Authorities in Guizhou province on Friday launched a campaign to crack down on the "forced prostitution of underage girls" following a recent scandal in which 11 Xishui county schoolgirls were reportedly forced into the sex trade and raped for months.

Lin Lianhua, deputy secretary of the politics and law committee of the Guizhou Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, told a mass rally on Tuesday that he hoped the campaign would "end the kidnappings of girls, especially minors".

Lin added: "The campaign, which will last until the end of this year, will also target those who force minors to beg or commit crimes."