A senior Communist official who helped defuse a rare revolt by villagers in southern China said the country should be ready for more protests as people demand their rights, state media reported Tuesday.

Zhu Mingguo compared the situation in the village of Wukan, where residents angered by years of illegal land grabs drove out their Communist leaders, to an apple that appears healthy but is “rotten to the core”.

“The task of managing the masses is becoming more and more difficult.”