The South China Morning Post has reported that the limited democracy in Guangdong’s Wukan Village continues to fray, as local disillusionment grows and the political climate chills under new provincial Party secretary, Hu Chunhua.
After a little more than a year in the limelight, Zhuang Liehong has given up politics. Zhuang emerged as a leader of grass-roots protests over stolen land in Wukan in Guangdong in 2011 and was elected to its village committee in a historic democratic election the following year.
But he quit the committee in October and does not intend to stand in the new poll slated for some time after winter. Like many others in this community, Zhuang has lost faith in democracy – at least the local version – amid a clash of competing interests and claims of a lack in transparency in the committee’s proceedings.
[…] Commentator Xu Zhiyuan said authorities were trying to regain control of the village. “Wukan was a miracle,” Xu said. “It happened while China was in the throes of power struggles. But now the power of the central government has stabilised.”
[…] Lin [Zuluan, the village chief] said villagers fell broadly into four groups, depending on their views: some understood and appreciated the hard work of the new village committee; some had benefitted from the illegal land grab and so supported the old village committee. Others who supported Wukan’s democracy had lost faith, while a final group wanted it to fail for personal reasons. Lin said this left the village divided with little chance of reaching a compromise.
Zhu Mingguo, the official who was central to defusing the Wukan protests of 2011 in which villagers rallied against land grabs by corrupt officials, is to step down as Guangdong provincial deputy-Communist Party Secretary. Zhu, who was promoted to the post in July 2010, was appointed to head up a provincial government working group to resolve the incident, which led to Wukan being seen as a potential model for democracy in China.
The Wukan Protests
In September 2011, hundreds of villagers protested in front of and then attacked government buildings after villagers illegally sold land to real estate developers. Villagers had petitioned the central government about illegal land grabs in 2009 and 2010 to no avail.
In an attempt to ease the tension, villagers were allowed to select 13 representatives to engage in negotiations. Then in December 2010, one of the representatives, Xue Jinbo, died in police custody, leading to an uprising and subsequent siege by paramilitary troops that many feared would lead to a bloodbath.
However, there was then a spectacular government climbdown which saw the village’s hated leaders being detained before local elections were held.
Zhu Mingguo’s role
When a meeting was finally brokered between protesters and senior government officials, Zhu was sent to lead talks with unofficial representatives of the movement Lin Zuluan and Yang Semao on Dec. 21 2011.
Zhu appears to have shown great political skill in placating hardliners such as Zheng Yanxiong, the then-top party cadre in Shanwei Zheng Yanxiong (Zheng is now Guangdong’s propaganda chief), and reaching an agreement with the villagers.
A speech he gave to cadres was summed up in the following way by China Media Project:
1. The basic demands of the villagers are reasonable, and there are discipline issues among village leaders.
2. The extreme behavior of the villagers can be understood and forgiven, and the Party and government will not hold them responsible. For those who engaged in destructive activities and admission of wrongdoing will be sufficient to exonerate them.
3. Anything is on the table for discussion so long as villagers agree to sit down with the government to earnestly resolve issues. The government guarantees freedom of movement for those chosen to represent the villagers in negotiations.
4. The government pledges to refrain from entering the village to make arrests so long as illegal conduct does not continue and anti-government actions are not again organized.
5. Lin Zulian (林祖恋), Yang Semao (杨色茂) and other organizers and instigators know only too well that the government is already working to resolve the reasonable demands of the villagers. If they remain obstinate, continuing to stir up villagers in resistance to the government, irredeemably allowing themselves to be used by domestic and international hostile forces, they will be pursued.
Zhu was lated quoted by Guangzhou Daily as saying that Chinese officials must get used to citizens asserting their rights and likened erring local governments to red apples with rotten cores: “In terms of society, the public’s awareness of democracy, equality and rights is constantly strengthening, and their corresponding demands are growing.”
The aftermath
Lin Zuluan was elected as the village’s Communist Party secretary by a landslide. However, local democracy has of course not been plain sailing.
On Sept. 21 2012 (the 1st anniversary of the protest) more than 100 villagers rallied outside Wukan’s Communist Party offices to express anger at what they saw as slow progress by the new governing committee to resolve land disputes.
The Financial Times said at the time that the new government had “failed to impress” the electorate.
