12 Facts About Wukan protests

Wukan protests, 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 detente in the village of Wukan, in the east of Guangdong province.

Residents of Wukan protests had previously petitioned the national government in 2009 and 2010 over the land disputes.

The Wukan protests strengthened after one of the village representatives, Xue Jinbo, died in police custody in suspicious circumstances.

Wukan protests is a village that had often been described as being especially harmonious.

The residents of Wukan protests made allegations of corruption: five of the nine members of Wukan protests'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.

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Residents in several villages near Wukan protests alleged that village officials had confiscated their farm land and sold it to developers.

Wukan protests 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 to Country Garden.

Video footage shot by villagers in Wukan protests showed people of all ages being chased and beaten with truncheons by riot police.

One Wukan protests villager described the police and other security staff as "like mad dogs, beating everyone they saw".

Wukan protests was taken away in a minibus without licence plates.

Citizens of Wukan protests welcomed intervention by Wang's government, and Wang has capitalized on the popularity of his approach since late December 2011.

Wukan protests gave a perfunctory response, and the Lufeng government, in which Wukan resides, later stated that the land did not belong to the villagers.