Two unofficial Catholic churches in south China's Fujian province have been razed by police in what appears to be part of an ongoing crackdown on underground religion, a local resident said.
The churches, located in two villages on the outskirts of Fujian's Changle city, were torn down on Sunday during the religious holiday of Pentecost, the man, a Catholic, told AFP.
"They came with bulldozers. They didn't give us any explanation. They just told villagers to move out of the way," said the man, who asked not to be named.
The churches were relatively small, with 40 to 50 regular parishioners each, he said.
He refused to name the villages for fear authorities would crack down even harder if local residents were found giving information to foreign journalists.
Local worshippers now fear Changle city government officials will target large churches next, the man added.
Last year, authorities flattened five large churches in Changle and nearby Fuqing city, the man said. Each of the churches had about 2,500 parishioners for Sunday services.
Authorities also detained 20 to 30 priests from churches in the area for about 10 days, the man said.
"They questioned the priests for a long time, asking them why so many people go to their churches and telling them they shouldn't believe in religion," he said.
Local police and religious affairs officials dismissed the report as "fabrication".
However, a priest surnamed Wang at a government-approved Catholic church in Changle indicated some type of crackdown was underway. He said a church within the city was shut down on Sunday, adding that four or five others had been demolished in 2000.
"When they applied to use the land, they said they wanted to open a senior care home, but afterwards, they were conducting church activities in there," Wang said of the church closed at the weekend.
The other churches were also demolished because they did not have permission to operate, he said.
Chinese authorities allow Christian worship, but only in state-approved churches. The Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association has around four million followers, who are loyal to Beijing and do not recognise the authority of the Pope.
However there is also an underground Roman Catholic Church which swears allegiance to the Vatican and is believed to have several million adherents.
China has accelerated a crackdown on unofficial Christian groups over the past few years, following on from the repression of banned spiritual organisations such as the outlawed Falungong group.
The pressure on Christian groups has caused concern overseas, and prompted President George W. Bush to say during a visit to China in February that his "prayer" was for freedom of belief to flourish in the country.
Fujian, a coastal trading centre with stronger links to the outside world than many parts of China, has a tradition of Christianity dating back centuries.
Many local worshippers prefer to go to underground churches rather than the government approved ones, the Catholic man said.
"They talk about patriotism in the 'patriotic churches.' They don't really discuss religion deeply," he said.