Up to 500 Chinese police clashed with around 3,000 Christians protesting at the demolition of their "underground" church, a rights group and an official said Monday.
The clash took place in Xiaoshan district in the eastern province of Zhejiang Saturday afternoon after the Christians tried to stop the demolition, the Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy said in a report.
Twenty protesters were hurt in the clashes, four seriously, the center said. Police arrested five alleged organizers of the protest.
The "underground church," which was not registered with the authorities, was being rebuilt after a typhoon last year destroyed it, the center said.
"We are presently dealing with this incident," an officer who answered the Xiaoshan police hotline told AFP by phone.
"It is clear that this church was an illegal structure, it did not have the approval of the religious affairs bureau or the government. The church had to be destroyed."
The officer, who refused to give his name, confirmed that clashes with police took place, but denied that Christians had been arrested and refused to comment on the numbers involved in the confrontation.
"Generally these people were not detained, they can explain their demands, but if they are in violation of public order and laws and regulations, we will deal with them in accordance with the law," he said.
China maintains strict control over religious affairs and requires all faith communities, whether Buddhist, Muslim or Christian, to register and carry out religious activities in accordance with prescribed norms.
Those wishing to worship outside of state control, in what are regarded as "underground" or "house" churches, are often arrested and beaten by local authorities.
According to the US-based religious watchdog the China Aid Association, Chinese authorities arrested 1,958 underground church pastors between May 2005 and May 2006, while worshippers in 15 provinces were detained.
