marker 49 on the 118 freeway. Jack would receive further instructions once he reached the destination. Cheng warned Jack if he involved CTU in anyway, Audrey would be killed. Jack called Cheng back at around 12:10am and told him he would pick the meeting place. Cheng insisted that they could both get what they want, but Jack revealed that he was a fugitive from CTU. Jack knew the satellite area CTU covered, so Cheng allowed him to pick the meeting spot.

Cheng had his men load Audrey into his limousine and they left the parking garage. When they arrived at the location, Cheng got out of the automobile alone and approached Jack in the small building. Jack told him he wouldn't hand over the circuit board until he was sure that Audrey was safe. Cheng had Audrey brought into the room and she had an emotional reunion with Jack, though she didn't speak a word. Jack told Audrey to passover a bridge and he said a cab driver had instructions to bring her back to CTU. Once Audrey was out of the reach of Cheng's sniper, Jack would hand over the component.

Mike Doyle had infiltrated the location and he realized that Jack would hand over the component. Doyle wasn't aware that the building was wired with a charge of C4, and he made a move on one of Cheng's men. After Doyle initiated his attack, air support and TAC units arrived on the scene. Jack threw the component to Cheng and one of the Chinese guards shot Jack in the vest. Cheng escaped into one of his hummers and instructed the driver to move into the mountains. Air support began to go after Cheng, but the helicopter was shot down. All the hostiles who were at the building were killed and Nadia Yassir ordered for Jack to be placed into custody.

Shortly after 1am, Cheng uploaded the data on the FB subcircuit board to one of his associates. Cheng learned that the component was damaged and unless it was fixed, the data on the component was useless. Cheng found someone to repair the component, but he had to carry out an operation in exchange. He hired Zhou Yong and group of mercenaries to infiltrate CTU, in order to recover Josh Bauer. Cheng gave Zhou instructions on how to shutdown CTU's communications and infiltrate the building. When Zhou had Josh in his custody, he reported back to Cheng, who informed Phillip Bauer that he had his grandson. Phillip asked for Cheng to call once he had his grandson with him. He also told him that he would hand over the circuit board once Josh was with him.

Cheng is held at gunpoint by Jack Bauer. ("Day 6: 3:00am-4:00am")

Josh was brought back to Cheng's base and he called Phillip. Phillip told Josh that he would take him away from the country and start a new life with him in China. Cheng had Josh placed in his limousine, but Josh protested and stated that his grandfather scared him. Cheng told Josh that he should be honored, as Phillip was a visual genius. As Cheng and his men began to leave the parking lot, Jack and Field Unit Bravo intervened. Cheng took Josh and used him as a shield. He made it out of the parking garage and onto the building's rooftop, but there Josh managed to escape from him and hide under a catwalk, by hanging from pipes over an opening into the building below. Seconds later, Jack caught up with them and got the drop on Cheng. At gunpoint, he demanded for Cheng to surrender. However, Josh began to lose his grip on the pipes and called out for help. While Jack pulled Josh back up to safety, Cheng used the opportunity to escape.

Cheng threatens Phillip Bauer over the phone. ("Day 6: 3:00am-4:00am")

Cheng called Phillip and informed him that Josh was no longer in his custody. Phillip would only hand over the sub-circuit board if he had Josh. He claimed that the circuit board was now his and Cheng began to make threats. Phillip warned Cheng that there would be serious consequences if he made any further threats, and Cheng furiously hung up the phone. Phillip then contacted Tom Lennox, the White House Chief of Staff. He offered a deal to Vice President Daniels, Karen Hayes, and Lennox. Phillip would handover the component in exchange for his grandson. With no other options, Daniels ultimately agreed to Phillip's proposal.

Unknown to the White House administration and CTU, Phillip was still working with Cheng and did not intend on giving the component to the United States government at all. The only ones who were against the trade were Jack and Karen. Josh was brought to an offshore oil rig and Cheng instructed for a Chinese submarine to arrive at the rig. However, Jack and Bill Buchanan arrived at the oil rig and engaged in a firefight with the hostiles. Jack demanded for the location of the boy, but Cheng claimed that it was "too late." Buchanan brought Cheng to a helicopter, as he waited for Jack to get back with Josh. Though Josh arrived, Jack was still with his father. Buchanan flew the helicopter off the rig, and Jack managed to grab a hold of the helicopter. The component was destroyed in an air strike attack, which was initiated by Daniels. Jack then jumped into the sea and found his way to the shore. He didn't want to go back to CTU, as he wanted to see Audrey one last time.

When Cheng arrived back at CTU with Josh and Buchanan, he was told that he would be transported to a federal detention center. Cheng told Buchanan, "My people will not abandon me, like you abandoned Jack Bauer."

After Day 6

During Jack Bauer's interrogation at District, Agent Jorge Ramirez announced that Cheng claimed Jack had given up the identity and location of Marcus Holt, a CTU operative inside China, despite the fact that Cheng originally told Bill Buchanan that Jack hadn't spoken a word in nearly two years. He also told him that Cheng provided an inventory of the drugs he used during Jack's interrogation.

Cheng was eventually turned over by the United States, and imprisoned by the Chinese government. ("Day 9: 8:00pm-9:00pm")

Day 9

Cheng, working independently from the Chinese government, was revealed to be the one who commissioned Adrian Cross to build the override device used by Margot Al-Harazi during the drone attacks of Day 9. After Cross received the device from Steve Navarro, he returned with Chloe O'Brian to his hacking group only to find that they had all been murdered by Cheng and his men. Then, Cheng tricks Chloe into fixing the device, executes Cross, and then uses the device to send an order to USS Massachusetts, a United States Navy submarine to sink a Chinese naval ship.

Background information and notes

• Cheng is one of only two villains to survive three seasons and to remain alive as of the present, along with assassin Mandy. He and Mandy both appear in two season finales each, second of any villains, behind Charles Logan, who appeared in three season finales.
• During his first appearance in "Day 4: 3:00am-4:00am," Cheng introduces himself to Michelle Dessler as Cheng Gow. The name was first changed in the Previously segment in "Day 4: 5:00am-6:00am."

See also

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