The leader of a recent protest movement in the village of Wukan has been appointed a local party official, signaling a change in how Beijing deals with dissent, the Financial Times reported. The 67 year-old Lin Zuluan who led the revolt against corrupt land seizures and electoral fraud was made party secretary, in charge of organizing a new local poll. An investigation was established by officials in mid-December to address villagers’ grievances. The progress in Wukan has signified that Communist party reformers’ hope become essential in China. “I hope that the Wukan incident can push society to establish a system that is based on democracy and rule of law,” Hu Deping, the son of former Communist party general secretary Hu Yaobang, wrote on the internet. Despite the apparent victory, some villagers still were concerned whether the government would keep its promises; one Wukan villager said “we don’t dare to be happy yet. We must still wait and see what happens with the election of the village committee.”