Rebel China village takes first step in democratic vote

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BEIJING - Villagers in China whose rebellion against local officials last year grabbed the headlines kicked off a key process on Wednesday that will see them hold their first-ever open, democratic elections.5.39.217.77, d. i) z, ?, {

, x0 [0 ]6 b+ y4 p& j& ctvb now,tvbnow,bttvbResidents in Wukan in the wealthy southern province of Guangdong won rare concessions after they faced off with authorities for more than a week in December in a row over land and graft, including pledges to hold free village polls.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb; J& e' U3 ~) @: }4 d  X

8 s0 k7 T; b3 E% C6 ]9 e! b) x. J公仔箱論壇China - a one-party state where top leaders are not elected by the people - nevertheless allows villagers across the country to vote for a committee to represent them.TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。$ }. x' O- R3 r
TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。4 H+ V0 N# \: P9 Q
But Wukan residents said their leaders had never before allowed these polls to go ahead in an open fashion, and instead selected members of the village committee behind closed doors.% J/ V4 J. z9 B8 {8 Z
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But on Wednesday they were due to openly select an independent election committee that would supervise their first democratic village poll due next month.公仔箱論壇; S6 [5 Y5 V' V

  T% }1 O* x# G8 Y5.39.217.77"The election committee is being elected to supervise next month's village election," a villager surnamed Chen told AFP by phone.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb, O$ @' x, u0 W* _( x5 v
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"Wukan has never held village elections, this will be the first ever democratic election in Wukan."
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% z+ C/ u& @6 m9 C" A6 F% \tvb now,tvbnow,bttvbZhang Jianxing, a villager close to the local government, added Wednesday's vote was "part of the process to hold open, transparent and fair elections."公仔箱論壇9 Z2 q7 h* h  o/ p
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The election committee will be made up of 11 villagers who will not be allowed to run for next month's election, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
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) u4 t& d+ U. R' g6 ]5.39.217.77The concessions won by Wukan residents are seen as a rare victory for protesters in authoritarian China.
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; K( Z2 E2 E8 y" J5 Z. HThey had protested for months in autumn last year against their allegedly corrupt leaders, whom they accused of abusing their power to profit from land in the village.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb5 P, N: U# D) t5 R5 T! R9 ]

4 T5 M: m* f  t: P) b' lBut it was not until detained community leader Xue Jinbo died in police custody in December after allegedly being beaten that their anger boiled over, prompting a tense, drawn-out stand-off with police and officials.
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The Guangdong provincial government eventually capitulated as their case made headlines, and decided to intervene on behalf of the villagers.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb9 Q, ?! W8 E- j2 c4 A' e
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Following investigations into corruption, the government conceded that villagers' grievances were reasonable and that closed elections for village leaders last year were invalid.