China lashed out at the U.S. Congress on Thursday over plans to award its highest civilian honor to the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader who Beijing reviles as a separatist, reported ap. «China resolutely opposes the U.S. Congress awarding the Dalai its so-called Congressional Gold Medal, and firmly opposes any country or any person using the Dalai issue to interfere in China's internal affairs,» Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said at a regularly scheduled news conference. Liu said China had «presented a representation» to Washington over Congress' move, but gave no details. Congress was to award the prize this month. The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Sept. 13 to bestow the award on the Dalai Lama, winner of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize, citing his «many enduring and outstanding contributions to peace, nonviolence, human rights, and religious understanding.»
