Taipei, April 23 (CNA) The Tibetan government-in-exile will establish a liaison office in Taiwan within one month, according to the Dalai Lama, who is currently visiting in the United States.

During a live television interview with Larry King on Tuesday, the Tibetan spiritual leader said the representative for the Taiwan office has been chosen, and that the office is expected to open within one month.

The Dalai Lama praised the democracy, freedom and prosperity he saw in Taiwan during his landmark six-day visit to the island March 23-28. He particularly gave the thumbs-up to President Lee Teng-hui, the first ever popularly-elected president in 5,000 years of Chinese history.

Officials from the Cabinet-level Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission (MTAC), however, said Wednesday that they had received no word yet from the Dalai Lama's administration concerning the establishment of the office.

MTAC officials noted that the Dalai Lama said during his visit to Taiwan that it would be no problem for his India-based government-in-exile to set up a liaison office here, and that the government and the religious community in Taiwan responded favorably to this idea.

Nevertheless, the MTAC said it has not heard from the Dalai Lama or his representatives since he left Taiwan on March 28.

Groundwork for opening the liaison office actually began in November last year when the older brother of the Dalai Lama began to pay visits to Taiwan to make arrangement for the Tibetan god-king's historic Taiwan visit, the officials noted.

The two sides have reached a consensus that the office will be established only for promoting cultural and religious exchanges, they said.