San Francisco, June 10 (CNA) The Tibetan government-in-exile will send a delegation to Taipei later this month to discuss the opening of a representative office in Taiwan to facilitate bilateral cultural, educational and religious exchanges, a Tibetan official said here on Tuesday.

Lhakdor, who accompanied the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, on his historic visit to Taiwan in March, said ROC President Lee Teng-hui and the ROC government have agreed to the establishment of a Tibetan office in Taipei.

During its upcoming Taipei visit, Lhakdor said, the Tibetan mission is expected to hammer out technical details regarding the opening of the planned liaison office.

Nevertheless, Lhakdor said he doesn't know when the Tibetan office can be formally inaugurated in Taipei.

Lhakdor said the Dalai Lama was satisfied with his Taiwan visit, adding the visit has helped clarify suspicions that the Dalai Lama is hostile toward Chinese people.

Lhakdor recalled that many Buddhists in Taiwan showed a great deal of admiration and affection for the Dalai Lama during his stay on the island, pointing to harmony and friendship between the Chinese and the Tibetans.

Earlier in the day, the Dalai Lama told a news conference in San Francisco that the Beijing regime should offer Hong Kong greater freedom and leniency after it claims sovereignty over the enclave on July 1.

"Only by so doing can the Beijing-proposed 'one country, two systems' formula be fully implemented in Hong Kong and give hopes to Taiwan and Tibet," said the exiled Tibetan god-king.

Noting that Hong Kong's prosperity and economic strength are critical to mainland China, the Dalai Lama said the Chinese communists should show "political sympathy" toward Hong Kong in order to maintain economic prosperity and stability in the territory after the July 1 handover.

The Dalai Lama is currently in San Francisco to attend a seminar on creating peace with non-violent means.

ROC officials have said even if the "one country, two systems" formula succeeds in Hong Kong, Taiwan would not accept such a scheme as a term for reunifying with mainland China because the status of the ROC government is different from Hong Kong.

(By Neil LU and Sofia Wu)