over 3,000 of its missionaries in China to remain even as the Communists won the war. After the proclamation of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949 by the CCP, the Catholic Church was initially allowed to operate independently but faced growing legal obstruction and scrutiny. All foreign missionaries were required to register with the government, and Chinese authorities interrogated Catholics and investigated hospitals and schools. It also forced many churches to close by issuing prohibitively high taxes. The Chinese government began mass arrests of foreign missionaries after intervening in the Korean War, but Catholics were ordered by the apostolic nuncio Antonio Riberi to remain and resist. Riberi and Bishop Tarcisio Martina were themselves arrested and expelled for false allegations that they were involved in a conspiracy to assassinate Mao Zedong. Mao also ordered the arrest and execution of all members of the Legion of Mary, which he believed was a paramilitary unit. By the summer of 1953 the Catholic Church had been completely suppressed. Since then Catholicism, like all religions, was permitted to operate only under the supervision of the State Administration for Religious Affairs. All legal worship was to be conducted through state-approved churches belonging to the Catholic Patriotic Association (CPA), which did not accept the primacy of the Roman Pontiff. In addition to overseeing the practice of the Catholic faith, the CPA espoused politically oriented objectives as well. Liu Bainian, chairman of the CPA and the Bishops Conference of the Catholic Church in China (BCCCC), stated in a 2011 interview that the church needed individuals who "love the country and love religion: politically, they should respect the Constitution, respect the law, and fervently love the socialist motherland." Clergy who resisted this development were subject to oppression, including long imprisonments as in the case of Cardinal Kung, and torture and martyrdom as in the case of Fr. Beda Chang, S.J. Catholic clergy experienced increased supervision. Bishops and priests were forced to engage in degrading menial jobs to earn their living. Foreign missionaries were accused of being foreign agents, ready to turn the country over to imperialist forces. The Holy See reacted with several encyclicals and apostolic letters, including Cupimus Imprimis, Ad Apostolorum principis, and Ad Sinarum gentem. Some Catholics who recognized the authority of the Holy See chose to worship clandestinely due to the risk of harassment from authorities. Several underground Catholic bishops were reported as disappeared