Provincial High Court Graffiti Reads "Corrupt Officials Collude"

The outer wall of the Henan Provincial High Court was graffitied with phrases like "corrupt officials," "collusion," "officials shielding each other," "corruption and injustice," and "a miserable end awaits" (Internet image).

[People News] Depositors of Henan village and township banks have been fighting for their rights for years without success, repeatedly facing violent repression. Recently, some depositors vented their frustration by graffitiing the outer wall of the Henan Provincial High Court, harshly condemning CCP officials.

Photos circulating online, suspected to have been posted by rights-protecting depositors, show large red characters scrawled on the court's exterior wall near its main entrance. The graffiti includes phrases such as "corrupt officials," "collusion," "officials shielding each other," "corruption and injustice," and "a miserable end awaits."

The upper left corner of the photo also features complaints from the depositors, including accusations like "repeatedly assigned red codes," "claims of deposit returns are lies," "savings illegally frozen," "all departments refuse to show documents justifying the freeze," and "Henan village and township banks and Henan Rural Commercial Bank, return my deposits."

Online reports suggest that the photo was taken on November 1, and it is speculated that the graffiti may have been done the night before.

In April 2022, four Henan village and township banks collapsed, affecting approximately 400,000 depositors and billions of yuan (RMB) in deposits. This triggered a rights protection movement among depositors nationwide, which has been ongoing for over two years.

Depositors’ protests have often been met with violent crackdowns and arrests. Authorities have also used zero-COVID policies to assign "red health codes" to depositors, turning their health status red to prevent them from traveling to Henan to demand their rights. This misuse of health codes as a tool to suppress public rights protection efforts sparked widespread condemnation across society.

Under public pressure, the CCP once announced a phased "compensation" plan. However, in reality, only some small depositors were able to retrieve their money, while others faced numerous obstacles and were prevented from withdrawing their funds for various reasons.

According to online sources, most large depositors were labeled as participants in "illegal fundraising," preventing them from recovering their deposits and subjecting them to various forms of repression, including arrests and cross-province warrants.

Reports indicate that depositors have tried various methods to protest, including gatherings, demonstrations, releasing balloons, and offering rewards for evidence of officials' corruption. However, these efforts have yielded little success.

CCP authorities have also taken measures to "maintain stability" by visiting some depositors' homes, restricting their freedom of movement, and, in some cases, even injuring them, leading to hospitalizations.