Chinese villagers revolt after land grab protester dies

A fishing village in southern China has revolted against local authorities after a villager who allegedly led protests against land seizures died in police custody on Sunday, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing residents. On Tuesday, local officials in Wukan, Guangdong province, announced that a 42-year-old villager who was detained last week on suspicion of participating in a September land grab protest died of a cardiac arrest. But the villager’s family and residents suspect that he was beaten to death.  Public anger has turned the Wukan protests into a full-scale siege. Villagers have forced local officials and police to flee Wukan and built barricades to prevent them from re-entering. Police instituted a blockade on the village, stopping food and water from entering and preventing local fishing boats from heading out to the sea. A local press officer in Wukan said, “It will absolutely have a smooth resolution.”