However, The Atlantic pointed out some reasons to be optimistic:
For one thing, it wouldn’t be democracy without efforts by citizens to hold their elected officials accountable. Other nations have cyclical elections built into the system to handle such a task; but as the electoral contest in Wukan was set up as a special election, it’s a distinctive case. Repeated unrest could grow into a long-term problem, but as an isolated response to a longstanding problem, it more likely suggests this is democracy at work, not democracy falling apart.
What’s next for Zhu Mingguo?
It is not yet clear what is next in Zhu’s career. He was promoted in January this year, and Wukan is likely to remain a feather in his political cap.
According to Nanfang Daily, Zhu will be replaced by Ma Xingrui, who this year also became Vice-Minister of Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Director of China Atomic Energy Authority, Director of the State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND) and Director of the China National Space Administration (CNSA).
Villagers are in a “tense” stand-off as we speak protesting against local officials who are trying to seize land, AFP is reporting.
The residents in Shangpu, of Jiexi county in Guangdong, have revolted against what they see as corrupt local officials selling off local land, resulting in a stand-off in the village square.
The situation recalls a similar case last year in Wukan, Guangdong, which gained worldwide attention.
Here’s what AFP are reporting:
Hired thugs employed by local officials attempted to remove the protesters on Sunday, but were repelled in angry scenes which saw 30 cars being smashed, RFA said.
Police arrived to clear the square and became caught up in the clash, it added.
Six people were arrested, said the website of the local Jiexi county government. Authorities have since called on the protesters to clear the square.
One residents say there is a “stalemate” as a Chinese wall road block surrounds the village. Another tells the AFP that since the dispute started 10 people have suffered serious injuries.
Wukan, the village outside Shanwei which went from protests against land corruption to eviction of CCP and government officials late last year, was back in the news this week as villagers there voted yesterday to establish an independent election committee to oversee another election scheduled for March 1 for new village leadership. Voter turnout was reportedly higher than 80%, spurred in part by the knowledge that those elected to the committee won’t be eligible to stand in next month’s village election.
“After this, whoever says Chinese people aren’t good enough for democracy, I’ll sue the bastard,” wrote one online spectator of the election.
The name of the village is no longer blocked on Sina Weibo, a likely indication that our masters in Beijing have given at least tacit approval for discussion of the news—which, perhaps unsurprisingly, has also been covered by media here in Guangdong and in Beijing.
Yangcheng Evening News has run a series of photos from Wukan yesterday which it attributes to The Beijing News, but appear elsewhere to belong to Reuters.
Voting lasted from 9am to 11pm, putting 10 men and 1 woman in charge of next month's election.
People showed up at 7, the flag went up just after 9, and anyone over 18 was free to cast their vote.
Ballots were cast at the local elementary school, where teachers and students were recruited as volunteers for logistical support.
Firecrackers were set off at 2pm to mark the start of the afternoon voting session.
One Wukan teacher voted on behalf of more than 50 elderly villagers.
No votes for you, northern kids.
Slam dunk the vote.
Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.
Grassroots democracy is so fabulous.
Remembering Xue Jinbo.
Hell yeah!
Burning tallied ballots to prevent vote tampering.
12/18 17:00 update: Photo of one of three netizens detained as they arrived at Guangzhou’s Grandview Mall this afternoon to rally in support of the Wukan villagers and, via Hong Kong’s Ming Pao newspaper, the makeshift Chinese/foreign press center in Wukan, date unknown:
12/17 22:45 update: Activists in Hong Kong have uploaded photos from a small protest held there today in support of the Wukan villagers:
12/17 20:45 update: At Seeing Red in China, Yaxue Cao translates a number of Sina Weibo posts which offer a close look at some of the deeper problems in Wukan:
Wukan has become a specimen of [China’s] failure in village governance. A close look at the multiple protests since September shows that: 1. The position of party secretary has been held by one man named Xue Chang (薛昌) for over 40 years [...] 2. For years the land dealings have been monopolized by the party secretary, and the village strongmen collide with higher-level officials to establish a strong interest chain and a network that loots the village’s wealth without scruples.
12/17 20:00 update: Rachel Beitarie has posted the contents of a pamphlet being handed out by propaganda officials in Wukan reflecting the Shanwei government’s version of events:
In mid November…some villagers posted a message on the internet that “Wukan village temporary council committee plans to organize a petition demonstration on November 21 calling for attention from both domestic and international media”.
