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leoniejangstra · member Joined: 15 Jan 2010 Posts: 9 Location: Italy

If there were more people and groups like this around the world with the courage to stand up to corruption and injustices, the world would very quickly become a better place to live.

copied from:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/protester-takes-over-the-party/story-e6frg6so-1226245848847

Protester takes over the party
From: AFP

January 17, 2012

A VILLAGER who led mass protests against corrupt local communist officials in southern China has been named the new party head of the village.

Lin Zuluan was one of the leaders of a rare revolt in Wukan, whose residents clashed violently with police and drove out local party leaders late last year in a row over what they said were illegal government land seizures.

The protests, in the wealthy southern province of Guangdong, became a nationwide symbol of public anger over a plethora of perceived injustices, from corruption to income disparities.

Lin, who is in his 60s, was named party leader yesterday after villagers drove out the incumbent, a businessman who headed Wukan for 42 years and was accused of involvement in the land grabs.

Mr Lin has been a party member since 1965, China's official Xinhua news agency said.

"This is a decision that everyone in Wukan supports and it is an important move that will help resolve the land and village finance disputes," a villager named Zhang told reporters.

"The former party committee has been dissolved. The former head of the village party committee and other members of the committee have been detained and are under investigation for corruption."

Anger boiled over in Wukan on December 9 when detained community leader Xue Jinbo died in police custody, allegedly after being beaten, prompting the Guangdong provincial government to intervene on behalf of the villagers.

They ended their blockade after the government promised to release three protest leaders, return Xue's body to relatives and send a team of provincial officials to Wukan to investigate the claims of illegal land grabs.