 After contacting Cường Để, Diệm formed a secret political party, the Association for the Restoration of Great Vietnam (Việt Nam Đại Việt Phục Hưng Hội), which was dominated by his Catholic allies in Hue.When its existence was discovered in the summer of 1944, the French declared Diệm to be a subversive and ordered his arrest.He flew to Saigon under Japanese military protection, staying there until the end of WWII.