One demonstration is to be held by a group of intellectuals in a park and the other by students of the prestigious Beijing University.

"We have been allowed to protest inside Chaoyang Park Sunday afternoon, but the numbers of protesters will be limited to 100 people," Han Deqiang, a professor at the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics told AFP.

"We can't march in the streets and we can't protest in front of the US Embassy."

Protesters would be asked to show identification and to register with organizers, and police would tightly control any other "spectators" who showed up in support of the anti-war stance, Han said.

Despite protests worldwide opposing the US-led invasion of Iraq, China has refused to allow its people to take to the streets, fearing activists could be emboldened to take on domestic targets.

Meanwhile, police approved an anti-war demonstration on the campus of Beijing University Sunday morning, but would restrict that protest to 150 students, Ruan Cao, a student leader of the Beijing University Student's Association told AFP.

"We are not sure how we will organize this protest, it may be a march or it could be a sit-in, but we do have the approval," Ruan said.

It was possible more students would attend than the 150 allowed, he said.

Beijing University has traditionally been a hotbed of dissent and played a leading role in the 1989 Tiananmen democracy protests, as well as 1999 demonstrations condemning a US-led NATO bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.

"The scale of the demonstration is far from what we had hoped for, but applying to march in the streets is not easy in China, so we have to look at this as a victory," said Li Ning, an organizer of the Chaoyang park protests.

Li, who helped establish one of China's only anti-Iraq war websites, said the group had sought permission for up to 1,000 demonstrators to march in Beijing's embassy district and protest for two hours in front of the US mission. That request was denied.

Protesters inside the park would be required to wear arm bands identifying them as being registered and approved demonstrators, she said.

China opposes the war, but fears that anti-war demonstrations could spill over into widespread discontent against corruption, abuse of power and other social problems like growing unemployment.

Complicating matters for police is that a group of 150 foreigners living in Beijing received permission to hold a brief protest outside the US embassy Sunday morning, which will be the first open anti-Iraq war protest in China.

"I think it's a shame that China does not have anti-war demonstrations and everywhere in the world there are anti-war demonstrations and the first anti-war protest in China is by foreigners," said Tong Xiaoxi, another organizer of the Chaoyang park protest.

China may be finding it increasingly difficult to justify its restrictive policies, especially in matters such as the war when its citizens merely want to reflect the government's position.

"I don't think there will be any serious consequences for any of us," Tong said. "What we are doing is totally legal and lawful. In fact we are doing it for the interest of our country. We think we are standing on firm ground. We don't have any fear."

WAR.WIRE