A village in Lufeng, Guangdong, has become yet another powder keg of underclass fury in China. The simmering unhappiness over local officials' corruption and autocratic behaviour finally erupted into major unrest this month.
Corruption in local government is rife, and the conflict in Wukan is no different from the thousands of others across the country. But Wukan caught attention because Wang Yang , Guangdong's party chief, projects a more open governing style. Only last month, the international media reported on how a protest in Wukan was allowed to proceed peacefully. Under Wang, registration rules for non-governmental organisations are eased, and the media urged to play a fuller watchdog role.
Observers say Wang's economically liberal 'Guangdong model' is set up to be the opposite of Bo Xilai's 'Chongqing model', which favours state-owned enterprises and traditional socialist values. The context, of course, is a power struggle between the two ahead of the party leadership shuffle next year.
But the violent confrontation in Wukan has made a mockery of this kind of analysis. The siege by armed police and the brutal treatment of protest leaders in Guangdong may be on a par with Chongqing's crackdown on organised crime. Are Wang and Bo that different?
The protests escalated this month after a villager, Xue Jinbo, died in detention. He was arrested along with four other villagers. Three days later, his family was informed of his death and told to collect his body. Officials said he died of a cardiac arrest. His family said he was beaten to death; they found injuries on his chest and back. His death spurred outrage and galvanised the villagers to fight on.
Is this an isolated incident? People probably don't want to believe senior officials ordered the torture; more likely low-level officials were to blame. Without Xue's death, would the 'more liberal' Guangdong authorities continue being so liberal?