June 23, 2004
Source: BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3833861.stm
On June 23, 2004 the BBC News reported, "The Vatican has strongly protested to China over the arrest of three Roman Catholic bishops - one of them 84 years old - in the past month. A strongly-worded statement demanded an explanation from China, which has long sought to control religious expression. Its millions of Catholics are split between followers of Pope John Paul II and members of a state-backed church. The Vatican and China have had no diplomatic ties since the 1950s, when Beijing expelled foreign clergy."