Beijing, Aug 14 (IANS): A senior Chinese official has called on religious figures in Tibet to resist the influence of foreign forces to ensure stability in the region.

Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, was in Tibet on Friday and Saturday where he visited businesses, hospitals and lamaseries, reports Xinhua.

At the Galden Jampaling Monastery, Yu urged religious figures in Tibet to carry forward their patriotic traditions and guide their followers in the region to safeguard national and ethnic unity.

He called on local authorities to defend the religious freedom of all ethnic groups. Authorities should protect monasteries and ensure a normal religious life for adherents.

Work should support "representative personages of Tibetan Buddhism to interpret religious doctrines in line with socialist core values, and help Tibetan Buddhism better adapt to socialist society", he said.

The Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, fled Tibet in 1959 after an uprising against Communist rule. He lives in India.