Wukan protests The Wukan protests , also known as the Siege of Wukan , was an anti - corruption protest that began in September 2011 , and escalated in December 2011 with the expulsion of officials by villagers , the siege of the town by police , and subsequent détente in the southern Chinese village of Wukan ( pop . 12 , 000 ) . The protests began on 21 – 23 September 2011 after officials sold land to real estate developers without properly compensating the villagers . Several hundred to several thousand people protested in front of and then attacked a government building , a police station and an industrial park . Protesters held signs saying " give us back our farmland " and " let us continue farming . " Rumours that the police had killed a child further inflamed the protesters and provoked rioting . Residents of Wukan had previously petitioned the national government in 2009 and 2010 over the land disputes . In an apparent attempt to ease tensions , authorities allowed villagers to select 13 representatives to engage in negotiations . Security agents abducted five of the representatives and took them into custody in early December . The protests strengthened after one of the village representatives , Xue Jinbo , died in police custody in suspicious circumstances . The villagers forced the entire local government , Communist Party leadership and police out of the village . , a thousand police laid siege to the village , preventing food and goods from entering the village . Government authorities set up internet censorship against information about Wukan , Lufeng and Shanwei . Wukan is a village that had often been described as being especially harmonious . International newspapers described the December uprising as being exceptional compared to other " mass incidents " in the People ' s Republic of China which numbered approximately 180 , 000 in 2010 . The village representatives and provincial officials reached a peaceful agreement , satisfying the villagers ' immediate requests . Local Communist Party secretary of Shanwei City said that the authority of the city has been " overridden " by provincial intervention . Background . Wukan village ( population 20 , 000 ) is located in Lufeng county - level city of Guangdong province , some 5 km south ( ) of Lufeng ' s central urban area . The village is near the shore of the Wukan Harbor ( 乌坎港 ) , which is part of the Jieshi Bay ( 碣石湾 ) of the South China Sea ; the location of the village near the southern Chinese coast lends itself well to urban development . The village has enjoyed the reputation on the mainland for many years as a model village for its harmoniousness , civility and prosperity . Since the abolition of agricultural taxes in 2006 , local government has been increasingly raising money through land sales to the extent that this is now a primary revenue stream . Conflicts between farmers and local officials have risen throughout China , often because of land seizures ( or " land grabs " ) . The rate of forced evictions has grown significantly since the 1990s , as city and county - level governments have increasingly come to rely on land sales as a source of revenue . In 2011 , the Financial Times reported that 40 percent of local government revenue comes from land sales . Guan Qingyou , a professor at Tsinghua University , estimated that land sales accounted for 74 percent of local government income in 2010 . According to the Chinese Academy of Sciences , by the end of 2011 there was a total of 50 million displaced farmers across China ( from all preceding years ) , and an average of 3 million farmers are displaced across China per year . In most instances , the land is then sold to private developers at an average cost of 40 times higher per acre than the government paid to the villagers . There are more than 90 , 000 civil disturbances in China each year , and an estimated 180 , 000 mass protests occurred in the country in 2010 ; grievances are often corruption or illegal land seizures . The Jamestown Foundation offers a macroscopic explanation for the rise in conflicts : that local officials , caught between local government revenue shortfalls due to measures by central government to cool the overheated property market and their personal ratings based on their contributions to GDP growth , have resorted to undercompensating villagers for land appropriations . Farmland in Lufeng city has been progressively giving way to new developments . Projects in recent years have included a palatial new government building and a sumptuous holiday hotel resort that contained a row of 60 luxury villas . A glitzy new " Golden Sands " nightclub is a new attraction that brings rich visitors from out of town . In 2011 , villagers alleged local officials had grabbed hundreds of hectares of cooperative land and were " secretly selling " it to a real estate developer . According to a news analysis in " The New York Times " , China ’ s village committees are elected by the villagers themselves , and are thus theoretically the most representative forms of governance , yet most residents are unfamiliar with how the village system functions , and are unaware of their rights . The sale of collectivised land is supposed to require approval of the villagers under Chinese law , and the proceeds are supposed to be shared . However , the approval process lacks transparency in practice , and most decisions are taken by the elected village committee with the blessing of the Donghai township – the level of government just above Wukan . The residents of Wukan made allegations of corruption : five of the nine members of Wukan ’ s village committee had held their posts since the creation of the committee system by Deng Xiaoping , and the village ' s Communist Party secretary , Xue Chang , has been in the position since 1970 . Grievances . Residents in several villages near Wukan alleged that village officials had confiscated their farm land and sold it to developers . The livelihoods of many were at stake : many were facing severe hardship