China immediately denied that bishop Wei Jingyi is in prison and says that the underground Church prelate has only been taken into custody, since he is suspected having traveled abroad illegally. AsiaNews sources, however, have confirmed that the bishop is being held at a prison in Harbin.
Yesterday Vatican spokesman Joaqin Navarro Valls said from his press office that the Holy See was "worried and saddened" by the news of the bishop's arrest and asked the Chinese government to reveal the charges brought against him "just as in any lawful state."
Today Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said at a weekly press conference that "Public security officials have not taken any restrictive measures against him (Bishop Wei Jingyi) and that "the rumors do not correspond to the facts."
When interviewed by Reuters, a director at China's Bureau of Religious Affairs said his office had brought the bishop into custody in order to "speak with him". According the director, the bishop "had traveled abroad" with an ID card bearing his name, but with a photo that wasn't his."
An official at the bureau said that the office was looking into the situation. "By Chinese law, we have the right to investigate the matter." Yet he refused to answer the question as to whether Bishop Wei Jingyi was in prison or not.
AsianNews sources in the region have confirmed that the bishop is detained in a prison in Harbin. The sources say that if the bishop would have requested a passport to travel abroad, officials would have denied him one. Due to his fidelity to the pope Bishop Wei Jingyi is suspected of having "relations with a foreign state".
Meanwhile faithful from the diocese of Qiqihar are said to be "calm", but there is tension in the air. Faithful fear that diocesan institutions (seminaries, churches, etc.) will be destroyed.
Months ago Chinese government launched a new campaign against underground communities which refused to submit themselves to government controls. Not being officially registered at the Bureau of Religious Affairs they care considered illegal and often end up being accused of "undermining public order".
In various regions throughout China (Fujian, Zhejiang, Inner Mongolia and Henan) a crackdown in underway to search out underground Christians and force them to join the Patriotic Association, the government's longa manus to check on Church activities. The Patriotic Association has the task of creating a Church which is free from obedience to the pope. Those who don't adhere the association end up being imprisoned and their places of worship (in sheds, homes, small chapels etc.) are dismantled and destroyed. A similar procedure occurs with other non-government authorized religious communities.