On April 22nd, almost 100 villagers from Guangdong province were kneeling in front of a government office.

FORBES: Weird things that people get used to in China: part 1

In February 300 peasants stormed a township government building in Hengshishui in Guangdong Province over a plan by local officials to divert water to another area.

FORBES: The country is facing a once-in-a-century drought.

Mr. Ran said Beidou is already being used by more than 100, 000 clients in China and has been used to help track government vehicles in the southern province of Guangdong, and to assist disaster-relief work after an earthquake in the western province of Sichuan in 2008.

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Ten days after the disaster, a liberal newspaper in the southern province of Guangdong, Southern Weekend, published an editorial that praised the government's swift response.

ECONOMIST: China