Beijing - Beijing police on Friday morning detained five foreign tourists who were advocating "Tibet independence" near the construction site of China Central Television's new building, state media said.

The protest happened around 5:50 am (0950 GMT), Xinhua cited police officials saying.

Three of the five foreigners were from the United States, one was from Canada and the other from Britain, according to Xinhua. They came to China on tourist visas.

Police ordered the five protesters to curtail their stay in China and leave the country before their scheduled flights, Xinhua said.

Details were not immediately available. (dpa)