Social media users have slammed China’s reported use of military tanks to intimidate bank customers protesting against the freezing of their savings. Some users claimed the deployment of military tanks exposes the country’s underlying economic problems. Proponents of crypto see this issue as the vindication to their long-standing argument.
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Some social media users have derided Chinese authorities’ reported decision to deploy tanks around the central bank’s offices in Henan where bank customers have been protesting against the freezing of their savings. Following reports that the Henan Province’s central bank had told clients protesting against the freezing of their savings, tanks were deployed. This meant that affected clients of banks could not withdraw savings.
In some cases, videos, which have since gone viral on Twitter, military tanks are seen rolling in and around the area said to be the Bank of China’s offices. This deployment of tanks follows less than two weeks since Bitcoin.com News revealed that customers of banks had been fighting with security personnel at the Bank of China.
Some Twitter users still questioned the claims that videos posted July 20 were made in Henan. One user, Angelo Guiliano, insistedThis video was shot in Rizhou, Shandong Province. The distance is around 440+km.
Tiananmen Square Protests aftermath
However, there were no doubts as to where the video was taken. This did not prevent it from becoming viral and drawing a response from users on Twitter. According to reports, Chinese authorities might be trying to placate angry customers with reminders that they will violently crush protests like it did in 1989. At that time, a student-led protest against corruption, inflation, and the country’s political system sparked a brutal reaction from the government which responded by sending armed troops to Tiananmen Square where protestors amassed.
The idea that tanks were deployed and photos of them crushing protestors eventually led to the end of demonstrations, which had lasted almost three weeks. The Tiananmen protests saw thousands of people die and many more were injured.
The Print reports that the tanks were deployed to intimidate bank customers protesting their banks. Some of these customers can be seen on another video pushing security guards at Bank of China and throwing water bottles at them. China’s mainstream media have not covered the reported tank deployment.
Social Media Users Find Fault in Country’s Economic System
Some users on social media suggested that the use of intimidation tactics by authorities points to larger economic issues.
Responding to a tweet by Wall Street Silver in which a video of the tanks is shared, another user, Chelsea Dan, faulted China’s economic system. User said:
“Communism all over and to think some people in this country support it.”
Others, like Matt Edgley, said the problems in Henan are a signal that the “Chinese real estate bubble is about to burst.” The user warned that “there’ll be blood on [the] streets soon.”
Others, such as Twitter user Eddie Gahan, suggested that the problem might not be related to communism. Gahan tweeted:
“Actually it was capitalism that’s caused this. The banks have overextended on loans to property developers and with the new ‘three red lines’ rules a lot of developers are defaulting.”
For cryptocurrency advocates, China’s use of military force to dissuade aggrieved bank customers from demanding their own funds vindicates their argument for a decentralized financial system.
Using the tank deployment to highlight the importance of a decentralized currency, a Twitter user named Shivamadan exclaimed: “This is exactly why crypto is important.”
China’s Housing Bubble
The claims about Chinese tanks being deployed coincide with news reports that there has been an increase in homebuyers who have stopped making loan payments. CNBC reported that homebuyers who default on their loans are protesting the delays in building. The report quotes some analysts who believe that if the issue is not addressed, it may inspire others to stop paying their mortgages.
A larger pool of defaulting customers would put a strain on the cashflows of China’s highly indebted developers and this, in turn, could lead to more delays and more projects being abandoned, the report added.
Some, such as Dai Xianglong (the former chief of China’s central bank), have said that China won’t experience anything like the U.S. Subprime Mortgage Crisis, but Securities Times, a state-backed media outlet warned of the possibility of a larger crisis.
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