The Shanghai International Studies University yesterday admitted that a group of Chinese and Japanese students clashed on Monday night but said no one was hurt.

Students ?gather around the dormotries.

The university put out a statement after the issue was widely discussed on online forums. Netizens reported how a fight had broken out at the Xianda College of Economics and Humanities in Hongkou District, resulting in injuries and protests on campus.

The institute is an independent private college under SISU and Shanghai Xianda Investment Co.

The university, however, played down the incident. It posted a statement on its website saying: "No student was hurt in the accidental dispute."

According to the statement, trouble started around 10 pm on Monday when a group of Japanese students returned from a birthday celebration at a nearby restaurant. They hung around dormitories housing Chinese students and became boisterous.

Students from the apartments protested, and some of them threw empty plastic bottles from the balconies, according to the statement. The revellers then got abusive, according to some reports.

Japanese students then went to the ninth floor and knocked on several doors. A fresh round of quarrels broke out between the Japanese and Chinese students, according to the statement. The situation was brought under control by security guards.

A witness told Shanghai Daily that more than 100 people had gathered outside the students' dorm. But the Japanese students continued to be abusive as they left the building. This in turn angered local students.

A group of Chinese youngsters then gathered at the SISU guest hotel, where the Japanese students were staying. University officials, teachers and guards arrived on the scene and restored order.

(Shanghai Daily October 24, 2008)