XINHUA is the official news agency of the People's Republic of China

LHASA (Sept. 5) XINHUA - China's central government will welcome the Dalai Lama back to Tibet if he completely renounces the idea of "independence of Tibet", Gyam Co, vice chairman of the Tibetan Autonomous Regional Government, told a group of Beijing-based foreign journalists today

"The central government's attitude towards the Dalai Lama remains unchanged," he said, and the Dalai's "a high degree of autonomy for Tibet" and "one country, two systems" ideas are unacceptable.

He pointed out that "one country, two systems" is a concept put forth by Deng Xiaoping, which was meant to solve the Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan questions. It is only suitable for these three issues, he said, and the resumption of feudal serfdom in Tibet would only be a disaster for the Tibetan people.

To ensure that religious activities are conducted in an orderly fashion, the vice chairman noted, the regional government started patriotic education among the monks and nuns in the region last year, increasing their awareness of the motherland, the law, and Tibet's history.

"The vast majority of the monks and nuns understand and uphold government policies and laws," he said. There are more than 1,700 temples and monastries, and 46,000 monks and nuns in Tibet.

Since the establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region in 1965, it has had great changes. Last year, its GDP was as six times that of 1965 and average life expectancy jumped from 36 in 1951 to 65.

The vice chairman welcomed the visits of foreign journalists to Tibet.

"Objective and truthful coverage of Tibet will benefit our work," he said.