Officials deny Vatican claims that China has detained the Roman Catholic bishop of an underground church in Hebei Province, said spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue at a regular Foreign Ministry press conference on Thursday in Beijing. She stated that the allegation does not conform to the facts.

"I hope all parties concerned obtain a clear understanding of the actual situation first," Zhang said.

The spokeswoman emphasized that China is a country ruled by law, and that nobody will be punished for having religious beliefs. The Constitution clearly states that citizens have the right to religious belief.

However, everyone must abide by the law and violators must be punished in accordance with the law.

Zhang went on to say that the claims by Reporters Without Borders that China has taken into custody 61 web dissidents and use advanced technology to censor websites were completely irresponsible.

China's Constitution and other laws endow Chinese citizens the right to freedom of speech. "As you live and work in China, you should know speed of development of the country's Internet and information industry," Zhang told reporters.

Incomplete statistics indicate that China now has 80 million Internet users. Such a large number of users and well-developed related technologies demonstrate that China gives full freedom to its citizens in this regard.

"Without freedom, the Internet would not develop so quickly," Zhang said.

(China.org.cn June 25, 2004)