Just after 11pm on Friday, two Wukan activists made a quick spot check at the school playground where the voting booths for the village’s elections had been set up. Zhang Jiancheng and Zhuang Liehong were discussing whether the booths were adequately spaced to allow for a secret ballot – a first for a village election in China.
Both were held by police in December for leading protests against the local government. But since then they have turned to helping organise the polls, agreed to by the provincial government of Guangdong after a tense 11-day standoff.
“As the first example in the country of this kind, this election may help promote a fairer society,” Mr Zhang declared.