Yang Semao, deputy leader of the village committee in Wukan, has been writing an open letter to his fellow villagers, warning them against a fresh outbreak of violent protest.
It could be called a letter to his detractors. Mr Yang has plenty of them in this small fishing village, where elections a year ago became a beacon of democracy in China following a dramatic, 11-day stand-off with police in December 2011.
Today, the village committee is facing a barrage of criticism. Villagers complain that much of the land sold by the previous party chief to developers – the central issue that animated the protests – has not been returned to the village.