標題: Rebel China village takes first step in democratic vote [打印本頁] 作者: kimmi8k 時間: 2012-2-2 08:35 AM 標題: Rebel China village takes first step in democratic vote
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.7 L7 W9 T# e' K# g) b
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Residents 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,bttvb9 g: u1 M9 D2 J. o/ I) F" q
9 U* l3 h$ X7 D5 C" s( [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.公仔箱論壇! i' T+ B7 ]% O- R# e* F7 v0 e6 G+ p
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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. 8 G; @! m4 r f, j3 Y5 U! }- ^5.39.217.77:88985.39.217.77:88988 t* `, v6 l; T$ @
But on Wednesday they were due to openly select an independent election committee that would supervise their first democratic village poll due next month.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb( |1 u r3 P s( {) D, N
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"The election committee is being elected to supervise next month's village election," a villager surnamed Chen told AFP by phone. # _! S* Y' W5 B# V+ ^3 w' nTVBNOW 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。+ D/ v( S1 L' c( h, c
"Wukan has never held village elections, this will be the first ever democratic election in Wukan."5.39.217.77:8898: ~! Q& r, }) N( s) z
r; J r6 E2 @ ^/ V公仔箱論壇Zhang Jianxing, a villager close to the local government, added Wednesday's vote was "part of the process to hold open, transparent and fair elections."5.39.217.77:8898% `& S& Z1 |! `3 S( [# J9 n. h
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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. , H9 a! f; ]7 x% J, ~5.39.217.77:8898TVBNOW 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。' T' M6 |4 M% Z5 P: p. O
The concessions won by Wukan residents are seen as a rare victory for protesters in authoritarian China.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb; V& n4 a: C3 s8 n
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They 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. 9 O1 M z: q" L4 w5.39.217.77:8898 . l' U. N$ J/ Y1 }6 F+ a" ~. B& ?1 OBut 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. : }% K+ u7 u, W D, Y# M8 \' Y公仔箱論壇tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb Z# o9 U& C/ Q8 I' G: M
The Guangdong provincial government eventually capitulated as their case made headlines, and decided to intervene on behalf of the villagers. 4 _+ O3 P y3 t4 r 0 [+ a- i1 d, w X6 J- `, y0 M) ^: xtvb now,tvbnow,bttvbFollowing investigations into corruption, the government conceded that villagers' grievances were reasonable and that closed elections for village leaders last year were invalid.
