Che Kam Kong

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Che Kam Kong (also known as Chea Kunkong) was a Protestant Christian who was killed because of his belief in Christianity in China in 1871 in Poklo, Guangdong. He is regarded by some to be one of the first martyrs among Protestants in China. Che Kam Kong visited Hong Kong in 1865, and in 1866 became a Christian. He proseltyzed extensively over the next five years, allegedly bringing about the conversion of over a hundred people in Poklo. Town elders, concerned with this abandonment of tradition, warned Che to stop, yet he refused. He was kidnapped and tortured in 1871 in an attempt to force him to give up his beliefs. He is said to have declared, "You may kill my body but you cannot destroy my soul". He was taken outside the city gates and killed; his body was cut up and thrown into a nearby river.