Chinese authorities thwarted bank depositors’ protest by using the infrastructure to monitor the spread of the coronavirus, placing a red code on them in the health app. Reuters writes about it.

Depositors from all over China planned to travel to Henan province to protest a two-month ban on access to more than $178 million in deposits.

Human rights organizations had previously warned that China could use its vast COVID surveillance infrastructure to crack down on opposition. Without the green code in a smartphone app, citizens lose the right to public transport, public places and travel freely around the country.

“They are digitally handcuffing us,” one of the affected depositors said.

Another interlocutor of the publication planned to go to a protest in the capital of Henan province. According to him, his son may not be able to go to school due to restrictions.

“I can’t do anything, I can’t go anywhere. They treat you like you’re a criminal. It violates my human rights,” he said.

Wuhan resident Wang Qiong also found that the health code had turned red. According to him, this happened after he signed up for a trip to Henan on June 11.

“The last time I went out to protest in April, the police had my ID,” Wang said.

The contributor added that he lost access for 2.3 million yuan (approximately $341,550).

Other interlocutors of the publication reported that they could reach Henan by train and car. However, upon arrival their code in the app turned red. The exact reasons for the restrictions are unknown. Other passengers not associated with frozen deposits were not covered.

According to members of the WeChat group, more than 200 participants faced a similar issue.

On April 18, 2022, three Chinese banks froze customer deposits, citing internal system updates.

Recall that in April ForkLog wrote about how the social credit rating works in China.

In October 2021, we talked about the impact of central bank digital currencies on economic freedoms.