Wukan protest leader becomes village’s Communist Party Secretary

Months of protest and struggle against their previous local party chief – who
is now under investigation for corruption – erupted into open revolt last
month, when the villagers chased out the remaining officials and police
after another village leader, Xue Jinbo, died in police custody.

The villagers erected barricades and pledged to defend their community with
violence, issuing a set of demands to senior Guangdong provincial Party
officials and calling on the central government to intervene.

The threat of copy cat revolts from neighbouring communities if the government
cracked down too hard – together with widespread international media
coverage, saw worried provincial level officials step in and side with the
villagers, offering them landmark concessions, among them independent
candidates for Communist Party elections.

Mr Lin’s first task since being chosen for his new position late Sunday
evening is to organise a poll to elect a new village committee, which will
likely take place after Chinese New Year in early February.

The Wukan revolt is seen as a small but significant milestone in the struggle
between clean governance and Party dominance among China’s rural poor
communities.

Views: 0

You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Leave a Reply

Powered by WordPress | Designed by: Premium WordPress Themes | Thanks to Themes Gallery, Bromoney and Wordpress Themes