The Chinese government has issued a white paper on Tibet in which it denounced the "middle way" advocated by the Dalai Lama, reports state news agency Xinhua.

In "Tibet's Path of Development Is Driven by an Irresistible Historical Tide," the government contends that Tibet's progress on its present path of development is the correct way to go. The white paper was released by China's Information Office of the State Council.

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The paper criticizes a group of people who remain clustered around the 14th Dalai Lama, who are remnants of the feudal serf owners having long lived in exile. It says that this group is driven by the political goal of achieving Tibetan independence and a sentimental attachment to a theocracy.

According to the Dalai Lama, the  middle-way approach is aimed at peacefully resolving the issue of Tibet and to bring about "stability and co-existence between the Tibetan and Chinese peoples based on equality and mutual co-operation."

But according to China, the Dalai Lama's so-called "middle way" negates Tibet's development path and attempts to create a "state within a state" on Chinese territory.

 Zhang Yun, director and researcher of Institute of History of China Tibetology Research Center, told Xinhua that the middle way is deceptive because it uses the rhetoric of peace and non-violence.

"The white paper offers a complete and in-depth explanation of the ulterior motives behind the middle way and why the central government can not accept it," Zhang said.

The white paper accuses the Dalai Lama's followers of being opportunistic in talks with the central government.

"When they thought the situation was not working to their advantage, they would call for contact with the central government," said the paper. "When they thought the situation was in their favor, they would break off contact ... None of the negotiations were conducted in good faith -- it was always the intention of the Dalai Lama and his supporters to divide China and achieve independence for Tibet."

The white paper also said of the Dalai Lama that "only when he makes a public statement acknowledging that Tibet has been an integral part of China since antiquity, and abandons his stance on independence and his attempts to divide China, can he improve his relationship with the central government in any real sense."

TagsChina Denounces Dalai Lama's Middle Way, White Paper, Tibet, Tibet's Path of Development Is Driven by an Irresistible Historical Tide, Dalai Lama, Information Office of the State Council, Zhang Yun