They were to go on retreat. Their bishop, Msgr Julius Jia Zhiguo, had been under surveillance from John Paul II's death through to the election of Benedict XVI.

Rome (AsiaNew) – Seven priests of the underground Church were arrested last April 27 in the village of Wuqiu, near the city of Jinzhou (Hebei).  The priests, whose age range from 30 to 50 years, had gathered for a spiritual retreat together with Bishop Julius Jia Zhiguo, unofficial bishop of Zhengding. The news was reported by the U.S.-based Kung Foundation, along with the named of those arrested:

Fr Wang Dingshan (50 anni), Li Qiang (31), Liu Wenyuan (35) di Gaocheng; Fr Zhang Qingcai (45) della contea di Wuji; Fr Li Suchuan (40) di Zhaoxian; Fr Pei Zhenping (43) di Luancheng; Fr Yin Zhengsong (32) di Dingzhou.

The arrests were made by the Security Bureau and Religious Affairs Bureau of Shijiazhuang at 5:30 p.m., with dozens of policemen and 9 police cars surrounding the retreat site.

Msgr Jia Zhiguo, who was to lead the retreat, had just been released from a period of round-the-clock surveillance, from the time of John Paul II's death to Benedict XVI's election, March 20 to April 25.  Security forces and the Religious Affairs Bureau had warned Msgr Jia to refrain from all religious activity. The government in China allows religious activity only in places and with people registered and monitored by the state and the Patriotic Association. Any religious activity outside of state control is considered unlawful and a threat to public order. Control by the Patriotic Association aims at fostering the birth of a national church, independent of relations with the Pope.

In the days around John Paul II's funeral and the election of Benedict XVI, some media outlets thought they had registered a change in the government's tone and new prospects for dialogue between China and the Vatican.  The government had in fact sent its condolences for the death of John Paul II and best wishes for the new pontificate. The seven arrests of the 27th and, prior to that, the arrest of 2 bishops, a priest and a layperson (cfr AsiaNews 2/4/2005), against which the Vatican has spoken out, occurred concurrently with the first days of the new pontificate and with the final days and death of the late pontiff.

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