The leader of a Chinese village rebellion has been appointed secretary of the local branch of the Communist party, capping a potential breakthrough in the way Beijing deals with dissent.

Lin Zuluan, 67, who led months of sometimes violent protests last year against allegedly corrupt land deals and rigged local elections in the Southern village of Wukan, was named party secretary and will be responsible for organising a new local poll, according to local residents and state media reports.

Initially peaceful, the demonstrations in Wukan turned violent when authorities sent in paramilitary troops. After a protest leader died in police custody in early December, residents erected barricades as police massed on their perimeter.

The authorities eventually established an investigation team in mid-December to address the villagers’ grievances and released protest leaders. Wukan’s stand has become a symbol of hope for reformers within the party who argue that political reform is essential in China.

“I hope that the Wukan incident can push society to establish a system that is based on democracy and rule of law,” Hu Deping, the son of former Communist party general secretary Hu Yaobang, wrote in a commentary posted on the internet. He noted that the government had recognised representatives chosen by Wukan residents and hoped it would respond to future challenges in a similar manner.

Mr Hu’s father, who ran the country in the mid-1980s, was seen as one of China’s most liberal modern leaders. His death in 1989 sparked the Tiananmen Square democracy protests that were eventually crushed in a military assault on unarmed civilians.

In the midst of Wukan’s stand-off with the authorities in mid-December, Mr Lin argued that villagers were demanding real democracy and felt there was no contradiction between those aims and supporting the Communist party.

When asked at that time whether Wukan had received any indication of support from reform-minded elements within the party, village leaders said they believed some senior members of the government were quietly supportive of their protest.

Despite their apparent victory, some villagers said on Monday that they were concerned whether the government would follow through on its promises. “We don’t dare to be happy yet,” one Wukan resident told the Finanical Times. “We must still wait and see what happens with the election of the village committee.”