wukan china surveillance cameras peer residents every major street corner informants everywhere villagers say dozen villagers languish prison detention southern chinese village wukan symbol grassroots democracy china year authorities quell protest land grab jail local leader wukan lock stifle security squeeze rare visit wukan reuters team interview half dozen villagers source familiar situation reveal village surround area remain tightly police government try maintain security cost villagers wukan warmly welcome media many afraid speak fear reprisals nothing leave say one young man wukan edgy talk long know happen add move quickly away source say provincial-level wukan mass work group set 100 full-time personnel charge ensure stability marshal network informers security patrol surveillance systems floodlight village 1980s chinese government begin allow elections villages nationwide although democracy activists say vote village committees rarely free official influence series protest local officials wukan 2011 government offices ransack authorities eventually back allow village hold open elections become beacon democratic hope china wukan famous china democracy village succumb china tighten grip civil society individual right say zhuang liehong former wukan protest leader help lead uprise local authorities 2011. happen wukan happen china say zhuang dark reflection china freedom expression individual right immediate response guangdong provincial government fax question reuters seek comment president xi jinping government intensify efforts deepen reach communist party aspects life china critics say brook dissent crack civil society see challenge central authority xi take rein 2013 repress boundary-pushers civil society cornerstone political campaign consolidate power diana fu university toronto greg distelhorst massachusetts institute technology write academic paper grassroots participation repression contemporary china china recent leadership transition consolidate xi power next five years likely see continuation tough social stability policies impact place like wukan analysts say party decide double authoritarianism problems face say nicolas bequelin amnesty international director east asia 2011 protest zhuang help barricade coastal hamlet 15,000 people battalions riot police speak telephone reuters new york exile leave wukan 2014. wukan sit picturesque region flank hill deep water harbor lush farmland ponds teem fish shrimp occasional flash kingfishers trouble begin 1990s swathe farmland begin sell property developers village leadership series opaque deal 2011 problems come head many villagers begin demand land return months-long insurrection local authorities riot police put global media spotlight wukan lead rare populist victory communist china provincial authorities eventually back village committee center land deal remove free election allow saw seven protest leaders vote public office village committee soon come pressure ally old leadership seek retribution say course next years protest organizers leave public office include leader lin zuluan jail corruption last summer protest last year erupt villagers demand lin release many villagers say charge concoct confession lin state television force protest run several months quell hundreds riot police fire rubber bullets hurl tear gas beat villagers batons victims witness tell reuters time last december people court nearby haifeng town oversee wukan sentence nine villagers jail term range two nine years number charge include illegal assembly disrupt traffic spread false information accord notice website immediate response reuters request comment lufeng government jurisdiction haifeng wukan one villager zhang bingchai jail two years allegedly spread false information court say two acquaintances know say speak situation wukan outsiders mobile phone post image crackdown zhuang say 67-year-old father zhuang songkun jail three years charge gather crowd block traffic protest hard line protest reflect government desire ensure stability say xiong wei founder new enlightenment village advocacy organization beijing visit wukan numerous occasion successful say xiong one dare raise head problems resolve add refer land seizures beyond checkpoint man paramilitary police gun main road wukan line giant billboards colorful flag project new narrative stability peace propaganda billboards posters also display around town advance solidly execute strategy love people read one illustrate flock doves fly uniform officer clutch rifle look across toward portrait mao beijing tiananmen square police people build harmonious civilize wukan together read another sign urge new ethos beneath surface however resentment linger amongst speak reuters wukan reach dead end say one villager people anything back new york zhuang exile former wukan protest leader say keep speak say mother harass house surveilled cameras visitors house question several detain say assertions could independently confirm former wukan protest leaders since quit post jail harass say besides voice leave silent china 's 'democracy village one want talk