Angry Chinese bank depositors face police
Beijing –
A large crowd of angry Chinese bank depositors faced off with police on Sunday, some people being taken away as soon as they were taken away, in a case that caused a COVID-19 scare to prevent them from gathering. The earlier attempts to use the tracking app attracted attention because of it.
Hundreds of people raised banners and raised slogans on the wide steps of the entrance of a branch of China’s central bank in Zhengzhou city of Henan province. While charging the mob, they pelted stones with water bottles and other objects.
Videos later posted on social media showed an unexplained number of protesters being pushed individually and down stairs by security teams wearing clear white or black T-shirts. Phone calls to Zhengzhou City and Henan Province Police went unanswered.
The protesters are among thousands of customers who opened accounts at six rural banks in Henan and neighboring Anhui province that offered higher interest rates. They later found that they could not withdraw their money following media reports that the bank’s parent company was headed by a major and wanted for financial crimes.
“We came today and wanted to withdraw our savings, because I have elderly and children at home, and my inability to withdraw savings has seriously affected my life,” said a woman from Shandong province. , for fear of retaliation.
What was a local scam last month due to the misuse of the COVID-19 tracking app became a national phenomenon. Many people who headed out to Zhengzhou to demand action from regulators found that their health status on the app had turned red, barring them from traveling. Some people inquired why they had come to the city after the police checked into their hotel. The five Zhengzhou officials were later punished.
Protesters gathered in front of the People’s Bank of China building in Zhengzhou on Sunday morning. Police vehicles with flashing lights can be seen in the video taken in the dark of morning. Zhang said the police closed the road and started massaging the other side by 8 a.m.
In addition to the uniformed police, there was a team of men in plain T-shirts. A banking regulator and a local government official arrived, but their attempts to speak to the crowd were foiled. Zhang and another demonstrator, a man nicknamed Yang from Beijing, told the AP that protesters had previously heard from officials and did not believe what they were told. Fearing pressure from the authorities, Yang declined to be identified by his full name.
Police then announced to the protesters from a vehicle with a megaphone that they were an illegal gathering and that if they did not leave they would be detained and fined. Around 10 in the morning, people wearing T-shirts ran and dispersed the crowd. Zhang said he saw women pulling them down the stairs at the bank’s entrance.
Zhang himself was killed, and he said he asked the officer, “Why did you hit me?” According to him, he replied: “What’s wrong with killing you?”
Yang said he was struck by two security officers, one of whom had fallen from the stairs and mistakenly thought in the chaos that Yang had hit or pushed him.
“While repeated protests and demonstrations don’t have a big impact, I think it’s still helpful when more people know about us, and understand or sympathize with us,” Yang said. “Every time you do it, you can make a difference. Even though you’ll get hit, they can’t really do anything to you, right?”
The protesters were taken to various places where Zhang said they were forced to sign a letter saying they would not gather anymore.
Late on Sunday, the Henan banking regulator posted a short notice on its website saying that authorities are expediting the verification of customer funds at the four banks and that they plan to resolve the situation to protect the public’s rights and interests. are promising.
