13 detained over street protests in Wukan village

Police detained 13 residents of Wukan village in Lufeng, Guangdong province, on Tuesday, accusing them of disrupting public order and inciting illegal assemblies.

A statement from the Lufeng city bureau of public security, released on Tuesday, named the leaders of the protests as Cai Jialin, Zhang Xiangkeng and Yang Jinzhen.

The protests disrupted social order, preventing fishermen from going to work and others from opening their shops for business, the statement said. Crowds also disrupted the normal operations of schools, it said.

“The behavior of the suspects severely damaged local life and exerted a bad influence on Wukan,” the statement said. “Police have therefore detained the 13 for further investigation, in an effort to safeguard the interests of residents and to restore order.”

Wukan came under the media spotlight at home and abroad in 2011 when villagers staged three large-scale rallies over four months protesting what they said was local officials’ illegal land grabs, corruption and violations of financing and election rules.

The rallies finally came to an end when an agreement was reached in face-to-face talks between residents and senior Guangdong provincial officials in 2012.