Social media users poke fun at China’s reported use of military tanks to intimidate protesting bank customers – Featured Bitcoin News

Social media users have criticized China’s reported use of military tanks to intimidate bank customers protesting the freezing of their savings. Some users claimed the deployment of military tanks reveals the country’s underlying economic problems. Crypto supporters see the issue as a vindication of their longstanding argument.

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Some social media users have mocked the Chinese authorities’ reported decision to deploy tanks around central bank offices in Henan where bank customers have protested the freezing of their savings. The deployment of tanks follows reports the central bank in Henan province told the protesting customers that their savings were now investment products. This meant that affected bank customers could not withdraw their savings.

In some of videos, which has since gone viral on Twitter, military tanks are seen rolling in and around the area said to be Bank of China offices. The deployment of the tanks comes less than two weeks after Bitcoin.com News reported that angry bank customers had scuffled with security guards protecting the premises of the Bank of China.

Still, some Twitter users questioned claims that the videos, posted on July 20, were shot in Henan. A user, Angelo Guiliano, insisted the video was actually shot in Rizhou City, Shandong Province, some 440+ kilometers away.

Aftermath of the Tiananmen Square protests

Still, the doubt about where the video was shot didn’t stop it from going viral and sparking reactions from Twitter users. According to reports, the deployment of tanks has led to speculation that Chinese authorities may be trying to calm angry customers by reminding them that the government will brutally crush the protests as it did in 1989. At the time, a student-led protest against corruption, inflation, and the country’s political system triggered a brutal response from the government which responded by sending armed troops to Tiananmen Square where protesters gathered.

It is believed that the deployment of the tanks, as well as images of a tank crushing a protester, finally helped end the demonstrations that lasted for a month and almost three weeks. Thousands of demonstrators are believed to have died during the Tiananmen protests, and several are said to have been injured.

According to a report by The Print, the deployment of tanks is intended to intimidate protesting bank customers, some of whom are seen in another video pushing security guards stationed at the Bank of China premises, pelting them with water bottles. The Chinese mainstream media has not reported on the alleged tank deployment.

Social media users find fault with the country’s economic system

On social media, some users suggested that authorities resorting to scare tactics point to much larger underlying economic problems.

In response to a tweet from Wall Street Silver sharing a video of the thoughts, another user, Chelsea Dan, faulted China’s economic system. The user so:

“Communism all over and to think that some people in this country support it.”

Others, like Matt Edgley, so the problems in Henan are a signal that “the Chinese real estate bubble is about to burst.” The user warned that “there will be blood on it [the] streets soon.”

However, others such as Twitter user Eddie Gahan argued that the problem may not have anything to do with communism. In a tweet, Gahan said:

“It was actually capitalism that caused this. The banks have overextended loans to property developers, and with the new ‘three red lines’ rules, many developers default.”

For cryptocurrency advocates, China’s use of military force to deter aggrieved bank customers from demanding their own funds validates their case 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

Meanwhile, claims of the deployment of Chinese tanks have coincided with reports of an increase in the number of home buyers in the country who have stopped repaying loans. According to a CNBC report, defaulting home buyers are protesting construction delays. Some analysts cited in the report believe that if the problem is not flagged, this could inspire other homebuyers to also stop repayments.

A larger pool of defaulted customers will put a strain on the cash flows of China’s heavily indebted developers, which in turn could lead to more delays and more project abandonments, the report added.

While some, such as Dai Xianglong, the former head of China’s central bank, have suggested that China will not experience anything similar to the US subprime mortgage crisis, a state-backed media outlet, the Securities Times, warned of the risk of a bigger crisis. exists.

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Terence Zimwara

Terence Zimwara is a Zimbabwean award-winning journalist, writer and author. He has written extensively about the economic problems in some African countries, as well as how digital currencies can provide Africans with an escape route.