Authorities in southern China have detained the chief of a village that was once hailed as a model for grass-roots democracy, accusing him of accepting bribes, while deploying hundreds of riot police to stave off potential trouble.
The coastal fishing village of Wukan in southern Guangdong province was the scene of a massive uprising in 2011, when people barricaded the area from security forces for several months to demand justice against corruption and land grabs.
The defiant civil movement drew international media attention and eventually persuaded provincial Communist Party leaders to sack the former village chief and allow elections, which a group of protest leaders won by a landslide.