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Talks bring progress in rebel China village of Wukan | |
(about 6 hours later) | |
Residents of a Chinese village locked in a stand-off over land seizures appear to be nearing a compromise with local authorities. | |
Protests have been simmering in Wukan, in Guangdong province, since September and escalated after the death of a village negotiator in police custody. | Protests have been simmering in Wukan, in Guangdong province, since September and escalated after the death of a village negotiator in police custody. |
Villagers had planned a march through police barriers on Wednesday. | |
But a senior official met a village representative, and villagers said some demands had been met. | |
The villagers say officials have sold off their land to developers and failed to compensate them properly. | The villagers say officials have sold off their land to developers and failed to compensate them properly. |
They also want an investigation into the death of Xue Jinbo, who died on 11 December while in the hands of local police. | They also want an investigation into the death of Xue Jinbo, who died on 11 December while in the hands of local police. |
Police say he died of a "sudden illness", but his family say he was beaten to death. | Police say he died of a "sudden illness", but his family say he was beaten to death. |
The villagers had planned to march through police barricades around the town to local government offices. Local authorities had urged them not to. | |
Amid deadlock, deputy provincial Communist Party secretary Zhu Mingguo agreed to meet local leaders on Wednesday in the town of Lufeng. | |
Village representative Lin Zulian said that the authorities had agreed to release three other village leaders detained at the same time as Mr Xue, and to release Mr Xue's body. | |
"I'm very satisfied with the outcome of the meeting," AFP news agency quoted him as saying. "This is not a victory, but it is a beginning." | |
Villagers have told the BBC they will return to the streets if promises are not kept. They later held a meeting to discuss the developments. | |
There are thousands of protests over land grabs in China each year but the situation in Wukan has attracted considerable attention because of its scale. | |
There has also been a series of strikes and labour walk-outs in southern China in recent months. | There has also been a series of strikes and labour walk-outs in southern China in recent months. |
On Tuesday a separate protest erupted in Haimen, also in Guangdong province, over local government plans to build a power plant. | On Tuesday a separate protest erupted in Haimen, also in Guangdong province, over local government plans to build a power plant. |
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