On August 25, 1983, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) issued the "Decision Regarding the Strike Hard Against Crime Campaign", aimed at combating chaos in social order and the frequent occurrence of vicious crimes after the end of the Cultural Revolution. After the nationwide Anti-Crime Campaign was launched, children of cadres across many large cities were arrested and sentenced to capital punishment. Treatment accorded with the principle, "whether the prince or the commoner commits a crime, it is still a crime". However, because this law enforcement campaign was carried out like a movement, the definition of "unlawful and criminal" behavior was very broad; standards were applied differently, and sentencing was excessively severe, resulting in many unjust trials and causing controversy. Official statistics show that, during the three years of the nationwide Anti-Crime Campaign, a total of 1.772 million people were arrested and 1.747 million were sentenced; 24,000 of them were sentenced to death, and 321,000 were sentenced to re-education through labor. For example, Ma Yanqin, a girl from Xi'an, was convicted of hooliganism because of her love for socializing, then sentenced to death.

References: [南方都市報 ("Southern Metropolis Daily")(Chinese)] (http://history.sina.com.cn/bk/ggkfs/2015-01-15/1515115326.shtml); [中國刑事法律網 ("China Criminal Justice website")(Chinese)] (http://www.criminallaw.com.cn/article/default.asp?id=4300); [中國新聞網 ("China News Service")(Chinese)] (https://web.archive.org/web/20170320143529/http://www.cb.com.cn/life/2014_0708/1070599.html); [民間歷史 ("Folk History")(Chinese)] (http://mjlsh.usc.cuhk.edu.hk/Book.aspx?cid=4&tid=1956)