For more news and videos visit ☛ http://english.ntdtv.com
Follow us on Twitter ☛ http://twitter.com/NTDTelevision
Add us on Facebook ☛ http://me.lt/9P8MUn

The first reported protest of 2012 happened early in Anyang City in central China. Thousands of people gathered on New Years' Day to protest investment scams run by several local companies. Protesters say the companies took their money and ran, and that local authorities haven't done enough to stop them.

At around 9am on January 1st, thousands gathered outside the Anyang City train station in Henan Province. They were protesting because they lost money in investment scams run by several companies in Anyang.

[Hai Qing, Taxi Driver]:
"Several hundred people went to the train station, there were also many at the overpass, then that overpass was sealed off and controlled by security forces."

Protesters say they invested in companies that took their money and disappeared. The sum involved amounts to over six billion US dollars. The scams affect one-fifth of the households in Anyang, a city of more than five million people.

Investment scams are a widespread problem in China. People don't want to put their money in banks because the interest rates are so low. Private investment companies then target people with promises of high returns. But as the people of Anyang found out, those promises often don't pay.

[Mr. Chen, Taxi Driver]:
"The bosses of those companies didn't pay out any money, so ordinary people can't celebrate the New Year."

[...]

Local authorities often try to stop protesters from getting to Beijing, fearing a backlash from the central government.

According to locals, the head of one of the companies has already committed suicide. Many are not optimistic about getting their money back.

In December, Anyang authorities launched a campaign to crack down on the investment scams. But protesters say the response hasn't been enough.