BEIJING, 26 August 1997 (AP) China accused a U.S. congressman of slander Monday after he visited Tibet on a tourist visa and criticized China for its harsh rule of the restive Himalayan region.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Tang Guoqiang described as "lamentable" Rep. Frank Wolf's comments that China was engaged in a campaign to quash Tibetan Buddhism and culture.

The Virginia Republican spent four days in Tibet early this month. Wolf told reporters in Washington last week that Tibetans were living under "boot-heel subjugation" with no freedom and want Western help.

"(He) has wantonly slandered China, disregarding the enormous progress that has been made in Tibet in various fields," Tang said, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

Tang insisted Beijing supports religious freedom in Tibet and pointed to the 1,700 monasteries, temples and other sites repaired by the government. He also said Tibetans are more free now than they were under the theocratic system the Dalai Lama presided over until his exile in 1959.

A Netherlands-based human rights group on Monday also accused Beijing of trying to replace Buddhism with atheism and impose Chinese language and culture on Tibet.

In an 83-page report based on a spring visit to Tibet, the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization accused Beijing of suppressing Tibetan opposition to Chinese rule. The independent group took its concerns Monday to the U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva.

The People's Liberation Army entered Tibet in 1950, although Beijing claims Tibet has been a part of China for eight centuries.

Tibet has been a persistent irritant in relations between China and the United States. Wolf's trip came days after Congress pressured the Clinton administration to name a coordinator for U.S. policy on Tibet.