Read the rest here and contrast that with a France 24 interview yesterday with one Wukan local:
The local authorities are demanding that we agree to sign a contract selling our land. They’ve also asked the villagers to voluntarily go down to the police security bureau and confess their crimes in exchange for a cash reward. They’re doing this for two reasons – to stop the protests and also to use Wukan as an example. They want other villages in the region to know that they will be rewarded for complying with the authorities. No one in the village is going to do it, there’s too much solidarity.
12/17 19:00 update: Photos of today’s pagoda rally from Twitter user @dc_b
12/17 16:30 update: Two new series of photos of today’s village meeting followed by a procession through Wukan here and here.
Sorry to bring you this so late, but we have been following the ongoing situation in Wukan, on the outskirts of Shanwei in eastern Guangdong province.
Oiwan Lam breaks the news in English (disclosure: I also work for GVO) that villagers in Wukan have evicted Communist Party officials and police following the death of Xue Jinbo, who died the previous day under suspect circumstances while in police custody.
Xue had previously been elected by villagers as one of several representatives following clashes with police in September over land illegally acquired for a Country Garden estate development. Thousands attend Xue’s funeral while police place the village under siege.
Cover photo for this story and above video via ABC.
The banner reads: "Everyone has a responsibility in fighting corruption and graft." (Stringer / Courtesy of Reuters)
December 13
The Telegraph‘s Malcolm Moore arrives in Wukan and, declaring the village to be in “open revolt”, begins filing a series of exclusive reports, noting that the few remaining Party officials in Wukan have fled after police tried to retake the village the previous day using tear gas and water cannons.
Thousands of villagers again gather around a pagoda which now serves as village hall. Police prevent fishing boats from leaving the harbor.
Screen captures of a text message sent out December 9 aimed at vilifying Xue and other representatives recently elected by villagers to represent them in the land dispute.
Villagers begin rationing food, Moore reports, saying they have enough supplies to withstand the siege for 10 days, but have also opened smuggling routes to bring in food from neighboring villages.
Wukan government officials try negotiating with protesters, offering to release the remaining newly elected representatives and Xue’s body and to make no further arrests if villagers take down their banners and allow police and Party officials to return.
Around a dozen supporters of the Wukan villagers stage a small support rally in a shopping area in Guangzhou’s Tianhe district. Hong Kong-based China Sun TV broadcasts an exclusive interview with Xue’s daughter, Xue Jianwan.
Officials in Shanwei, naming names in Chinese state-owned media, warn that organizers of the resistance will be punished, at the same time announcing that the Country Garden housing estate development project has been suspended.
Villagers’ resolve is tested as 30 locals join the government in trying to persuade people to allow police and Party officials, offering food supplies. A blank document being used to collect signatures of those willing to surrender is dismissed as a trap and fears grow that defectors will resort to abducting resistance organizers.
The BBC does a video report and notes that Sina Weibo has begun filtering searches for the name of the village on Sina Weibo. McClatchy’s Tom Lasseter arrives in Wukan, VOA interviews Moore and China Media Project looks at how coverage of the events is being curbed in Chinese media.
Wall Street Journal reporter Brian Spegele: “In Lufeng today, discontent with local government land development was widespread as were calls for a central government investigation.”
The seventh day since Xue’s death, villagers hold a funeral ceremony per Chinese tradition, ensuring Xue’s soul will never come to rest by burying an empty coffin.
The New York Timesreports from that morning’s daily rally—“We will defend our farmland to the death!”—in front of the pagoda, McClatchy publishes photos of the mourning ceremony and reports on the subsequent rally, Louisa Lim files her report for NPR from the village, and VOA brings us video of Thursday’s procession through the streets of Wukan.
McClatchy reporter Tom Lasseter: “Big increase in the number of Western journalists in #Wukan today.”
December 17
Lasseter shares a few photos that suggest that people from areas surrounding Wukan are able to bring in some food for the villagers. Beijing-based Israeli reporter Rachel Beitarie arrives at Wukan but is immediately intercepted by plainclothes police, and Financial Times reporter Ben Marino seems to have successfully made it into the village sometime yesterday. NPR’s Louisa Lim, meanwhile, was still sharing photos from today’s village rally as of 1:40 pm.
Photos found on Sina Weibo, since deleted, apologies in advance for any possible copyright violations.