with no land to till , and had difficulty buying food on their meagre urban incomes . Wukan villagers said that they were unaware of the sale until developers began construction work , and alleged that local Communist Party officials had profited from the sale of communal land , selling it for $ 1 billion RMB ( $ 156 million USD ) to Country Garden . Villagers asserted that 400 hectares of farmland had been appropriated without compensation since 1998 . The villagers petitioned various levels of government in vain over the years , accused local cadres of " pocketing more than 700 million yuan " ( $ 110 million USD ) , which should legally have gone to compensating local farmers , since 2006 . Local officials blamed the villagers ' concerns on " troublemakers " who were manipulating those who were " unaware of the truth " . September mobilisation . On the morning of 21 September 2011 , hundreds of villagers participated in a sit - in protest against local officials outside government offices in Lufeng . According to official statements , initially about 50 people shouting slogans and holding banners protested peacefully . Protesters hoisted banners and carried placards with slogans like " give us back our farmland " and " let us continue farming " . Then as the crowd grew in numbers , protesters became restless and started damaging buildings and equipment in an industrial park in the village and blocking roads . Policemen were dispatched , and one villager said that they severely beat some teenagers who were banging on a gong to alert fellow villagers of the protest . Three villagers were arrested during the first day ' s violence . The next day , the police station was besieged by more than 100 villagers demanding the release of the detained villagers , and the violence escalated . The news that several youngsters had been seriously injured after being set upon by ' thugs ' caused hundreds of irate villagers armed with makeshift weapons to besiege a local police station , where 30 to 40 officials were sheltering . Hundreds of well - equipped riot police were dispatched , and they engaged in a stand - off with the farmers . Video footage shot by villagers in Wukan showed people of all ages being chased and beaten with truncheons by riot police . One Wukan villager described the police and other security staff as " like mad dogs , beating everyone they saw " . The " Financial Times " reported that two children , aged nine and 13 , were " badly injured " , and that one may have died . Some villagers said that elderly people and children protesting peacefully were harassed and assaulted by " hired thugs " , provoking an angry reaction from other villagers . The attacks on civilians by 400 police officers were described by the " Financial Times " as " indiscriminate " . One of the ' hired guns ' bragged that he had been brought in by an influential businessman , who paid him RMB3 , 000 and promised him immunity from reprisals for any assaults . Officials blamed the escalating violence on " rumours " that police officers had beat a child to death . The official statement denied that any civilians had died . Internet news of the riots , including photos and videos , were quickly deleted by CCP censors . Press reported that searches on Sina Weibo ( a microblog ) for terms linked to Lufeng were blocked a short time after the protests began . On the third day of unrest , the municipality of Shanwei , which has the responsibility for Lufeng , issued a statement saying that " hundreds of villagers attacked government buildings " . It said " more than a dozen police officers had been injured and ' 6 police vehicles had suffered damage ' " . In what appeared to analysts as a change of tactics , observers noted that the authorities withdrew visible police presence for several days instead of stepping up police presence and suppressing the protesters more forcefully . Guangdong party chief Wang Yang also reassured residents by declaring that he was prepared to accept lower economic growth in Guangdong in exchange for increased harmony within the province . Jean Pierre Cabestan , a politics professor at Hong Kong Baptist University , suspected that the policing change was due to the political aspirations of Wang , who wants to " survive and protect his image until next year " . Wang , a strongly - touted candidate for the politburo when the Hu / Wen generation retires , had been projecting a " Happy Guangdong " model of development to level the wealth gap and emphasise social harmony . Police only returned on the fourth day after the riots . Land grab and resolution . Addressing the land dispute underlying the unrest , a senior official admitted that a sale of the land was planned , and interested property developers had already surveyed the site with local officials , but officials said that no contract had yet been signed . Guangdong media published reports that suggested protesters acted as mobs that assaulted and injured dozens of riot policemen . Villagers accused the press of blatant bias . The Shanwei city government offered to appoint an inter - agency committee to delve into the land seizure allegations in exchange for an immediate end to the protests . Officials also said they would consider a fresh village election for clean and fair representatives to take part in future land negotiations . Because the government had agreed to deal with the issue openly and fairly , the villagers temporarily suspended their protests . December uprising . The local government agreed to negotiate with thirteen democratically elected officials from Wukan ; but , before the negotiations could settle any of the villiagers ' disputes , three of the representatives were arrested . One of the representatives , Xue Jinbo ( 薛錦波 ) died in police custody under mysterious circumstances . After news of Xue ' s death became widely known , the villagers forcefully evicted local Communist Party officials and police from the village , leading to a blockade of the village by police . Death of Xue Jinbo . Xue Jinbo was arrested by plainclothes police without a warrant in front of a restaurant just before noon ( local time ) on 9 December 2011 . He was taken away in a minibus without licence plates . Four other village representatives were also detained on 9 December 2011 . At 11 pm in the evening of 11 December , a Lufeng City official , Huang , called Xue ' s daughter asking about Xue ' s full medical history , stating that Xue had been admitted to hospital in critical condition . Xue ' s daughter and wife went to the hospital at Shanwei in the following few hours , and were made to wait without having access to Xue . Officials told the Xue family that Xue Jinbo had arrived at a local prison at 7 am on 10 December and died at 10 am on 11 December . Other family members were contacted and arrived in Shanwei . Ten family members , including Xue ' s daughter and wife , were permitted to see Xue ' s body , but were prevented by police from using cameras and telephones . The local police alleged that Xue had died suddenly of a heart attack after he had confessed to damaging property and disrupting public services , but his friends and family rejected this explanation , and believed that Xue had died after being subjected to police brutality . According to Xue ' s relatives , Xue ' s body showed signs of torture : it was covered in bruises and cuts , both his nostrils were caked with blood , his thumbs were bent and twisted backwards . His daughter said her father had " a large bruise on his back suggested he had been kicked from behind . " Xue ' s son - in - law Gao also noted that Xue ' s knees were bruised . Because Xue ' s clothes were clean , his family suggested that he had been stripped and then tortured . Xue ' s family refused official requests for an autopsy to be carried out . China News Service reported on 14 December that Xue ' s family members agreed with medical examiners ' verdict that Xue died of " sudden cardiac failure " . Xinhua News stated that he had a history of asthma and heart disease that forensic investigators had found no evidence of abuse , and that Xue died of cardiac arrest at age 42 / 43 . Xue ' s eldest daughter , Xue Jianwan , categorically denied to a Hong Kong online journal , " iSun Affairs " , that her father had a history of heart problems . Villagers held a two - hour vigil for him at his home . Two post - mortem examinations were carried out : the first was undertaken by the Shanwei public security department , after which the family was informed that Xue had died of " sudden cardiac death " . Following the family ' s protests , the authorities consented to a second autopsy , which was carried out by the medical examiner from Zhongshan University , Guangzhou . At no stage were any relatives present . The family said that the short written autopsy report given to them failed to address their queries . Uprising and siege . Villagers began holding daily protest meetings starting on 12 December . Throughout mid - December the villagers protested against the local government , waiting for the intervention of the central government and hoping that the central government would conduct an investigation . After the news of Xue ' s death became widely known in Wukan on December 14 , residents stormed the local police station and clashed with police , forcing them and local Communist Party officials out of the village . After evacuating , the police cordoned off the area around the village and blocked the roads leading to it . The government dispatched a force of 1000 armed officers to maintain order , but it was unsuccessful in retaking control of the village . The authorities held the village in siege , preventing supplies from entering . Local Communist Party officials accused the Wukan village representatives of being ringleaders of the protests . County - level official Wu Zili accused village representatives Lin Zuluan and Yang Semao of organizing and inciting the villagers to set up barricades around the village since 8 December : " They did this to prevent officials from entering the village and to stop the perpetrators of the earlier riots from leaving the village and turning themselves into the authorities . " On 16 December , provincial Chinese officials " vowed to temporarily halt questionable property sales and to investigate claims that the local government illegally confiscated farmland for private development " , according to official news media , but he police refused to release the body of Xue Jinbo to his family in order to have it buried . The same day , about 7000 people gathered for a ceremony for Xue Jinbo , and the standoff between villagers and authorities continued , with checkpoints from both sides set up around the village . Xue ' s son , Xue Jiandi , stated : " Right now we have only one demand , and that is that they return the body of my father , he belongs to us , not to the government . " Protesters continued to demonstrate while displaying banners pledging loyalty to the Communist Party . A villager reported that the government had offered rice and cooking oil – both of which were in low supply due to the blockade – to villagers who switch sides from the protesters and over to the government . The government gained at least a hundred supporters from the effort , but the stall was later shut down . On 18 December , Lin Zuluan , one of Wukan ' s representatives , said that " leaders at a higher level of local government summoned [ him ] for talks " and that they wished to go to the village . Lin Zuluan refused the proposal , saying that there could be no talks until Xue ' s body was released , the four other village representatives held by police were released , and the villagers ' land was returned . During the siege the villagers administered Wukan , , from a temple to the goddess of the sea , Mazu . A breakthrough occurred on 20 December when senior provincial officials intervened in the dispute and acknowledged villagers ' basic demands . The officials admitted to mistakes in handling the grievances and