In years past Pang You was a respectable mid-career government official in China just like millions of others: once former director of the planning office for the Olympic Village in Beijing, and later the manager of a state-run real estate company.
But in 1999 he became a thought criminal—because of his practice and belief in Falun Gong a traditional spiritual practice that became a public enemy overnight—and, like millions of others, was given a lengthy prison sentence.
That ordeal began in 2000, with an eight-year jail term for creating and spreading material that discussed the persecution of his practice. Then in 2010 he was stuffed in jail again, for four years, again for publicizing the repression of Falun Gong—through things like stamps on money, banners, and flyers.
