Concern over Dalai Lama's UK visit

Ministry spokesman Qin Gang repeated Beijing's claim that Tibet's exiled Buddhist leader is a "political refugee engaged in activities of splitting China under the camouflage of religion," in remarks issued by the official Xinhua News Agency.

Mr Qin also renewed accusations that figures associated with the Dalai Lama organised a deadly riot in Lhasa last week.

Tibet's exiled Buddhist leader is scheduled to visit London in May and will also meet with the Prince of Wales.

China's communist ally North Korea meanwhile, is criticising the recent protests in Tibet as an attempt to disrupt the Beijing Olympics, saying that it "strongly denounces the unsavoury elements" seeking Tibetan independence.

Chinese state media said for the first time today that anti-government riots that rocked Tibet last week have spread to other provinces as the communist authorities announced the first group of arrests for the violence.

The announcements came as the government sent armed police into far-flung towns and villages to reassert control as sporadic demonstrations continued to flare up, and barred any foreigners from travelling there or journalists from reporting.

The official Xinhua News Agency reported on riots in Tibetan-inhabited areas in the provinces of Sichuan and Gansu, both neighbouring Tibet. It blamed the protests on supporters of the Dalai Lama.

Xinhua said the protests attacked "shops and government offices" on Sunday in Aba country in north-western Sichuan. It said there were similar protests in five areas of southern Gansu province.

The Xinhua report confirms previous claims by exile Tibet activist groups that the protests had spread. Foreign journalists have been banned from going to Tibet and have found it increasingly difficult to travel to areas in other provinces with Tibetan populations.