Lobsang Sangay: New prime minister of Tibet's 'government-in-exile' attended Harvard Law School and has never been to Tibet

ONLY ON THE BLOG: Answering today’s six OFF-SET questions is Lobsang Sangay, the newly-elected prime minister of “Tibet’s government-in-exile” headed by The Dalai Lama.

The son of parents who fled Tibet in 1959, Sangay was the first Tibetan to attend Harvard Law School. According to Harvard, he was selected as a Fulbright Scholar in 1995, and obtained his masters of law degree, writing his thesis on Buddhism and Human Rights. His doctoral dissertation was entitled, “Democracy in Distress: Is Exile Polity a Remedy? A Case Study of  Tibet’s Government in Exile.”

You became Prime Minister by defeating two other candidates, winning some 55% of the votes spread throughout 30 countries. How long did you campaign and what are the major promises you made?

Tibetans from Australia to Alaska, New York to New Delhi, including Tibetans on the edges of Tibet participated in this election. I campaigned for 7 months, intensively reaching out to Tibetans around the world.

Among the most memorable was a winter trip toLadakh, India, at an altitude of over 9,800 feet. While previous Tibetan elections had never witnessed modern contested campaigns, I believed it was important to exchange ideas with the voters and to personally ask for their vote. My efforts seemed to resonate among the electorate, perhaps because of a mood for change. I am gratified and humbled that people gave me a very strong mandate, even though I was of a different and younger generation from the other candidates.

My number one priority as Kalon Tripa (Prime Minister) is to restore freedom in Tibet and pave the way for the return of the Dalai Lama to his rightful residence at the Potala Palace, in our capital city of Lhasa.       

I plan on building awareness and support within the international community and to sustain the support of India and its people. I will also pursue building on a peaceful dialogue with the Chinese government.

In the exile community, my number one priority will be improving educational opportunities for our young people. I am from a humble background myself, and education has been the ladder which has helped me serve the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people.

The Dalai Lama has announced he no longer wants to be the political leader of the government exile. Will you move to Dharamsala? How will you work with the Dalai Lama and what will your actual job be?

Yes, I gave up my job at Harvard Law School and will move to Dharamsala, India.

His Holiness' announcement to delegate his political power to elected leaders is a magnanimous act that demonstrates his commitment to true democracy for the Tibetan people.

I will have to run the central Tibetan administration as Kalon Tripa (Prime Minister). The government is made up of over 400 full time employees, with a cabinet of 7 ministers who oversee multiple departments such as education, health, foreign relations, and social programs. We have an elected Parliament and a judiciary which tries civil cases.

The Dalai Lama is the leader of all Tibetans both within Tibet and around the world. He is a source of great inspiration for me personally and I am dedicated to fulfilling his vision of a modern democratic society, and fulfilling his recently expressed aspiration that I, as the head of the government, will be the face and spokesman for the Tibetan people in political matters.

As the leader of the administration, I will be overseeing the cabinet and its departments to make sure that its policies and programs are for the benefit of the 150,000 people in the diaspora and meet the aspirations of the 6 million Tibetans in Tibet.

Has your election to the office been recognized yet by any other governments?

Our friends in governments around the world recognize the legitimacy of our political process. The question of official versus unofficial recognition is obviously a delicate, sensitive, and nuanced question given China’s power and influence.

I have received numerous congratulatory messages from individuals and organizations around the world and have been encouraged that the excitement in the Tibetan community seems to be shared by many of our foreign friends.

Harvard Law Today reports that at the age of 14, you first took to the streets to demonstrate against the Chinese occupation of Tibet. You heard an older Tibetan say, “Look at the way the Chinese are treating us. What we Tibetans need is a lawyer to defend us!” Is it too romantic to trace your desire to get a law degree to that protest?

I was a debater in a Tibetan refugee school and at the age of 14, I was asked to read a political statement issued by a Tibetan organization during a March 10 protest, our National Uprising Day in the town of Darjeeling, India. This was the first public event I was exposed to. After that event I was granted many other invitations, which eventually led to leadership positions in student and youth organizations.

As for Tibetans who have discussed the need for a lawyer, that was a separate event which triggered my interests combined with an interview I saw of the Dalai Lama in which he mentioned that in the future we would have doctors, lawyers and engineers among the Tibetan people.

Also throughout history, many great non-violent leaders, like Gandhi, Nehru and Nelson Mandela were all lawyers. As were many American presidents such as Abraham Lincoln and current President Barack Obama. It might not be a coincidence that all these great men had trained as lawyers. Even the next designated leader ofChina, Xi Jinping, has a legal background as does the President of Taiwan.

The government of China claims that it has controlled Tibet since the 13th century. The Chinese are against Tibetan independence as they believe Tibet is an indivisible part of the Chinese nation. What kind of discussions do you hope to have with Chinese officials?

I think as far as history is concerned, many historians outside of Chinaw ould disagree with the Chinese narrative that Tibet has always been a part of China. Even some independent Chinese scholars would disagree with that claim. Many experts argue, that Tibet was dejure and/or defacto an independent nation as late as between 1911 and 1951.

In addition, the 17-point agreement signed in 1951 between the Chinese and Tibetan governments acknowledge that Tibet shall "return to the motherland" acknowledging that Tibet was not part of China at that particular time. What His Holiness the Dalai Lama says is that history is for historians to decide.

Looking forward, we want to resolve the issue peacefully and will agree with genuine autonomy within the framework of the Chinese constitution. If the Chinese government were to implement its own laws, we would accept genuine autonomy.

This is a win-win proposition because of its contribution towards the long-term and sustainable harmony and stability of both China and Tibet. The official stance of the Tibetan administration is that we are willing to have negotiations with the Chinese government at anytime and anywhere.

You have never been to Tibet. What would happen if you went there now?

I have never been to Tibet but I am proud to be born as a Tibetan and will proudly die as one. While I live, I will dedicate my life toTibetand the Tibetan people.

Tibet is under occupation and the repression in Tibet is currently worse than it has been in decades. Even possessing a picture of the Dalai Lama will land you in jail. As it stands today, the Chinese authorities are forcing monks of Kirti monastery in Ngaba County for patriotic education or re-education through labor.

In 2005 I went to Beijing and met with Chinese scholars, in which I had discussions about Tibet. I hoped to visit Tibet at that time and made a request to do so, but I was told by an official that there were not enough people to receive me in Lhasa. I responded that there are 1.3 billion people inChinaso this seems rather remarkable.

It is a source of great sadness for me that I was prevented from visiting my homeland- a sadness I share with all exile Tibetans who are prevented from returning.

If I went there now, given a choice, I am sure Tibetans would want to happily greet me and I would be fulfilling my lifelong desire to see my homeland and make pilgrimages to the holy places. Most importantly it would allow me to meet with Tibetan family members from who I have long been separated, not by choice but by force.

Of course, given my office now, any such visit has to be an official one, and must address the Tibet issue and can only happen if it is desired by the Tibetan people.