Residents of Wukan in the wealthy southern province of Guangdong faced off with authorities for more than a week in December after driving out local party officials and voting in their own leaders in a row over land seizures.
Among those elected was Lin Zuluan, who was named the new party chief on Sunday, replacing the businessman who had been Wukan’s leader for 42 years and who was accused of stealing village land and selling it to developers.
Lin has been a party member since 1965, China’s official Xinhua news agency said.
“This is a decision that everyone in Wukan supports and it is an important move that will help resolve the land and village finance disputes,” a villager surnamed Zhang told AFP.
Land disputes are a major headache for Beijing, causing more than 65 percent of rural China’s “mass incidents”.
Prime Minister Wen Jiabao said in comments published Monday that rampant requisitioning was even threatening China’s ability to grow enough food.