China has lodged representations with the United States on the Dalai Lama's US visit, calling for the US side to keep its promise that it acknowledges Tibet as part
of China and does not support the "independence of Tibet,"  Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said on Sept. 4.
  Kong made the remark at a regular press briefing in reply to a
reporter's question about the Dalai Lama's visit to the United States from Sept. 4 to 24 and the possibility that he would meet with US President George W. Bush and State Secretary Colin Powell.
  Kong said the Dalai Lama is not purely a religious figure, but a political figure in exile, who has engaged in China-separating activities for a long time.
  The Chinese side has lodged representation with the U.S. side and request it to keep its promises, the spokesman said.