Hundreds of investors have been gathering in front of the Xian City Government in Shaanxi Province for several consecutive days. They have been left in despair after the Dimension National Debt burst at the end of March, causing them to lose their retirement savings and life savings. The investors expressed that they are on the verge of losing their minds. It is reported that the total investment amount of thousands of people exceeds billions of yuan.
Since April 11, a group of investment victims has gathered in front of the Financial Bureau of Beilin District and the Xian City Government. From May 10 onwards, almost three to four hundred victims have been gathering in front of the Xian City Government every day, demanding the local government to redeem the Dimension National Debt.
One victim, Li Qiaoqiao (alias), revealed to a reporter that on May 15, there were even more victims participating in the rights protection activities, with a significant presence of police officers on site, “a group after group.”
She also disclosed that during the rights protection process, some investors were arrested and held for a week before being released, while a lawyer who advocated for them was also arrested. The lawyer went on a hunger strike to protest and was only released after five days.
It was understood that on March 24, the national debt encountered a redemption crisis, and on April 1, the Dimension National Debt Service Department was sealed. The official reason given was that the service department was suspected of criminal activities, and the public security department is currently investigating. On April 3, the Beilin Branch of the Municipal Public Security Bureau issued a notice, allowing investors to file reports at designated locations.
Li Qiaoqiao mentioned that since reporting the cases, there has been no progress. The Chang’an Police Station recorded the victims’ phone numbers and ID information, but they found out later that they were deceived. “After we scanned the code, they controlled us, preventing the central government from knowing, preventing the news from spreading, and not letting Beijing know. Especially if we say we want to petition in Beijing, they immediately call us.”
With no other options left, victims have been going to the city government’s petition office to protect their rights daily. An appeal station was set up in the courtyard of the Jinguo Hotel on Jianguo Road in Xian, where several government officials are stationed to handle inquiries.
Li Qiaoqiao stated, “I don’t know if the Deputy Director of the Beilin District Petition Bureau (in charge). That person just retired from the military, and a few others were brought in from the community. They keep fooling us; the staff at the petition office are just figureheads. They keep repeating the same old phrases, telling us not to cause trouble and wait, saying that the public security has already intervened, so we should not worry.”
A reporter from the Epoch Times called the Financial Bureau of the Beilin District. A staff member claimed they were unaware of the situation and advised the reporter to inquire at the petition station at the Jinguo Hotel. When asked for contact information of the person in charge, the staff member claimed they did not have contact information.
Li Qiaoqiao said, “We call our financial bureau the ‘Black Financial Bureau’ now.”
According to information provided by the victims, the Dimension National Debt Service Department was formally established with approval from the Xian Municipal Financial Bureau and reported to the Provincial Finance Department and the National Ministry of Finance. The operating entity was the Xian Light Textile Corporation (formerly the Xian Light Textile Bureau, now affiliated with the Xian Industrial Investment Group Corporation). It has been in operation for a full 29 years since its establishment in 1996. It had business operations in prime locations in South Shaomen and Yuyi Road in Xian. For many years, their redemption work proceeded normally. In May 2003, there was a redemption crisis, but the government intervened and redeemed the investors after more than 40 days. After that incident, the Debt Service Department continued operating normally without any redemption issues.
In December 1999, the Shaanxi Provincial Government issued a notice to rectify the fiscal national debt intermediary agencies. At that time, there were 14 national debt service institutions under the Xian Municipal Financial Bureau, of which 13 were successively revoked. Only the “Xian Dimension National Debt Service Department” under the Xian Municipal Financial Bureau was retained, continuing its operations openly. The operation address, storefront, staff, purchasing credentials, service phone number, and all other relevant information remained unchanged from the time it was initially established.
At the onset of the bursting of the bubble, the service department was still in legal operation. Li Qiaoqiao remarked, “The personnel in the business department are relatives of our Xian Financial Bureau; all of them are their descendants.” She also mentioned that a month or two before the service department was sealed, they renovated a storefront 200 meters away from the original site, which was bigger and more prominently displayed. It was said that they had paid three years of rent. In February, some investors were told by the staff that they had finished renovations and should return later, only to find the door closed when they arrived.
Victims revealed that the number of people who purchased the national debt reached six to seven thousand, involving billions of yuan in total. Each holder of the national debt had their entire family’s savings behind them, supporting two or three generations. The actual number of people affected could reach tens of thousands. The majority of them are elderly people aged from 60 to over 80. The victims can be roughly divided into four categories: urban villagers in Xian who were relocated, retired workers from enterprises, migrant workers from various counties around Xian (living in Xian for a long time), and local middle-aged people as well as individuals from other provinces like Beijing and Shanghai and a few from overseas. Many of these groups have been purchasing national debt since the establishment of the service department nearly 30 years ago.
Li Qiaoqiao lamented, “Just like a bank, such a large storefront, could it have operated for nearly 30 years without government involvement? This is purely a big pit dug by the government for us, bluntly speaking, it’s banditry, the government robbing us.”
Li Qiaoqiao also mentioned that many victims had invested their hard-earned savings, even savings accumulated over generations. Some people from urban villages sold five to six houses and relocation compensations in starting investment. The highest amount invested was millions of yuan. The victims included many corrupt officials who were too scared to come forward or file reports. Hence, the exact amount they have invested remains unknown.
She also told the reporter that some victims had sold their farmland in rural areas and moved to Xian to invest their earnings from working there. One victim at the rights protection site was seen crying uncontrollably, stating that they did not want to live anymore, and contemplated jumping into the moat. Another victim, a man in his 90s, had scraped together 190,000 yuan through collecting scrap materials to purchase the national debt. With no money for basic living, he had to beg for food in front of the petition office, and eventually, the government gave him 200 yuan to dismiss him. “We are in dire straits,” Li Qiaoqiao exclaimed.
Li Qiaoqiao started investing in national debt in 2023 through a friend’s introduction. At that time, she only invested 100,000 yuan. It was only after her husband visited the national debt department several times that she decided to make the purchase. “There were people queuing up to deposit money, it was organized by the financial department. He came back and told me it was the national debt. I withdrew the money from the bank and deposited it there. Afterward, because of worries, I called them every half month to ask if the money was safe. I even asked what to do if there was a scandal. The staff told me if there was a scandal, I could go to the Bank of China with the receipt to exchange it.” She originally planned to use the 100,000 yuan for her grandson’s school fees.
Another victim, Fang Yan (alias), shared that she invested 400,000 yuan, saying, “I work as a shopping guide in the mall and at a stall. I scrimped and saved over nearly 20 years, all the money from our home was put into it, thinking that buying national debt would be safer than putting it in the bank. For many of us, this money is for retirement and emergency use.”
Victim Zhang Jia (alias), who lost all of his hard-earned money, a total of 700,000 yuan, through his laborious work, expressed his despair. He said, “Now the news cannot be spread, and the government is not providing any explanation.”