PLEASE NOTE: EDIT CONTAINS CONVERTED 4:3 MATERIAL<br/> <br />This election in a small fishing village in southern China is the next step in a ground-breaking revolution.<br/> <br />Last year the villagers of Wukan forced out the local government in a massive backlash over illegal sales of farmland.<br/> <br />Now they're electing their own village council to control local finances and the sale and distribution of collective farm land.<br/> <br />It's being hailed by rights activists as a new model for greater grassroots democracy in China.<br/> <br />These were the scenes last year in Wukan as villagers went on the march in protest over corrupt land grabs and abuse of power.<br/> <br />They ransacked government offices and when that got them nowhere they barricaded themselves in until provincial authorities stepped in to settle the row.<br/> <br />During the lengthy dispute many villagers were abducted and jailed.<br/> <br />One died in police custody. His daughter says the authorities didn't want her to stand in Saturday's election.<br/> <br />SOUNDBITE: Xue Jianwan, election candidate, saying (Mandarin):<br/> <br />"I thought of the reasons why they kept looking for me so eagerly, to dissuade me from running in the elections. So I thought that if I took part in the elections, would I actually be of any help to my fellow villagers? So in the end I decided to take part."<br/> <br />Village elections have been allowed for decades in China.<br/> <br />This one is different because Wukan is united against higher authorities and keen to get back the land illegally sold off.<br/> <br />SOUNDBITE; 25-year-old villager Zhu Qijie saying (Mandarin):<br/> <br />"I feel very excited because this is the first time since I was born that I've been able to vote for who I want to vote for. Even if the candidate I voted for doesn't win I feel this is my right and my democracy."<br/> <br />Wukan may seem an insignificant backwater.<br/> <br />Yet those who've mobilised fellow villagers to get this far have spoken of extensive surveillance, veiled pressure and fears of reprisals.<br/> <br />Paul Chapman, Reuters
