Issued on: 21/07/2022 – 16:37
A video of tanks in China went viral on July 18, 2022, with social media users claiming it shows the Chinese government repressing protesters in Henan over ongoing banking scandals. However, the video was filmed in Rizhao City in Shandong Province and according to our sources, the tanks were deployed as part of military exercises.
If you only have a minute
Netizens, especially in the Chinese-speaking world, have shared a video of tanks on the street. They claim it shows the Chinese government is using military force to contain protests in Henan province, where ongoing banking scandals have frozen customers’ fees and deposits since April.
However, the video was shot in the city of Rizhao in Shandong province.
We contacted a hotel on the same road where the video was shot, who told us that the military activity was actually an exercise. Furthermore, the China Maritime Safety Administration issued a press release stating that civilians would conduct military exercises from July 14-16.
Fact check in detail
Since April, customers of rural banks in China’s Henan and Anhui provinces have struggled to withdraw money. The financial group responsible for China’s rural banks, a type of bank outside the formal banking system to facilitate the rural economy, has been accused of corruption. It has also been reported that some customers’ savings were used up unintentionally during the crisis.
Many of these people have taken to the streets furiously and protested in front of the banks to demand solutions and compensation.
This video (see below) showing numerous tanks on the street was first published on Twitter and Facebook on July 18. Netizens claim it shows the Chinese government is using military force to contain ongoing protests in Henan province.
Breaking news
Tanks are being put on the streets in China to protect the banks.
This is because the Henan branch of the Bank of China declares that people’s savings in their branch are now “investment products” and cannot be withdrawn.
sound pic.twitter.com/cwTPjGz84K
— Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) July 20, 2022
At the time of writing, the video has been viewed nearly 6.2 million times on Twitter and is also gaining popularity on other social media.
authorities in #ChinaHenan province has taken tanks to the streets overnight to quell an active protest by scammed savers. The protests have been going on for more than two weeks. pic.twitter.com/wGRj3TWTOR
— NEXT (@nexta_tv) July 21, 2022
Tanks deployed on the roads of the Chinese city of Henan, the government declared the money in people’s savings accounts as “Investment Instruments”.
Tanks are deployed to “protect the bank” pic.twitter.com/bLGuspWBHU
— Elite Predators (@elitepredatorss) July 21, 2022
Many Twitter users have drawn a parallel between the video and the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, when the Chinese government used tanks and other deadly weapons to silence civilians.
Screenshot from tweet drawing a parallel between the video and the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. © Twitter/ @EricVldw
Screenshot of tweet that reads: “33 years have passed, the CCP is still the same CCP.” © Twitter/ @nanayafuki
Screenshot of tweet that reads: “So from now on we should also remember July 19th to add to June 4th…” © Twitter/ @XcwFinis
Screenshot of tweet that reads: “Sensing the smell of the 4th of June!” © Twitter/ @ChloeBROGGIO
Falsified interpretation of the event
After taking a closer look at the videos, we found some clues to prove that the event did not take place in Henan.
In the clip we see a building glowing yellow. Due to the low quality of the video, it is difficult to make out the words on the building.
Nevertheless, by performing a reverse search (see how to do it here), we found a photo from Hanting Hotel Rizhao Railways Station in Shandong Province (search eight rows away), and no bank in Henan.
A screenshot of the building in the Baidu Map clip. © Observers
The date of this photo on Baidu Map is unknown and the appearance of the hotel is slightly different from what we see in the video. Nevertheless, most of the building remains identical to that in the clip.
We found a more recent image of the hotel on the booking website Agoda, which is identical to the building in the clip. It is therefore clear that the video was shot in Shandong as opposed to Henan Province.
Screenshot of video. © Observers
Photo of the reservation page of Hanting Hotel Rizhao Railway Station on Agoda. © Observers
What were the tanks used for?
Given that there is a naval base near the town of Rizhao, many believe the activity was a military exercise.
The France 24 Observers team contacted the municipality, which was hesitant to release any information and told us that they were not aware of the presence of tanks.
However, we also spoke to personnel from Jinjian Inn, a hotel on the same road where the video was shot, who confirmed the presence of the tanks on July 17. They told us that the tanks were being used for a military exercise.
This statement was confirmed by the China Maritime Safety Administration, which issued an announcement about the exercise in the Yellow Sea region adjacent to the city of Rizhao and warned citizens not to come near it.
Screenshot of the announcement from the China Maritime Safety Administration. © Observers
The announcement of the Maritime Police in Shandong Province reads: “From July 14 to 16, large-scale military activities will be conducted in the area on 36-53.00N122-06.00E、36-07.00N120-54.20E、35-09.00N120 – 54.20E、35-09.00N123-17.00E、36-38.00N123-17.00E、36-38.00N122-29.00E and 36-53.00N122-26.00E. It is not allowed.”
Therefore, the presence of the tanks is not necessarily related to the banking scandal in Henan.