Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.A. - The Cardinal Kung Foundation, an advocate of the underground Roman Catholic Church in China, reports the arrests of the following two underground Roman Catholic priests by the Chinese authority.

1. Father SHI Wende of Yixian Catholic Diocese, Hebei was arrested on March 14 while he was visiting the home of an underground Catholic in Liu Li Quao. His whereabouts is unknown.


2. Father LU Genyou of Baoding Catholic Diocese, Hebei was arrested on Palm Sunday April 5, while he was preparing to celebrate a Mass in a private home. He is now being detained in Dingxian County in Hebei. No other details.

In its report on the recent visit to China at the invitation of President Jiang Zemin, the U.S. Religious Leaders Delegation said that the success of its trip may be measured by "the positive response of China's leaders in the coming months to specific concerns we raised".

"These new arrests, signs of irrefutable continuous religious persecution, were carried out after the U. S. Religious Leaders Delegation's visit to China. In the meantime, not one single person on the list of 30 persons that the Delegation specifically requested the Chinese Government for their release has been released. These arrests and non-responsiveness of the specific request of the Delegation are certainly much less than a positive response from China. In light of this development, one cannot help but doubt the sincerity and motive of the Chinese Government's dialogue with the United States on the policy and practice of religious freedom and of the Chinese Government's decision to sign the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which includes guarantees of freedom of religion and assembly", said Joseph Kung, the President of the Cardinal Kung foundation.