Lin Zuluan has "confessed" his misdeeds on television, but people continue to demonstrate for his release, waving red flags.
Guangzhou (AsiaNews) - The former village chief of Wukan (Guangdong), famous for his struggle against unjust land requisitions, has been formally arrested for corruption. Lin Zuluan, who was elected leader in an election in 2012, appeared on TV, where he confessed to taking bribes. But the people of Wukan do not believe this and continue to demonstrate for his release and against party corruption, waving their own red flags of China.
Lin was arrested in June, a few days before he was to launch a campaign of demonstrations against a new series of land expropriations in his village. According to locals, his confession broadcast on live TV, was extorted by force and threats.
Tens of thousands of social protests take place each year in China against local authorities, accused of illegally enriching themselves through the sale of land, while the central government is not criticized.