KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan (AP) -- Waving Tibet's snow-lion flag and portraits of the Dalai Lama, followers cheered the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader when he arrived on his first visit to Taiwan today. China condemned the trip.

The Dalai Lama told a brief news conference at the airport in the southern port of Kaohsiung that he would promote "basic human values" and religious harmony during his six-day visit.

"I'm looking forward to seeing your President Lee Teng-hui (but) ... always keep in my mind that any activities of mine should not bring any embarrassment to anybody," he said, smiling.

China, which has occupied Tibet since 1950 and also claims sovereignty over Taiwan, says the visit amounts to a meeting of two "splittists," its term for those it accuses of trying to break away from China.

"Taiwan authorities and the Dalai Lama clique are colluding and using each other, consorting with evildoers, going further and further down the road of splitting the motherland," China's People's Daily newspaper quoted unidentified Tibet specialists as saying today.

About 200 supporters of formal independence for Taiwan, also waving Tibetan flags, gathered outside the airport.

But scores of others who support unification with China staged a counterprotest. They accuse the Taiwan government of giving tacit blessing to Tibetan independence by allowing the visit to go ahead.

The Dalai Lama has been seeking autonomy for Tibet since fleeing to India after a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule.

Taiwan is the home of the Nationalists, who retreated to the island after losing a civil war to China in 1949.

China believes Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui wants to dump the doctrine of eventual reunification with China and seek formal independence for the island.

Although most of his visit will be occupied with Buddhist activities, the Dalai Lama is expected to meet with Lee next week. In an interview with Taiwan's state television from New Delhi, India, he said he wanted to express his admiration for Lee and discuss "spirituality" with him.

The Dalai Lama's invitation to Taiwan was issued by a nongovernmental Buddhist association, but the visit is considered to have the government's blessing.

He was scheduled to visit Fokuangshan, Taiwan's largest Buddhist organization, in suburban Kaohsiung, later today.

The Dalai Lama has said he would accept a settlement for Tibet that falls short of full independence from China, but many of his supporters see his trip as a concession to Taiwan's symbolic claim over Tibet.

Taiwan's ruling Nationalists have a residual historical claim over Tibet as part of their broader claim to rule all of China.

Taiwan welcomed the 1959 Tibetan revolt as part of its struggle against the communists and invited many Tibetans to settle here. But ties deteriorated as Tibetans accused Taiwan of sowing discord in their government-in-exile.

There were no relations between Tibet and Taiwan for 30 years.