The protests in Wukan come nearly five years after an uprising there made the fishing village in Guangdong province, next to Hong Kong, an internationally known symbol of grass- roots defiance against China's ruling Communist Party.
Residents say police swooped in late Friday to surround government buildings and take away Wukan's 70-year-old leader, Lin Zuluan, who had planned to hold a meeting with residents on Tuesday to discuss illegal land grabs.
Today, residents contacted by phone said that thousands of people in Wukan spontaneously marched to call for Lin's release and the return of land sold by past leaders.
One resident estimated that up to 2,000 people took part in the demonstration in the village of 20,000. The resident, who wanted to be identified by only his surname, Peng, because of the sensitivity of the issue, said they chanted slogans such as "Release the village chief" and "Return our land."
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In 2011, Wukan became the center of international attention after residents engaged in mass protests, accusing leaders at the time of selling farmland without paying compensation.
In Wukan, in contrast to other protests that end in arrests, the provincial government agreed to hold an election in which Lin, a protest leader, was voted in as village chief. He was re-elected in 2014.
Following the uprising, authorities said that former Wukan officials had been involved in illegal transfers of land use rights, embezzling property that was collectively owned, accepting bribes and rigging village elections.
Peng said that there had been no protests over the land grabs since Lin became leader, but that most of the land had not been returned to the people.