(protester leader speaking in foreign language)
(protesters speaking in foreign language)
(protester leader speaking in foreign language)
- [Narrator] Imagine if your bank accounts
were frozen without warning.
(protesters speaking in foreign language)
Or you've been paying for an apartment
that hasn't been built.
That's happening in China
where economic woes have pushed people to the streets,
and some people online, like homeowners who are threatening
to stop paying their mortgages
until developers clear construction delays
and hand over the homes they bought.
China's GDP growth was close to zero
during the second quarter
amid COVID lockdowns and supply chain issues.
These protests highlight specific troubles
and parts of China's economy.
So here's what's happening and how the authorities
are trying to keep things under control.
(protesters clamoring)
(apprehensive music)
In China, there's been no room for political protests
to challenge the leadership.
Just look at Beijing's suppression
of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement since 2019.
(protesters speaking in foreign language)
But the protests this summer are different.
- This shows the recent pattern mass protest in China
'cause people have immediate issues to address
that really affect themselves directly.
- [Narrator] Tai Zixue is an associate professor
who's been studying social activism in China for 20 years.
He says protestors can't target the ruling communist party
if they want to be heard.
- If you have political demands,
there's no room for negotiation
but the scenarios we have seen are different.
They're not political; they're economic
or financial interest driven.
- [Narrator] One major issue
has been the country's real estate sector.
Collectively, urban Chinese have nearly 78% of their wealth
tied up in residential property.
And many have yet to see their new homes
because developers don't have enough money
to finish building apartments they've pre-sold.
To get a sense of how homeowners
have been left waiting in limbo,
take a look at this chart.
The blue line shows the number of housing projects
that started construction in 2021.
The red line is the number of projects
that have been completed.
There are few reasons for this.
First, the government's strict limits
on property developers' leverage
cause some of them to default on their debt.
Add on top of that, the slowing economy and COVID lockdowns
that triggered a drop in home sales
which fell nearly 40% in July compared to last year.
As a result, many developers have had less cash
to fund construction. (light music)
So frustrated fires of unfinished homes
have joined a movement that's been gathering steam
on Chinese social media.
These are hundreds of joint letters issued by homeowners
for more than 100 cities across the country.
They've been circulating online
and all of them share a similar message
that they'll stop their mortgage payments
until developers finish and hand over the apartments.
The mortgage revolt left authority scrambling
to reassure home buyers that projects will be completed.
Some local governments rolled out tax rebates, cash rewards,
and lower down payments to boost their property markets.
- It's tradition, Chinese protests.
You have to make a very loud voice to get heard.
(protesters speaking in foreign language)
- [Narrator] Another problem
that's triggered loud complaints, thanks.
In the city of Zhengzhou, protestors vented their anger
at rural lenders for freezing their accounts.
This comes amid a government investigation
into financial misconduct by a private investment group.
- Their immediate deal is to get their money back.
They're not asking anything more than that.
(protesters clamoring)
- [Narrator] Chaos erupted
when a group of unidentified men in white T-shirts
ramped into the crowd.
The Wall Street Journal couldn't determine their identity
and neither the bank nor the local government
responded to request for comment.
The incident went viral on Chinese social media
and got the attention of the authorities.
That's when local officials stepped in
and made concessions to appease demonstrators
with two rounds of repayments to depositors.
- They are giving indications
that the government is working with those issues.
That's the typical strategy.
(bright music)
- [Narrator] For China's leaders,
maintaining stability is a top economic priority.
So to stop the protest from growing,
the country's top policy-making body said it would work
to resolve problems in the rural banking system.
And it told local governments to take direct responsibility
for delivering unfinished homes
and supporting demand for housing.
- So without finding ways to keep the economy going,
more problems will show up.
This may be the opportunity for them to figure out,
okay, what's the best way to move forward.
And also to find ways
into the national economic policy to solve those issues.
- [Narrator] Stability is also the back
to our president Xi Jinping needs as he tries
to secure a precedent-breaking third term in a few months.
(apprehensive music)