 In 1977, university entrance exams were reinstated, inspiring the majority of rusticated youth to attempt to return to the cities.In Yunnan in the winter of 1978, the youth used strikes and petitions to implore the government to hear their plight, which reinforced the pressing nature of the issue to party authorities.On March 8, 1980, Hu Yaobang, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, proposed ending rustication.