Rebel Chinese village holding strong despite food running out

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Residents of a southern Chinese village that has become a flashpoint for anger over government land grabs vowed on Wednesday to continue protesting despite a six-day police blockade.

Newspaper reports claim the village of Wukan in Guangdong province now has just days of supplies left.

Villagers however are determined to continue their fight for justice over community land they say was seized by corrupt officials, particularly after the death on Sunday in police custody of a village leader.

Xue Jinbo, who was accused of being among the leaders of the September riots, died on Sunday after suffering what authorities said was a cardiac arrest. Villagers say they believe he was beaten to death.

Land grabs have become a hugely contentious issue in China, where authorities are accused of colluding with developers in lucrative real estate deals that have become an important source of government revenue.

Police in riot gear and carrying tear gas canisters were on Wednesday blocking entry to the fishing village on China's south coast, which has around 13,000 inhabitants.

Local residents contacted by telephone said internet connections had been cut and only a handful of people had been allowed in or out since the blockade began last Thursday.

"I estimate there are more than 1,000 police here, and the number is definitely growing," said one villager.

"All the entrances are blocked and only very few women or children are being allowed to pass after questioning. Media reporters are absolutely prohibited."

A news photographer who tried to reach the village on Wednesday was apprehended at a checkpoint several kilometres (miles) from the village manned by police in riot gear.

The photographer was blocked from entering the village and returned under police escort to the city of Shenzhen in Guangdong, over the border from Hong Kong.

Residents of Wukan have gathered every day for the past three days to protest what they say are illegal land grabs by corrupt officials - a highly incendiary issue that this year led to riots in which villagers attacked a police station.

Local people wrecked police vehicles and took more than 20 government and public security officials hostage in the police station in the nearby city of Lufeng, a witness said at the time.

On Friday, police arrested five villagers over the September riots, one of whom - identified as 42-year-old Xue Jinbo - died on Sunday.

Authorities say he suffered a cardiac arrest while in custody, and had a history of asthma and heart disease. But the villagers have accused police of beating him to death, saying his body appeared badly bruised.

"The case is under further investigation," the official Xinhua news agency quoted the local public security bureau deputy head Zeng Songquan as saying, adding that he hoped the villagers would not stage further riots.

There has been little coverage of the protests in China's state-run media, and authorities have blocked Internet searches on the name of the village in an apparent effort to stop news of the unrest from spreading.

The Lufeng government, which oversees Wukan, has said police, riot police and firemen with water cannon had been deployed to the village to 'ensure stability'.

"We will continue to protest for a fair result on Xue Jinbo's death and for our land," said another villager.

"We are now starting to face food shortages, but neighbouring villages are trying to help out with donations."

Local authorities said in a statement released on Friday they had settled some of the complaints that led to the September riots and that two village officials had been fired.

But the villagers' anger persists.

"We want the central government to deal with our problem. We won't give up, we want the corrupt officials to be arrested," said one.