vowed to crack down on corruption . On 21 December , after 3 tense days , the village representatives and government representatives reached a peaceful agreement for the villagers to stand down and cancel their march . In return , Xue ' s corpse would be released , and those detained by police would go free . The provincial government also agreed to make the village ' s financial records public , to dismiss and investigate two local officials identified by villagers as responsible for the incident , to address flaws in electing local officials , and to redistribute land which had been confiscated by the local government . News coverage . A survey conducted on 19 December by the Journalism and Media Studies Centre at the University of Hong Kong indicates strong coverage outside mainland China , but none of the 200 + newspapers inside the country published any articles . The story was extensively covered in " Ming Pao " and " Apple Daily " in Hong Kong ; abroad , articles were published by the " Financial Times " , Reuters , " The New York Times " , " the Wall Street Journal " and others . 58 articles were surveyed across the region in total , of which 37 were from Hong Kong , 6 from Taiwan , 14 from Malaysia and 1 from Singapore . Some Sina Weibo microbloggers told the BBC that internet searches related to Wukan and the area were blocked after the December uprising started , and villagers ' microblogs were deleted . Web users reacted by using alternative terms to refer to the events . In an undated video circulated to the national media , Zheng Yanxiong blamed the media for his woes in front of a group of local officials and village representatives , saying that cadres like him were the only ones facing increasing hardship every year : " Our powers decline every day , and fewer and fewer methods are at our disposal . But responsibility becomes bigger and bigger . . . Ordinary people have bigger and bigger appetites , and become smarter every day . They are harder and harder to control . " This attitude was lampooned in an opinion piece in " The Standard " . Xinhua and various state media , which had previously hardly reported the dispute , started publishing articles on 22 December that praised the provincial government for its handling of the event . In a " Global Times " article , a public policy professor at Renmin University praised the provincial government ' s " evenhanded resolution " of the issue . He said : " The intervention is hard - earned progress , which rebutted previous claims by local authorities that the villagers had organized the protests ' out of malicious attempts ' . " Lin Zhe , professor at the Party School of the Party Central Committee , criticised local officials for having " poor sense of law and long - term neglect of the public ' s rights and interests , " and said that the escalation of the dispute into violence would not have occurred if local authorities had " properly studied the complaints at the initial stages . " International media commentary . During the protests , media including the BBC and the New York Times described the protests as " larger " , " unusual for their longevity " , and " a likely first in China ' s modern history " . The " The Wall Street Journal " declared the protests " [ 2011 ' s ] most serious case of mass unrest in China " . However , after the protests ' peaceful resolution , " The Atlantic " concluded that they were " not as unusual as it might have seemed " in the context of China ' s many small land and labor disputes , describing as " typical " the protestors ' pledges of loyalty to the Communist Party of China . Al Jazeera English has produced a four - part observational documentary series about Wukan ' s transition to democracy . 2012 election . Following the standoff in December , protest leader Lin Zuluan was named the new Communist Party secretary of Wukan . As part of the truce with authorities , the governor of Guangdong , Wang Yang , acquiesced to a village election in Wukan : the first of its kind to employ a secret ballot . A series of three elections was planned , which would select 100 representatives to oversee the village ' s governing committee . During the first round of elections on 1 February , some 6 , 000 Wukan villagers voted for an independent committee to supervise elections for a new village leadership . On 11 February , over 6 , 500 villagers ( 85 % of the population ) voted to elect 107 village representatives , with protester leader Lin Zuluan as village Party chief replacing the ousted leader , who had held the position for 42 years . The young Xue Jianwan , the daughter of the deceased protesters leader , Xue Jinbo , was also elected . According to " WSJ " writer Josh Chin , the election appeared to be " free of the Communist Party meddling that typically mars Chinese election results . " Impact . On similar village protests . Several other villages in China have drawn inspiration from the Wukan protests . On Communist Party politics . Observers have credited the peaceful resolution of the Wukan protests to the intervention of the Communist Party chief in Guangdong , Wang Yang . By demonstrating his ability to resolve the issue peacefully , Wang has improved his reputation within the Party as a peacemaker who listens and responds to the interests of the people that he serves . Wang ' s improved reputation will make it more likely that he will be promoted to the powerful Politburo Standing Committee following the 18th Party Congress , later in 2012 . The citizens of Wukan welcomed intervention by Wang ' s government , and Wang has capitalized on the popularity of his approach since late December 2011 . In a meeting with the Guangdong Party congress in January 2012 , Wang pledged to use his " Wukan approach " to improve village politics throughout the province . Wang , commenting on his resolution of the protests , has stated that it " was not only meant to solve problems in the village , but also to set a reference standard to reform village governance across Guangdong . "