For ex-cons, hope remains imprisoned in life after release

Unemployment and rejection by family hamper their return into society, report Cao Yin in Beijing and Luo Wangshu in Chongqing.

A year after he was released from prison, Zhou Liguo was at his lowest ebb. "Things were too bitter to bear. I had no family support, and no one wanted to help me," said the 42-year-old, who was released in 2009 after serving five years for causing intentional bodily harm.

Zhou was desperate. Abandoned by society and his family, the businessman from the northeastern province of Liaoning said he felt as though he had nothing to look forward to, but he refused to give up hope. With the help of an old friend, he secured work in a factory and quietly began setting up a business in stone goods, the sector he had worked in before his incarceration. Three years later, he owns his own business, and although he isn't rich, he is happy.