Wukan village election ends

Two deputy chiefs and four committee members were elected in a second ballot on Tuesday in Wukan Village, as no candidate gained the required quota in Monday's vote.

Lin Zulian, 68, was reelected Monday as chief of the new village committee with 5,019 votes from more than 8,000 cast on Monday.

A total of 7,767 ballots were claimed at the polling station from a electorate of more than 9,000 in Tuesday's vote. Hong Ruichao and Sun Wenliang were elected deputy chiefs, while Zhang Jiancheng, Cai Jingqun, Lin Junqing and Yang Xiaoyan were chosen as committee members.

Wukan was thrown into the international spotlight in 2011 when residents protested for months against the village committee's illegal land grabs, corruption, violations of financing and election rules.

A rerun of the election, a national tryout of self-governance, democracy and the rule of law, was held in March 2012, and Lin Zulian was elected chief of the committee.

However, March of this year saw more corruption scandals. Yang Semao and Hong Ruichao, deputy chiefs of the village committee, were detained by police over allegations that they took bribes in handling public projects.

Sources with Lufeng city said that since Hong Ruichao was not deprived of his political rights, he still enjoyed the right to vote and be elected, so his reelection was valid. If he were to be convicted in the future, however, his position would be terminated.

Villagers hope the new committee could put development on top of their agenda. There is a clear need for some property development and a large factory will be built in the village.

"I think Wukan has good prospects if the new leadership keeps their hands clean, and do their job," said the 53-year-old villager Wu Luping.