China on Wednesday warned the Taiwanese government not to allow the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama to visit the island nation. The warning came after reports emerged that high profile Taiwanese legislator, Freddy Lim, has forwarded a formal invitation to the Dalai Lama visit to Taiwan.

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Freddy Lim, who was once Taiwan's most famous rock singer, is a known critic of China. Lim's assistant, Kenny Chang, informed Reuters that Dalai Lama is highly revered in the island nation.

"Lim is inviting him to visit Taiwan to share his ideas and religious philosophy," Chang said.

A Taiwanese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman told Reuters that if the Dalai Lama submits a visa application, the Taiwanese government will review it based on relevant rules.

Dalai Lama's visit will strain cross-strait relation

The Dalai Lama's visit to Taiwan could have a severe effect on the strained cross-strait relation. The ties between Taipei and Beijing has been on nosedive ever since the pro-independent leader Tsai Ing-wen won Taiwan's presidential elections with a landslide victory earlier this year.

China considers the Dalai Lama as a secessionist leader, whose aim is to seek complete freedom for Tibet from mainland China. The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 after leading a failed uprising against China.

China's Taiwan Affairs Office has criticized Taiwan's plan to invite the Dalai Lama, adding that some forces in Taiwan are aligning with Tibet's pro-independent activists to create disturbance in cross-strait relation.

The Dalai Lama's last visit to Taiwan was in 2009, but he was not allowed to meet the then Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou.   

Tagschina, Taiwan, China and Taiwan, Cross-Strait relation