BEIJING, Jan 15 (AFP) - "Hostile forces abroad" and "separatist elements" pose the greatest dangers to China's stability in 1997, the Legal Daily said Wednesday.

"China's reform and development are again encountering many difficulties and several factors threaten social stability," the daily said in a front-page editorial.

Prominent among the factors it cited were "infiltration of hostile forces from abroad" and "activities of a handful of separatists," as well as "illegal religious practices."

Tibetans loyal to their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, are regularly accused of indulging in "separatist activities" and acting at the behest of "hostile forces abroad."

The charge of "separatism" is also used against groups opposed to Chinese rule in Xinjiang, a central Asian region which is home to Turkic Moslem populations, as well as against Christians.