By Rolf Soderlind

OSLO, Feb 1 (Reuter) -- Norway's Nobel Committee shrugged off a Chinese condemnation of dissident and 1996 peace prize nominee Wei Jingsheng on Thursday, saying it does not shy away from controversy in selecting laureates.

Nobel official Geir Lundestad said the five-member Nobel committee would begin its work to select the 1996 winner or winners this month and would not give in to pressure.

"We are not going to enter into an argument with China over Wei Jingsheng," he told Reuters. "We are very well aware of the Chinese opinion on Wei so this is nothing new. We will begin our selection work at the end of this month."

In Beijing, China's Foreign Ministry said Wei was a convicted criminal not qualified for such an honour.

"Wei Jingsheng is a condemned criminal who is serving his sentence and therefore has no qualification to be awarded a Nobel prize," ministry spokesman Chen Jian told a news briefing.

Wei, 45, regarded as the father of China's tiny and embattled democracy movement, was nominated for the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize on Wednesday by 81 members of the U.S. Congress.

Lundestad refused to discuss the merits of candidates for the 1996 prize but said: "We don't shy away from controversy. We have had several controversial winners in the past.

"From a Chinese point of view it may be worth noting that we gave the prize to the Dalai Lama in 1989," he said.

The exiled spiritual and political leader of Tibet is just one of many controversial winners since the prize was first awarded in 1901. Past winners also include Polish Solidarity union leader Lech Walesa in 1983 and Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in 1991.

Nominations must be poststamped by a January 31 deadline under the 1895 will of Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, father of the Nobel prizes.

"It could take several weeks before all nominations are in," Lundestad said. "The speed of mail varies from country to country."

In keeping with a tradition of secrecy, he refused to confirm any names. Other candidates for the 1996 prize are however known to include former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, jailed Kurdish politician Leyla Zana and jailed Israeli nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu. Like Wei, they have all been nominated before.

Candidates may be nominated by past Nobel laureates, members of parliament, university professors and the Nobel Committee itself. Last year the prize went to anti-nuclear weapons crusader Joseph Rotblat.