Wukan village, which experienced months of large-scale villager protests against local authorities in late 2011, on Sunday set up a new party branch and a work team to prepare for the upcoming re-election of the village committee, according to officials with a provincial work team in charge of the aftermath of the protests.

Residents welcome the investigation team to Wukan on December 21, 2011. [Photo: cyol.com]

The new Wukan village branch of the Communist Party of China was expected to organize an impartial election of a village committee that can represent the interests of villagers and help the timely handling of their reasonable appeals, according to the officials.

Starting in September, complaints about land use, financing and the village election in Wukan, Donghai Township in southern Guangdong Province escalated to violent demonstrations by Wukan residents.

The party committee of Donghai Township appointed villager Lin Zulian as secretary of the new village party committee, said the officials, adding that Lin would also lead the preparation work of the re-election of the village committee.

The former village party branch dismissed and the former party chief of Wukan was being investigated, according to the officials.