BEIJING, May 3 (UPI) -- China's government uncharacteristically watched from the sidelines as the country's stock markets crashed, leaving small investors in the lurch, investors said.
The markets' six-month tumble in Shanghai and Shenzhen left many investors, who believed the only direction was up, astonished, The Washington Post reported.
The government finally stepped in, slashing stock taxes and requiring some big trades to be made off market, when the markets fell below 50 percent of an October high.
The grim financial news appears to be driving some small investors to suicide, the Post said.
In February, a 25-year-old engineer jumped from the seventh floor of his work building in Chengdu after losing what his company said was a huge sum on the stock market. On March 30, a 39-year-old former ice cream shop owner jumped to his death from his apartment building in Shandong province after losing a third of his $4,500 investment, the Post said.
The report said small investors, who make up the vast majority of those investing in China's exchanges, have expressed their anger at the government on online bulletin boards.
