Hong Kong Standard China, July 18, 1996

The Dalai Lama and British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind talk to reporters after their meeting on Wednesday.

BEIJING on Wednesday shunned a renewed call by the Dalai Lama, made on Tuesday in London, to start talks over the future of Tibet.

The door to negotiations between the central government and the Dalai Lama were open "as long as the Dalai Lama acknowledges that Tibet is an inalienable part of China and completely foreswears his proposition of Tibetan independence", a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

On Tuesday, in the second day of his one-week visit to Britain, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader told parliament: "I wish to reiterate our willingness to start negotiations (with China) anytime, anywhere, without any precondition."

He also called for concerned international efforts to pressure China to start negotiations with his exiled government, as well as to improve human rights in Tibet.

The foreign affairs spokesman yesterday continued to accuse Britain of violating international norms for supporting the "splittist activities" of Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

"Some foreign countries support the Dalai clique's splittist activities. This does not only violate the norms governing international relations but also hurts the feelings of the Chinese people.

"We hereby express strong dissatisfaction over this," he added. Furious about the visit to Britain, Beijing has lodged a formal protest to London.

The Dalai Lama, 61, is scheduled to meet Queen Elizabeth and the Queen mother today, the first time members of the British Royal family will have received the spiritual leader.-Agencies