The Chairman of China's Tibet Autonomous Region said on Wednesday that the "high-degree autonomy for Tibet" advocated by the Dalai Lama goes against not only the aspiration of the people in Tibet, but also the Constitution of China and the basic system currently in place.

Qiangba Puncog, chairman of the regional government, made the remark at a news briefing on Tibet's social and economic development held in Beijing, responding to a question raised by a reporter.

"To know the Dalai Lama we should not only listen to what he says, but also look at what he has done," said the Tibetan official.

"The region gained its autonomy in 1965. The system of regional autonomy for minority nationalities has made Tibetan people masters of their own destiny. Affairs relating to Tibetans have been well managed, making possible huge progress in present-day Tibet," said Qiangba.

The Dalai Lama's call for a "high-degree autonomy for Tibet" is against the people's wishes and against the Constitution and basic system in place, he said.

Qiangba took issue with the Dalai Lama's calls for a "greater Tibet". "If we look at history, we can see there has not been suchan area since the dismantling of the Tubo kingdom in the ninth century, and there have been different administrative systems for Tibetans in Sichuan, Tibet and other regions," he said.

"The Dalai Lama travels around the world in Buddhist robes not out of religious zeal but to internationalize the Tibet issue and achieve his own political purposes," Qiangba said.

He said the Dalai Lama's pursuit of autonomy or establishment of the greater Tibetan area were staging houses to conceal his pursuit of independence.

"People from the Dalai Lama side believe, 'once this succeeds, then (Tibet's) independence is not far away', and this reveals their real intentions," he said.

The official was asked to comment on letters asking for permission to let the Dalai Lama come back to Tibet.

"I have not seen the letters but I have heard about the content. The ideas expressed differ greatly from the opinions held by the most Tibetan people," he said.

"His opinions do not represent the view of the majority of Tibetan people, nor do they represent the views of the majority of officials in Tibet. They only represent a handful of people," said Puncog.

Puncog said the channel of communication with the Dalai Lama and his personal representative has always been open. "The Dalai Lama has to give up his independence goal and his separatist activities," he said, "we all expect him to be sincere and to do some good deeds for the Tibetan people and the country during his lifetime."

The official said he deeply regretted the recent meeting between the Australian Prime Minister John Howard and the Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lama is not a religious figure but a politician, said the official, adding that people in Tibet know what kind of person the Dalai Lama is.

"Dalai Lama has been involved in activities to split the country since he went into exile abroad 48 years ago," said the official. "I believe that meetings between foreign political leaders and the Dalai Lama are matters that concern the unity of our nation and the integrity of Chinese territory."

"People in Tibet, just like the Chinese government, are firmly against foreign political leaders meeting with the Dalai Lama," said Qiangba Puncog.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman last Friday protested to Australia about the Dalai Lama's visit there.

"Turning a deaf ear to China's representations, the Australian side has allowed the Dalai Lama to visit Australia and meet with Australian political leaders, including Prime Minister John Howard. We consider this a rude intervention in China's internal affairs", spokesman Qin Gang said.

"We hope the Australian side will correct its attitude to the Dalai Lama in the interests of overall bilateral relations", Qin said, urging Australia to take effective measures to eliminate the "negative influence" of the Dalai Lama's visit and to offer no platform for his "secessionist activities".