World Tibet Network News Thursday, April 30, 1998 (II)

BEIJING, April 30 (Reuters) - China on Thursday poured cold water on U.S. hopes Beijing would renew dialogue with the Dalai Lama, accusing the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader of plotting independence for Tibet and dealing with Beijing in bad faith.

"The channel for dialogue between the central government and the 14th Dalai Lama's representative was opened before the latter half of 1993, when the Dalai Lama unilaterally cut off the contacts," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Tang Guoqiang.

"It shows that he has no sincerity toward dialogue at all," he told a news briefing.

U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, in Beijing for talks paving the way for U.S. President Bill Clinton's visit to China in June, said she had "lengthy and intensive discussions" on Tibet with Chinese leaders.

"It is very important for there to be preservation of the cultural and the religious special character of Tibet," she told a news conference.

"What we urged was dialogue with the Dalai Lama," she said.

The United States accepts that Tibet -- which Chinese troops took over in 1950 -- is part of China but is pressing Beijing to ease its grip on the region and release Tibetan political prisoners ahead of Clinton's visit, U.S. officials have said.

That would pave the way for dialogue and resonate positively with an American public stirred up by a spate of pro-Tibet movies and campaigns by celebrities such as actor Richard Gere.

Asked to state China's conditions for resuming talks with the Dalai Lama, Tang said he must acknowledge that Tibet was a part of China, publicly renounce his campaign for Tibetan independence and stop separatist activities.

The Dalai Lama has said he is seeking autonomy rather than independence, allowing China to maintain control over foreign policy and armed forces. Some

Tibetans have decried his offer as too much of a concession to Tibet's unwelcome Chinese occupiers.

But Tang said the Dalai Lama's proposal was a ploy to restore his rule in the vast Himalayan region and then lead his people to independence.

"The high degree of autonomy advocated by the Dalai Lama is in essence a two-step strategy for Tibetan independence," he said. "Its purpose is to fool international opinion.

"We hope that the Dalai Lama can size up the situation, forego his illusions and do something useful for his motherland and for Tibet in his lifetime," Tang said.

The Dalai Lama arrived in New York on Wednesday to begin a two-week visit to the United States.

He was expected to reiterate his goal of entering into unconditional negotiations with China and his offer to set aside full sovereignty for Tibet in exchange for self-rule.

The 1989 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who has lived in exile in India since 1959, is also scheduled to meet exiled Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng.

Albright's delegation to China includes newly-appointed special coordinator on Tibet, Greg Craig.

The U.S. State Department, acting on a promise to Congress and ignoring Chinese objections, appointed Craig in October with a mandate to promote dialogue between Beijing and the Dalai Lama.

China, which denounced the appointment at the time as "unacceptable" interference in China's internal affairs, said on Tuesday it was "resolutely opposed" to the creation of the post.