China warns Tibetans ahead of exiles' gathering

BEIJING (Reuters) - China warned Tibetans on Thursday that the door to "Tibet independence" was firmly shut and would remain so, after a meeting with envoys from the Dalai Lama and ahead of a watershed gathering of leading Tibetan exiles.

The Tibetan delegation had visited for fence-mending talks days after the Dalai Lama expressed dismay at China's attitude. The comments to state news agency Xinhua by a top Chinese official were Beijing's first public response to the discussions.

Du Qinglin, head of the United Front Work Department which deals with ethnic minorities and religions, said China is sincere and generous but would not tolerate efforts to split the country under the guise of seeking "true ethnic autonomy."

"The Dalai Lama should respect history, face reality and conform to the times, as well as fundamentally change his political propositions," Xinhua quoted Du as saying.

"The door for 'Tibet independence', 'half independence' or 'covert independence' had never been open, nor would it be open in the future," the report said.

The visitors were taken to the Ningxia region, home of the Muslim Hui minority which has enjoyed a surge of mosque and madrasa (school) building in recent years and whose relations with Beijing are generally less fraught than those of Tibetans.

The Dalai Lama's chief envoy, Kasur Lodi Gyari, also issued a statement from New Delhi after returning from Beijing.

"We presented a memorandum to the Chinese leadership on genuine autonomy for the Tibetan people," he said of the talks.

But he said a meeting called by the Dalai Lama for later this month to discuss the future of his causes prevented him from saying more about the talks in Beijing.

"We have been advised not to make statements about our discussions before this meeting," he said.

Those talks will act as a sounding board for many exiles who want independence for Tibet rather than their revered leader's talk of autonomy within China.

The 73-year-old Buddhist leader hinted this month that his "middle way" for Tibet had failed, and speculation has grown that he wants to step back from day-to-day political leadership.

(Reporting by Emma Graham-Harrison; Editing by Paul Tait)