Votes were held but province and federal dictatorship suffocates local China village’s democracy

Democracy, elections and voting at Democracy Chronicles

Democracy dream sours in China’s Wukan two years on

AFP – After the Chinese village of Wukan rose up against its communist leaders, protest organiser Yang Semao was voted into office to reclaim the residents’ stolen land — only to find it frustratingly unachievable. Two years since the uprising in the little community on China’s southern coast drew worldwide attention, leading to free elections and inspiring talk of a “Wukan model” for tackling government abuse, village democracy has proved powerless against the machine of the one-party state.

Hardly any land has been reclaimed and Yang — once a local hero — has lost track of how many times former supporters have complained about the village committee they chose. One of its seven members has quit, more have tried, and Yang, one of its deputy chiefs, is not sure he will run in elections next year, or whether he would win.
“People come all the time to the village committee looking to make trouble,” he said in his bare office.

“We’ve made some improvements, but this is ultimately not what they care about. Their ultimate goal is to get a lot of land back.”