Chinese Banking Fraud Victims Strive to Have Their Voices Heard

People hold banners and chant slogans during a protest at the entrance to a branch of China's central bank in Zhengzhou in central China's Henan Province, on July 10, 2022. Yang/AP Photo

Customers of Henan’s rural banks are continuing to seek access to their bank deposits, which have been frozen since April of last year. They are also searching for ways to let the outside world hear them voice their frustrations.

On April 2, hundreds of Chinese deposit-holders gathered on a busy overpass in Zhengzhou city, Henan province to protest and show their banners. They shouted in unison: “Henan government, give me back my deposit,” and “Henan bank, give me back my deposit.”

The gathering was organized covertly. The Chinese police could not prevent the gathering, although some demonstrators were arrested afterwards, a protester revealed to the Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times.

David vs. Goliath

Mr. Xiu (a pseudonym), who participated in the protest, said the depositors are fully aware that the protest is not going to resolve the issue. Their purpose, he said, is to let the outside world hear their voices.

The demonstrators wanted to show their protest on the internet via videos and photos. “This time we organized it rather covertly, so the operation was successful,“ he said. ”With around 300 people, we have created some sensation online.”

Xiu explained that because so many victims are visiting Henan to protest every day, the police are not able to pay attention to just a few hundred of them.

“We chose a time-frame when the police force is at its minimum,” he said.

At around five o'clock on Sunday morning, April 2, the demonstrators visited three destinations: the Xinzheng Rural Commercial Bank of Henan, the Xinzheng Branch of the People’s Bank of China, and the motorway overpass in Zhengzhou. The overpass is five minutes walk from the bank. To avoid being arrested, they kept their demonstration short and then evacuated the area quickly, Xiu said.

More than 300 deposit-holders of a village Bank in Henan province gathered in front of the Henan Supervisory Bureau to protest and demand that they be allowed to withdraw their money on June 25, 2022. Courtesy of interviewee Mr. Xiu/ The Epoch Times

An Angry Roar

A video posted online shows depositors putting up banners of different sizes on the overpass in Zhengzhou, with messages such as “UnionPay cards can be withdrawn globally, why not in Henan?” Other slogans included “Henan Bank robbed our deposits at UnionPay Card, the country should help the depositors!,” “Xuchang Rural Commercial Bank, return my deposits,” “The People’s Bank of China, return my deposits,” and “Henan Rural Credit Union, return my deposits.” The protesters also shouted their slogans in unison.

One netizen posted on social media: “After a year of tears, Henan Banks’ UnionPay card depositors were rejected from withdrawing. In the early morning of April 2, 2023, they gave their angry roar!”

Xiu told The Epoch Times that their protest was organized to draw attention to the fact that U.S. depositors at Silicon Valley Bank received their money within three days of its entering receivership, thus illustrating one of the fundamental differences between the United States and China. “One protects the depositors’ rights, but the other drives the depositors to a dead end,” he said.

“We did not get our deposits back. They’re only delaying our access to our savings by means of deception and concealment.”

Xiu also revealed that after the protests, the police arrested over 20 people, but they were all released later.

In April 2022, many Chinese depositors found their access to their bank accounts in Henan denied. Since then, numerous protests have erupted.

According to the Chinese investigation, local authorities identified a businessman known as Lü Yi who was allegedly the leader of a criminal gang. The authorities allege that the gang illegally manipulated four rural banks and their online banking systems, which later resulted in the multi-billion-dollar swindling of hundreds of thousands of bank depositors across China.

Police arrested 234 people they say are associated with the banking scam. Although local authorities briefly had him under house arrest in early 2022, the 48-year-old Lü has since eluded capture.

Xia Song and Gu Xiaohua contributed to this report.