INTERNATIONAL: Conflict broke out at the building of People's Bank of China in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou where hundreds of protesters gathered over the freezing of deposits by some rural-based banks on Sunday 10th July.
(PAUSE)
((ZHENGZHOU, CHINA))
Something you don’t see in china very often is protesting. In video you can see, protesters were dragged and subdued on the ground as heavy-handed security personnel attempted to disperse the crowd.
Protesters threw water bottles at security personnel, the video showed. Both groups hit each other and pushed each other away. A large group of security personnel in plain clothes and uniforms were at the scene.
The large group gathered on the steps of the bank held banners reading "Henan Bank, return our legal deposits, our people's life-preserving/saving money" and chanted.
The banks froze millions of dollars' worth of deposits in April, telling customers they were upgrading their internal systems. The banks have not issued any communication on the matter since, depositors said.
About 1,000 people gathered outside the Zhengzhou branch of China's central bank on Sunday to demand action.
Videos showed depositors waving banners and throwing plastic bottles at approaching security guards who then roughly dragged some of the protesters away.
"I feel so aggrieved I can't even explain it to you," one protester, surnamed Zhang, 40, told Reuters.
Zhang said he had been hoping to retrieve about 170,000 yuan ($25,000) deposited with one of the banks, the Zhecheng Huanghuai Community Bank.
Zhang said he had suffered injuries to his foot and thumb, and was taken away by four unidentified security personnel at around midday. Security personnel outnumbered protesters by around three to one, he said.
"They did not say they would beat us if we refused to leave. They just used the loudspeaker to say that we were breaking the law by petitioning. That's ridiculous. It's the banks that are breaking the law."
The banks, which include the Yuzhou Xinminsheng Village Bank and the Shangcai Huimin Country Bank, are under investigation by the authorities for illegal fundraising, the state-run Global Times reported.
