Wukan Villagers to Elect Village Chief on March 1st

On March 1st Wukan villagers will vote for their village chief. Wukan is the Chinese village that kicked out all Communist Party authorities at the end of last year, as part of a protest against illegal land grabs.  And after a two-week stand off with the police, the Chinese regime agreed, in principle, to meet their demands—one of which was for fair local elections.

Many suspect the Chinese regime does not want to let the elections get too much media attention.  Reporters from Hong Kong’s "Apple Daily" recently saw a large billboard detailing election regulations in Wukan, yet the next day the board had been removed.

Wukan villagers told NTD on February 1st they had elected a committee to oversee the election process. Forty people ran  for eleven positions.  At time of report,  the results were not out yet. The committee will oversee the election of new leaders to replace those who were dismissed after the protest.

[Mr. Cai, Wukan Villager]:
"There is a ticket office for each village. Only two villages are done, five villages remain. We elected the notary public and next month, on March 1st, we will elect the village committee."

The original conflict in Wukan was over officials carrying out illegal land grabs. Villagers are still wary of the regime and question whether it will keep its promises, even after the election in March.

[Mr. Cai, Wukan Villager]:
"It is still in progress and after March 1, they may check the land. It is not yet clear now. We will see how they will do."

Cai said the daughter of Bo Xuejin, the village representative who died mysteriously in police custody last year, also attended the election.

Many commentators wonder about the political motives of Provincial Party Secretary Wang Yang, who has allowed the elections.

[Pu Fei, Spokesman, Tianwang Human Rights Center]:
"If Wang Yang wants a political reform experiment, we would like him to repeal the Internet censorship firstly, and then to engage in a practice of multi-party politics. Only then can this be called a test for political change."

Wang is treading carefully, as there are thousands of villages across China that could follow Wukan and become potential flash points that would catalyze wider political reform.