Since April, thousands of Chinese savers no longer have access to their savings, as their assets have been frozen by four regional banks due to the economic crisis. They mobilized in Zhengzhou (capital of Henan) in front of one of the central banks in order to assert their rights. And on July 10, the situation quickly turned into chaos.
Thousands of savers ruined for months
Weakened by the economic crisis, four rural banks in Henan province froze millions of dollars in deposits. This situation quickly threatened the lives of hundreds of thousands of customers, already under stress because of the draconian measures linked to confinements.
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Angry, the savers in question decided to travel to Zhengzhou (the capital of Henan) several times to be heard… in vain. According to CNN, on July 10, nearly 1,000 protesters “from all over China” went to the People’s Bank (the central bank of Henan) to defend their rights.
Facing one of the biggest demonstrations of the Chinese movement, the health authorities tried by all means to restrict the gatherings. Last month, Zhengzhou authorities even resorted to falsifying the health pass to slow the progress of protesters who want to claim their money. “Chinese people who have indicated in recent weeks that they want to go to Zhengzhou have seen their code change to red once they arrive at the station in this city, or even before their departure”, reported Le Monde. This indicates that they must isolate themselves immediately to confine themselves and that they are prohibited from demonstrating. Using health for political purposes: a strategy that has not failed to arouse the indignation of the Chinese.
Read also: Covid-19: Chinese ready to demonstrate saw their health pass turn red
Mobilized to fight against “Henan government corruption and violence”the demonstrators met at dawn “in order to avoid being intercepted by the authorities”, according to CNN. In unison they shout “Henan banks, give me back my savings!”
To avoid repression, protesters, including children and the elderly, waved national flags. This patriotic tactic is usually used to show that grievances are only with local governments, and support from Xi Jinping’s government is needed. “What is amazing is that the Central Bank did not intervene: in China, deposits are guaranteed up to 500,000 yuan”said Dan Wang in Le Monde.
Alas, the patriotic impulse did not seduce the local authorities, who did not hesitate to violently repress the demonstrators.
Violence by the Henan authorities: a demonstration that turns into tragedy
Around 11 a.m., security forces and hundreds of men in civilian clothes surrounded the site. Unidentified men dressed in white quickly pounced on the pile of protesters, beating them up. The scene quickly turned into chaos, as officers violently pushed the protesters down the stairs, beating them if they resisted — same toll for women and the elderly. Also according to CNN, a woman had her arm twisted by security guards, and a 27-year-old man said he was knocked to the ground by eight guards.
See also: “We asked for justice peacefully, they gassed us in return”: yellow vests testify
“Why are government employees hitting us? We are just normal citizens, we are just asking for our savings back”, reported a woman from Shandong. Shortly after the scenes of violence posted on China’s Weibo Twitter, protesters said they were thrown onto buses and taken to makeshift detention facilities, including schools, hotels and factories. As for the injured, some were taken to hospitals. For the others, some were released at the end of the afternoon.
Demonstration repressed by the police in front of the Bank of China in Zhengzhou. Thousands of small savers have not been able to withdraw money from their banks since April. Last month, the authorities deactivated the health passes of savers preparing to demonstrate pic.twitter.com/R0rfVVmCen
— Anonymous Citizen (@AnonymousCitizen) July 10, 2022
On the other hand, according to France Inter, if the zero covid strategy weighs down ruined customers, the Chinese Communist Party has revealed that it has arrested a mysterious criminal network, suspected of being at the origin of questionable practices vis-à-vis screw banks.
The situation could spread nationwide; Liberation reports that the New Oriental Country Bank of Kaifeng recently removed mobile money withdrawal functions “through a mandatory update on his mobile”. Other banks have also stopped their withdrawal… At a time when the real estate bubble is about to burst.