"The Chinese claim on the state on the ground that the famous Tawang monastary was once part of Tibet [Images] is untrue," Rinpoche, who heads the government-in-exile from Dharamshala [Images] in Himachal Pradesh, told reporters here. Tawang was part of Tibet before the Macmohan Line was drawn, delineating the Indo-Tibet border. "But it became part of India after the line came into existence," he said.

The Tibetan people had "climbed down from their earlier demand for complete freedom and now we only want a meaningful autonomy", he said.

"What is more important is to preserve the Tibetan culture and way of life," he said, adding "some sacrifices" have to be made in negotiations on this issue with China.

Rinpoche said the Chinese government has been under pressure from the world community to continue the dialogue to resolve the Tibet issue.

"The kind of international support we are getting has forced China to continue the dialogue process," he said.

Referring to the alleged killing of some Tibetans by Chinese border guards while they were trying to cross over to india, Rinpoche said the new Chinese regime had resorted to an "aggressive policy" on Tibet. "Conversion has been on the rise and repressive measures are in place in Tibet," he alleged.