An official in charge of Tibetan question on Wednesday denied the Dalai Lama clique's claim that the Living Buddha registration system is aimed at controlling the reincarnation of Tibetan monks, pointing out that this is just another attempt by the clique to defame the Chinese government.

Xu Zhitao, an official at the United Front Work Department under the Communist Party of China Central Committee, told the Global Times that remarks made by Lobsang Sangay, the "prime minister" of the "Tibetan government in exile," were aimed at merely finding fault.

He believed the clique's purpose is to stress their absolute authority in religious affairs and defame the Chinese government, while at the same time garnering more international support as the Dalai Lama ages.

The Living Buddha registration system, released by the Buddhist Association of China (BAC) on January 18, allows people to view the profiles of 870 verified Living Buddhas in China through an online government database.

Lobsang Sangay condemned the system in an interview with the India-based Asian News International news agency, calling it "an attempt to control the reincarnation system of monks in Tibetan Buddhism."

Xu explained that it was the BAC, instead of the United Front Work Department or the State Administration for Religious Affairs, that launched the system with a view to help the public differentiate between real Living Buddhas and fakes.

He said the government has always been managing, not controlling the religious affairs. "Whether a monk can be recognized as a Living Buddha has always been decided by people from the religious field."

The system, which only provides information inquiry service, is entirely unrelated to the recognition and approval of Living Buddhas, Xu added.

Members of Students for a Free Tibet (SFT), a New York-based organization of exiled Tibetans advocating "Tibet's independence," staged a protest at a market place in Dharamsala on Thursday, the Asian News International reported.

SFT Director Dorjee Tsetan said "they do not accept the list as it does not feature the name of the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama."

Dismissing the accusation as "nitpicking," Xu said the system only includes Living Buddhas currently living in China.

Although the registration database does not include the Dalai Lama, his identity has not been negated, Zhu Weiqun, chairman of the Ethnic and Religious Affairs Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, told the Global Times, adding that the Dalai Lama should treasure the recognition by the then central government.

The introduction of the system may jeopardize the economic, political and religious interests of the Dalai Lama clique, a Tibet-based expert told the Global Times on the condition of anonymity.

The Dalai Lama clique has been disrupting the stability of the ethnic Tibetan regions by dispatching Dalai Lama-appointed "Living Buddhas" to the Chinese mainland, Zhu said, adding that with the launch of the registration system such attempts are more likely to fail.