Dalai Lama trying to split the country: China

Reacting to reports of a South African court questioning the delay in visa to the Tibetan spiritual leader, Chinese Foreign Ministry's spokesman Hong Lei said for China the Dalai Lama is a political exile.

Hong said China would continue to oppose the Dalai Lama's "separatist activities in whatever capacity and in whatever name in any country".

"I would like to once again state that the Dalai Lama is a political exile that has long been engaged in activities to split China under the guise of religion," he told a media briefing here today.

"Dalai Lama has never ceased activities to seek Tibet's independence," he said.

The Dalai Lama was invited to South Africa to deliver a lecture at the 80th birthday celebrations of anti-apartheid activist Desmond Tutu on October 4 last year but his application for a visa did not get any response from authorities on time.

The delay led him to cancel his trip while an outraged Tutu had lashed out at the government calling it worse than the apartheid-era dispensation.