My elder brother's name is Zhang Wu-ji (a Christian evangelist), who lived in Bai Yu Village, Henan Province of south central China. In 1984 at age 49, the Public Security Bureau of Yuzhou City persecuted him to death because of his Christian belief.

My brother had been persecuted many times for his belief. The last one began at noon, May 12, 1983, when the officers from the Public Security Bureau called him out from his home to outside the village. He was brought on the charges of "being a counterrevolutionary, having illicit relation with foreign countries, possessing a transmitter-receiver, receiving salary from foreigners." In a fury, those officers used an electric baton to hit him until he was lying unconscious. He was in their hands for over one month.

Later … under the guise of medical treatment, they forced him to drink a kind of medicine. Knowing that it was white arsenic, a poison, my brother refused. Then several officers pressed him, forcibly prying open his mouth and pouring the poison down his throat. But seeing that he did not die, the officers said in surprise, "It is weird; this guy is still alive!" Again they pried open my brother's mouth, inserting the baton into it. A finger-sized hole was burned into his tongue.

After believing that my brother was on the verge of death, (police) gave us a notice to bring my brother home.

Following some treatments at home, we unexpectedly heard him speaking. At my request he then told me the details of his tortures. Sadly, medical treatment failed him. My brother died on August 10, 1984.

Other personal stories from the archive of China persecution include:

China Persecution Dossier: Shi Yun-ChaoBeaten for Hosting Bible Studies.

China Persecution Dossier: Gu ...