Wukan villagers agree to end the stand-off

Village leaders in the southern town of Wukan said they have reached a tentative agreement to end a 10-day stand-off with senior provincial officials, the Financial Times reported. Tree trunk barricades which had blocked entrances to the Wuhan since December 11 were removed on Wednesday morning, and residents hung a sign “warmly welcoming” government officials. “They gave a positive response to our suggestions and agreed to release our three young people within two days. I think if we don’t cooperate with them then it will do no good to either the villagers or the government,” said Lin Zuluan, a village representative. But another protest just 100 kilometers up the coast also ignited on Wednesday, as about 300 young people confronted riot police in Shantou. The government issued a statement, saying that it “hoped people could cherish the opportunity for [economic] development and trust the government to handle this.”  The riot was triggered by popular outrage over environmental pollution from state-owned power plants, which is alleged to have depleted local fishing stocks and led to abnormally higher cancer rates.