During the Maoist era in the People's Republic of China, particularly during the Anti-Rightist Movement and the Cultural Revolution, the judicial system was often used for political persecution of rivals, and penalties such as jail terms or capital punishment were largely imposed on the authority's political enemies, or anyone who attempted to challenge it. During those times, vague accusations such as "counter-revolutionary" (), "capitalist roader" (), "running dog of the imperialist" () could have had the accused imprisoned, or shot by firing squad. These labels fell out of use following the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976.
In more recent times, accusations such as "illegal possession of state secret" () and "inciting subversion of state power" () carry long jail terms. The vague charge of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" has also been frequently used to detain human rights activists.
"Rightists" officially referred to those intellectuals who appeared to favour capitalism and against collectivization during the Anti-Rightist Movement. It was estimated that 550,000 Chinese were prosecuted as a result.
The crime of counter-revolution () was established in February 1951, involving accusations such as the following:
The term was used during the Campaign to Suppress Counterrevolutionaries to target former Kuomintang elements and other opposition against the PRC government.
According to Article 28 of the Chinese constitution, "The state maintains public order and suppresses treasonable and other counter-revolutionary activities; it penalizes actions that endanger public security and disrupt the socialist economy and other criminal activities, and punishes and reforms criminals."
The charge was used to label Lin Biao after his death in 1971 from a plane crash. He was alleged to have been planning a coup against Mao Zedong, and Mao's wife Jiang Qing used the opportunity to launch the Criticize Lin, Criticize Confucius campaign against her political rivals. Subsequently, the charge was used against Jiang Qing herself following the death of Mao in 1976.
In 1997, this law was replaced by a new law: Inciting subversion of the government. In 2008 the law received media attention when Professor Yang Siquan () of East China University of Political Science and Law was reported to police by his students for alleged counter-revolutionary activities.
Capitalist roaders as described to be representatives of the capitalist class within the Chinese Communist Party, as well as those who attempt to restore capitalism. Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping were the two most famous "Capitalist roaders" during the Cultural Revolution. After the Cultural Revolution, Deng's policies led to economic reform in China, and a resurgence of capitalism.
During the Cultural Revolution, victims who were being accused of collusion with foreigners () would often face long jail term, or death penalty.
The charge of anti-party and anti-socialism () could result in death penalty. The term received media attention in 2010, when Xia Yeliang, a professor of Peking University, was accused of this offence by his students after referring to Taiwan as a country.
The accusation of reactionaries () often resulted in long jail term and/or death penalty. This accusation was discontinued following the end of the Maoist era.
The accusation of class enemy () often resulted in long jail term and/or capital punishment. With the demise of Maoism in China after the rise of Deng Xiaoping, the use of the term "Class enemy" is now extraordinarily rare in China.
Inciting subversion of the state () was announced in a 1997 amendment of the Criminal Code of the People's Republic of China. According to Article 105, Paragraph 2,
<blockquote> "Anyone who uses rumor, slander or other means to encourage subversion of the political power of the State or to overthrow the socialist system, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years. However, the ringleaders and anyone whose crime is monstrous shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years." </blockquote>
The charge of inciting subversion has been leveled against a number of dissidents, Weiquan lawyers, and political reformers. Rights activists, along with international human rights organizations, have argued that article 105 is inconsistent both with China's own constitution and with international human rights standards, particularly in light of the lack of transparency and clear guidelines used in applying the laws. According to the United Nations "Working Group on Arbitrary Detention", the vague and broadly defined wording of the legislation allowed the communication of thoughts and ideas to be regarded as "subversion", even without intentions to commit criminal acts.
Among the most prominent Chinese citizens to have been charged with inciting subversion are:
Inciting separatism and sabotaging national unity () are offences typically used to prosecute members of separatist movements, such as the Tibetan independence movement and East Turkestan independence movement.
Stealing state secrets () is the crime of stealing state secrets and giving them to foreigners.
Espionage, or being a foreign spy, carries a long jail term and possible death penalty.