https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/10/china/china-henan-bank-depositors-protest-mic-intl-hnk/index.htmlOver the past few weeks, a bank run and protest have occurred in Zhengzhou, Henan province of China
When the executives of the regional branches of the national chinese bank fled while under investigation by authorities for illegal fundraising, the assets of depositors at the banks were frozen. The life saving of average chinese citizens, a combined $1.5 billion USD value or so, were locked. Customers were simply given a lie that the bank was upgrading their internal systems and temporarily unavailable, and refuses to answer any further questions. In the past month, ~1000 people who held money in the bank tried to gather to protest and demand their savings be returned by traveling to Zhengzhou for a peaceful protest. And as soon as it was scheduled, everyone who held money at the banks suddenly had their Covid-19 travel restrictions turn to red flag mode, locking their ability to travel in China and putting them into mandatory quarantine. The government has control over an app ostensibly used for Covid tracing that gives each person a red light or green light to travel, and conspicuously used this to suppress the protests in the pretense of it being a Covid restriction. The authorities further started placing travel restrictions on Zhengzhou and interrogating the reason for people traveling to the city to break up protests.
Yesterday protesters arrived in Zhengzhou anyway at the front of the bank. They found they could get around the authorities by arriving at 4 AM when they weren't being monitored. They launched a patriotic protest, waving Chinese flags while chanting "Henan banks, return my savings" and held banners in Chinese and english
And naturally, the chicoms did the only thing they know how to do;
Quote
The scene quickly descended into chaos, as security officers dragged protesters down the stairs and beat those who resisted, including women and the elderly, according to witnesses and social media videos.
One woman from eastern Shandong province told CNN she was pushed to the ground by two security guards, who twisted and injured her arm. A 27-year-old man from the southern city of Shenzhen, surnamed Sun, said he was kicked by seven or eight guards on the ground before being carried away. A 45-year-old man from the central city of Wuhan said his shirt was completely torn at the back during the scuffle.
Many said they were shocked by the sudden burst of violence by the security forces.
"I did not expect them to be so violent and shameless this time. There was no communication, no warning before they brutally dispersed us," said one depositor from a metropolis outside Henan who had protested in Zhengzhou previously, and who requested CNN conceal his name due to security concerns.
"Why would government employees beat us up? We're only ordinary people asking for our deposits back, we did nothing wrong," the Shandong woman said.
The protesters were hurled onto dozens of buses and sent to makeshift detention sites across the city -- from hotels and schools to factories, according to people taken there. Some injured were escorted to hospitals; many were released from detention by the late afternoon, the people said.
....
Sun, from Shenzhen, is struggling to keep his machine factory from bankruptcy after losing his deposit of 4 million yuan ($597,000) to a Henan bank. He can't even pay his more than 40 employees without the funds.
Sun said he was covered in bruises and had a swollen lower back after being repeatedly stomped by security guards at the protest.
"The incident completely overturned my perception of the government. I've lived all my life placing so much faith in the government. After today, I'll never trust it again," he said.
This post was edited by Goomshill on Jul 11 2022 01:41am