Wu Guangqiang

    WUKAN, a village in Lufeng County, Guangdong, has been put on the map since villagers were embroiled in a standoff against the local government.

    According to the villagers, village officials sold communal land to real estate developers without giving proper compensation. Villagers were unaware of the sale until developers began construction work, and they alleged that local officials had profited heavily from the land sale. They also accused the village officials of conducting rigged elections. On the morning of Sept. 21, 2011, hundreds of villagers participated in a sit-in protest outside government offices in Lufeng. The protest later became a riot. The situation was out of control when Xue Jinbo, one of the village representatives, who had been taken into custody in earlier protests, died in police custody. Angry villagers fended off police with barricades and demanded a thorough and fair investigation into the cause of Xue’s death and into the village officials’ alleged corruption.

    The situation came to a dramatic turn for the better on Dec. 20 when Guangdong provincial leadership stepped in to settle the crisis in a peaceful manner. Zhu Mingguo, Guangdong’s deputy Party chief, said in a televised speech that the villagers’ demands were “reasonable,” that the grass-roots government had made mistakes, and agreed to meet villagers to listen to their grievances. Zhu promised an impartial autopsy for Xue, and “transparent” disclosure in the media of how the villagers’ grievances were addressed. A provincial work team has been set up to follow up relevant measures. By now, the accused village officials have been removed from their posts and the lots that were sold to developers have been retrieved.

    In response, villagers ended the protest, pulling down banners and removing barriers.

    The Guangdong leadership’s soft move has been seen as an official concession to the masses, which is unusual for authorities in China. I find the compromise laudable.

    In the past, though the official credo has been “seeking the truth out of the facts,” in reality, official compromise with the masses has been rare. The usual platitudes to refer to conflicts between authorities and the public are “an act involving masses unaware of the truth,” or “a handful of agitators with ulterior motives started the trouble.” In an age of real-time information, such official jargon has lost its power. Aware of the reality, Guangdong leadership has taken a pragmatic approach to tackle conflicts between authorities and the public. Rather than diminishing official authority, the move will add to it as well as improve the efficiency of governance.

    The Wukan incident is only the tip of the iceberg in grass-roots officials’ encroachments on public interest. Frequent media reports show corruption at the township and village levels is much more common. Powerful clans or families manage to control local political and economic resources by way of manipulated elections, coercion or bribery. With power in their hands, these “local despots” help themselves to public property. By selling communal land to developers and running private businesses, they soon strike it rich, leaving others complaining and protesting in vain.

    Little has been done to curb the trend. That is probably why Wang Yang, Guangdong Party chief, when commenting on the Wukan incident, acknowledged that, “This is the outcome of our ignorance of problems that have accumulated over a long time in the course of economic and social development.” In his words, “we have a hard hand and a soft one,” referring to the emphasis of economic growth over equity.

    Public grievances can no longer be ignored and rightful public appeal should be given due attention. Compromise should be made wherever necessary. Only by addressing emerging social conflicts by compassion as well by law, can social harmony be achieved.

    (The author is an English tutor and a freelance writer. He can be reached at jw368@163.com.)