China bank scandal protesters report harassment, restrictions
- Several depositors in the Henan banks at the centre of fraud allegations say they have been called by police or had their social media use limited
- The affected customers travelled to a protest in Zhengzhou on Sunday that ended with a violent attack
A depositor surnamed Wang – whose information was registered on Sunday along with other protesters demanding a fair payment plan from the government – said he received a call from the local police after returning home on Monday.
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Victims of one of China’s worst financial scandals attacked by unidentified men in white at protest
“He asked us to express our concerns in a legal and logical manner, do not gather and do not turn [the situation] into a riot,” Wang said. “But the thing is, the government had given us red health codes and caught us. They were illegal first, and there’s no word on our savings.”
Discontent among depositors of four rural banks in Henan province has been growing for months, after they were unable to withdraw their money in April. The problem was blamed on a systems upgrade.
Last month, officials abused the Covid-19 health controls to give red codes to depositors in a bid to stop them travelling to the provincial capital Zhengzhou, where the protests have been concentrated. At least five officials were punished for the misuse of the codes.
Another depositor who attended the Sunday protest said he had also received phone calls from local police, telling him to “not get involved with foreign media”. And a woman said her access to the WeChat social media platform had been restricted to private messages, leaving her unable to join group chats or share articles publicly.
Chinese regulators have not confirmed the amount of money that has been frozen, but depositors – who have formed groups on various social media platforms to air their grievances – claim the figure totals tens of billions of yuan.
