On Wednesday, the Dalai Lama definitively declared that he would reject any appeal to continue serving as a political leader of the Tibetan community outside of China. It was an announcement that focused renewed attention on Lobsang Sangay, the man scheduled to soon assume political authority for the nation-in-exhile -- though Sangay's likely already used to the media spotlight.
Indeed, last month's election of a new prime minister of the Tibetan exile government was covered by the media across the world, from Slovakia to Indonesia -- unusual for a government which is not officially recognized by any state. But amid the hubbub, much of the event's substantive importance was lost. Much of the buzz was about the new leader's history and style: the 43-year-old Sangay dresses like a patrician lawyer (with aviator sunglasses, according to the BBC), speaks with utter confidence in himself, and had a fellowship at Harvard Law School for much of the last 10 years -- a far cry from the self-effacing, soft-spoken style of many Tibetan exiles.
COMMENTS (5)
More...
Most of the media coverage focused on the unlikely ascent of a Tibetan refugee to an elite American university: "New prime minister of Tibet's 'government-in-exile' attended Harvard Law School," ran CNN's headline for the story. The Indian media enthused as well, focusing on what Sangay calls his "humble origins," namely his childhood in a village home near Darjeeling, India, with two to three cows, one of which he says was sold to pay for his schooling.
Sangay's personal style was not irrelevant: His "Indian/American" approach to campaigning, as he called it, led to a far more lively election than its two anemic predecessors, featuring public debates and hard-hitting campaign websites. There was a 59 percent turnout among the 80,000 Tibetan exiles who registered to vote in the 30 countries where exile Tibetans are now living, the vast majority of them in India. Sangay's declared priority was conventional -- to "pave the way for the return of the Dalai Lama to his rightful residence at the Potala Palace" in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa -- but he promised to bring "new energy, new ideas, new vigor" to the Tibetan cause and argued that his legal studies would equip him to "facilitate ... dialogue" with China. He was rewarded with 55 percent of the vote, a victory described by the New York Times as "signaling a generational shift within the Tibetan movement."
Thus it is the change in the electors that is significant, rather than the man that they elected. The election showed an exile community that wants to see change in an administration widely viewed as overly bureaucratic, poorly educated, and resistant to innovation. The voters will be watching keenly to see whether he implements his promises to reform exile education and government, and already more sophisticated discussion has emerged among exiles than the usual arguments over whether to pursue independence or to resort to violent struggle. For example, one group of young exile intellectuals has started a website that fact-checks the claims of would-be exile leaders. They have already stimulated a debate over Sangay's funding, which some say originates not from Harvard, as he has claimed, but from a Taiwanese foundation that paid the university to give him a fellowship.
SUBJECTS:
(5)
HIDE COMMENTS LOGIN OR REGISTER REPORT ABUSE