Vatican-Chinese relations kaput?

Well, maybe just "unificationly-challenged":

BEIJING, May 3 -- For the second time in four days, China's government-sponsored Roman Catholic Church consecrated a new bishop without the pope's approval Wednesday, casting a chill on what had been promising efforts to end half a century of hostility between China and the Vatican.

The new bishop, Liu Xinhong, was installed as Anhui province's top prelate in a morning ceremony at St. Joseph's Church in Wuhu, about 100 miles south of Nanjing, according to a church official who declined to be identified. His ascension followed the consecration Sunday of Ma Yinglin as bishop of Kunming, in southwestern China's Yunnan province, in spite of a request from the Vatican for more time to consider whether he could meet the pope's approval.

[More]

UPDATE: Did the Vatican get thrown for a loop on this one?

Vatican, May. 03 (CWNews.com) - Vatican officials are privately expressing "surprise" and bewilderment over the illicit ordinations of two Catholic bishops in China within recent days.

The Holy See has not issued a formal response to news of the episcopal ordinations, which took place on April 30 and May 2. That official silence is being interpreted as an indication of both embarrassment and puzzlement at the Vatican. Since there are no formal diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the Chinese government, there has been no official explanation from Beijing for the ordinations.