Stanley Lubman writes for The Wall Street Journal, March 27, 2014
The Chinese Communist Party is reasserting control, stifling local protests and handing out money to the village in the interest of “stability maintenance.” The villagers, meanwhile, are disillusioned by their failure to regain most of the land that the former village government illegally seized. Since the 2012 election, there has been no progress on the land claims, and hopes that “democracy” might change the situation have faded.