Family planning authorities in Puning, a city in Guangdong province, have detained more than 1,300 people in the drive, the Nanfang Countryside Daily said in an investigative report published Thursday.

Those detained included parents who refused to undergo the surgical procedure and their "relatives," the report said.

They were being held in local government buildings and lectured on family planning rules, it said.

China's family planning policy generally limits families to one child, with some exceptions for rural farmers, ethnic minorities and other groups.

"It's not uncommon for family planning authorities to adopt some tough tactics," an employee at the Puning Population and Family Bureau was quoted saying in Friday's English-language Global Times newspaper.

AFP calls to government officials in Puning went unanswered.

The 20-day campaign launched last week is targeting 9,559 people considered the "most severe violators of the family planning policy in Puning," the Global Times said.

So far half the couples targeted had agreed to sterilisation, the paper said.

The Nanfang Countryside Daily is part of the Nanfang publishing group, which is known for its investigative articles and other reporting that often pushes the boundaries of what is allowed by the ruling Communist Party's censors.

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