Headline RoundupJuly 11th, 2022

Protests Over Bank Account Access in China Turn Violent

Summary from the AllSides News Team

On Sunday, Chinese authorities appeared to violently disperse a protest outside the Zhengzhou branch of the Chinese Central Bank. 

The protest was against the freezing of bank accounts due to COVID-19 policies, according to protesters, and reports from sources across the political spectrum suggest that police beat protesters.  More than 1,000 protesters were met by police that reportedly outnumbered them three to one. The protests focused on three banks serving primarily rural communities that have frozen millions of dollars worth of deposits since April, while informing customers they were updating their internal systems.

The Chinese government will reportedly probe two banks — the Shangcai Huimin Country Bank and the Yuzhou Xinminsheng Village Bank — but hasn't announced further action.  Economic unrest continues in China as the country continues to attempt to stamp out COVID-19 outbreaks within its borders. The protest comes at a politically sensitive time for the ruling Communist Party, just months before its leader President Xi Jinping is expected to seek an unprecedented third term at a key meeting this fall.

Reports from left to right covered the protests and claims of police beating peaceful protesters.

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