Cheng Zhi

Evil-doer
Full Name	Cheng Zhi
Alias	Cheng Gow (to Michelle Dessler) 程 支 (Chinese)
Origin	24
Occupation	Government agent (formerly) Terrorist Leader
Powers / Skills	Hand-to-hand combat Torture Kidnapping
Hobby	Attempting to further China's interests
Goals	Gain power for China (failed; ultimately abandoned). Kill Audrey Raines (succeeded). Defeat and kill his enemy Jack Bauer. Instigate a war between America and China by nuking China as revenge against China for betraying him (both failed).
Crimes	Treason Torture Kidnapping Terrorism Blackmail Jailbreak Conspiracy Mass murder False imprisonment Attempted war instigation
Type of Villain	Sadistic Terrorist

“	China turned its back on me. It's not my country anymore.	„
	~ Cheng Zhi's most famous quote.

“	You should have stayed hidden like a rat. You could have died an old man.	„
	~ Jack Bauer, while beating Cheng.

Cheng Zhi is one of the two secondary antagonists (alongside Nina Myers) of the 24 franchise.

He was portrayed by Tzi Ma, who also played Henry "Big Smile" Lee in Sleeping Dogs.

Biography

Day 4

He first appeared in Day 4 of the series, where he was the Head of Security at the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles. After Jack killed the Chinese consulate, Cheng demanded Jack from President Charles Logan, who agreed. At the end of the season, Jack faked his own death to avoid being taken captive by the Chinese.

Day 5

Over the course of Day 5, Cheng gradually learned that Jack was still alive. At the end of Day 5, he had captured Jack Bauer and tortured him. When Jack Bauer asked Cheng to kill him, he decided not to, as he would be too valuable. Cheng then took him to China and tortured him for two years.

Day 6

At the beginning of Day 6, Cheng agrees to return Jack to the United States. The country had been plagued by Islamic terrorism, and President Wayne Palmer was informed that the attacks would not stop until the terrorists killed Jack as revenge. Despite being physically and mentally weak from two years of constant torture at Cheng's hands, Jack manages to escape after realizing that they were tricked. Over the course of the day, Jack helps to stop the terrorists, led by Abu Fayed, from detonating four suitcase nukes on American soil. However, Jack's problems were just beginning. He received a call from Cheng who informed him that he had his girlfriend, Audrey Raines. Cheng promised that he would kill her unless Jack turns over a critical piece of circuitry from one of the suitcase nukes, a subcircuit board that would enable the Chinese to defeat Russian military defenses. Cheng saw this as a great opportunity to further China's dominance on the global stage, as well as to advance his own career in the Chinese government. Jack managed to retrieve the component and turned it over to Cheng in exchange for Audrey's freedom. However, unwilling to let Cheng start World War 3, Jack was prepared to detonate a hidden bomb, thus destroying the component and killing both himself and Cheng. The operation is sabotaged, however, and Cheng escapes with the component. However, the component is damaged. In order to return it to working order, Cheng hires Jack's estranged father, Philip, to fix it. Cheng would have known that Phillip's company, BXJ Technologies, was hired to dismantle the nukes in the first place, and would have both the knowledge to fix it, as well as the motivations, because Phillip himself was wanted by the authorities for allowing the bombs to fall into terrorist hands. In exchange for the repaired component, Philip demands residency in China and Cheng to deliver his grandson, Josh. Since he killed Graem earlier that day, Philip wants to raise Josh as his protégé, so his company will exist after his death. Cheng sends his men to CTU where several people are killed and Josh is taken captive. Jack follows Cheng to one of his father's decommissioned oil rigs where a Chinese submarine is scheduled to pick them up and retrieve the component. Before Cheng can take Philip and the component to China, Jack arrives, arrests Cheng and saves Josh. Philip is mortally wounded after being shot, and he chooses to remain on the oil rig when it is bombed by fighter jets, thus destroying the component and averting a world war. Cheng is returned to CTU custody, but angrily declares that his country will not abandon him like the United States did to Bauer. However, Cheng was wrong. The Chinese government imprisoned Cheng for his activities, resulting in Cheng hating China.

Day 9

In Live Another Day, Cheng Zhi is revealed to have escaped from Chinese imprisonment. He kills Adrian Cross as well as his men, orders the USS Massachusetts to sink a Chinese aircraft carrier called the Shenyang, and kidnaps Chloe, who eventually escapes. He had hired Cross to build the override device, which was used by Margot Al-Harazi during the events of the season. He had also conspired with Anatol Stolnavich. Near the end of the season, Jack and Belcheck sneak through Cheng's ship and takes out several of Cheng's men. However, Cheng has a sniper pinned down on Audrey Boudreau, and although Kate Morgan succeeded in killing the sniper, a backup gunman guns down Audrey, who dies in Kate's arms.

When Jack hears about this, he breaks down and nearly commits suicide. However, this caused Jack to be enraged and fulfill Audrey's last wish (which the last thing she told him to do was to get rid of Cheng once & for all), who ruthlessly kills the remainder of Cheng's men in a shootout before finding and engaging Cheng in a final battle. The two fight briefly and brutally until Jack gains the advantage by breaking Cheng's arm and beating him senseless while angrily tells him that he should have stayed hidden like a rat and he could have died an old man before using Cheng's face and voice to confirm for the Chinese government officials that Cheng is alive and in Jack's captivity. Then, a furious Jack stares at him for a moment before declaring "This is for Audrey, you son of a bitch.", and finally beheading Cheng with a katana to avenge her.

Trivia

• "Cheng" is a surname. In Chinese, the surname is said first, therefore, his first name is "Zhi". This explains why he is frequently called "Mr. Cheng" when he is first introduced in Season 4.
• In his first appearance, Cheng calls himself "Cheng Gow" (程 高 in Chinese) on a phone call with Michelle Dessler. However, in every appearance afterwards, he is called "Cheng Zhi". While some have speculated that his full name is "Cheng Zhi Gow", this is unlikely. Chinese people do not generally have middle names. It is most probable that "Cheng Gow" was an alias.
• Cheng is a major antagonist in season 4 and 5, one of two secondary antagonists of season 6 (alongside Abu Fayed), and the main antagonist of the miniseries 24: Live Another Day.
• Cheng is generally considered Jack Bauer's archenemy, because he relentlessly pursued revenge on Jack, forced him to fake his own death, tortured him in China for almost two years, and then killed Audrey Raines. The only other person to be such a personal enemy to Jack was Nina Myers, who killed Jack's wife, Teri. As a result, Cheng and Nina are the two secondary antagonists of 24. They do not mastermind multiple terrorist plots like Charles Logan and Phillip Bauer, but they by far do the most damage to Jack personally.