(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)