Depositors affected by the collapse of the bank in Henan Province were allegedly attacked while seeking responses from authorities over the frozen funds.
The victims of the long-standing banking scandal in central China were violently attacked by security guards while petitioning authorities over frozen savings, according to protesters who shared what they witnessed on the scene in the Chinese version of the Epoch Times last week.
The crisis began in April 2022, when several rural banks in Henan collapsed, affecting around 400,000 depositors.
Xiao Mei, a protester who used pseudonyms due to fear of retaliation by authorities, told the Epoch Times on May 28 that a group of account holders, including one of the wives whose family was most affected, traveled to the central River capital, Zhengzhou, and wanted to appeal directly to the central government’s testing team. According to Xiao, they were intercepted by black-shaped security guards in the Jinshui district.
Xiao said BA’s wife and another woman were surrounded and assaulted by more than dozens of men who seized their cell phones. BA’s wife suffered an arm injury.
“The whole scene was confusing,” Xiao said.
Two days later, Plain Cross police and security agents forced them into the hotel room where BA was staying with his wife, 6-year-old son and mother-in-law. Sources familiar with the case said BA was detained and his phone was confiscated. His wife, children and stepmother were then forced into a vehicle and taken to Shanghai, where the couple worked as migrant workers.
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“The police weren’t wearing uniforms. They were trying to avoid recognition,” a source using Yu Ming told the Epoch Times. “The child was so scared I dared not to say anything.”
Yu described the situation in the BA family as “tragedy.” Their 2 million yuan savings were earned over decades by four elderly parents working as farmers – suddenly froze into the bank. The BA’s mother is seriously ill and needs treatment. Meanwhile, BA and his wife are unemployed and are struggling to support their son, who is just starting out in elementary school, Yu said. Recently, BA’s wife had an abortion. Because the family couldn’t afford to raise their second child.
“Their family is on the brink of ruin,” Yu said.
Authorities have repeatedly pressured depositors to sign a settlement agreement, but according to YU, some legal experts have warned that these documents can waive depositors’ rights to further legal action.
“These so-called settlements are traps,” Yu said. “Once you sign it, it’s considered a guilt recognition. If you try to sue the bank later, it’s extremely dangerous.”
As a result, most depositors refused to sign the matter, he said.
The contract includes clauses that prohibit petitioners from calling Chinese contract laws and legal basis to protect rights, according to legal experts Yu consulted.
“Normal people can’t understand these legal tricks,” Yu said. “They are full of regulations that hurt depositors.”
According to Yu, authorities also employ strict tactics that include extending prison sentences, including detention, criminal charges and extended sentences.
“They are showing videos of their loved ones’ wives and mothers who are struggling with detention,” Yu said. “Of course they break down and ask to sign. It’s ruthless.”
Despite ongoing oppression, Yu said the victims were “resilient and determined.”
“For over three years, they’ve fought to save their lives. They’re the money they need to support their families,” he said. “If they don’t get the money back, they’ll continue to fight until the very end.”
