TAIPEI, Nov 4 (Reuter) - A major Taiwanese Buddhist association said on Monday it had invited the Dalai Lama to visit the island despite risking the wrath of China under current estranged ties between the two rivals.

"Our secretary-general has in person invited the Dalai Lama to visit here for all the Buddhists in Taiwan," an official of the independent Buddhist Association, one of the island's major religious associations, said by telephone.

The invitation was made in Australia in September and the association is awaiting the Dalai Lama's reply, he said.

The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader's recent visits to Australia and France have upset Beijing, which objects to contacts between the Dalai Lama and foreign countries.

Beijing has regarded Taiwan as a renegade province since a civil war separated them in 1949 and it also says that Taipei is not entitled to diplomatic ties.

Beijing suspended semi-official talks with Taipei following Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui's private visit to the United States in mid-1995.

The Dalai Lama, winner of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize for his drive to end Chinese rule in Tibet, has said he would like to visit Taiwan to see the island's democratic achievements and Taiwan says it welcomes visits by religious leaders.

The Dalai Lama is on an European tour that has prompted a Chinese protest to the European Union over a meeting he had with officials of the European Parliament.

REUTER