Tens of thousands of exiled Tibetans yesterday voted for a new leader tasked with sustaining their struggle for greater autonomy in the Chinese-ruled nation as the Dalai Lama retreats from the political front line.
While Tibetans from across the world were geared up to vote, those in the picturesque Indian hill town of Dharamsala, where the Dalai Lama lives, started lining up at booths at 9am to elect the next leader of the government-in-exile.
One by one, hundreds of Tibetans, including monks and nuns, scribbled the names of their favorite candidates on pieces of paper and slipped them into green ballot boxes as polls were set to close at about 5pm.
Photo: AP
The post of prime minister-in-exile was a low-profile role before the 80-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader devolved power in an attempt to lessen his own totemic status and foster a democratic setup to keep Tibet’s freedom movement alive after his death.
While many felt voting could help their campaign against Chinese rule over their Himalayan homeland, several were skeptical given the government-in-exile’s lack of effective power.
“I am not sure whether the democratic system can help in Tibet’s freedom struggle, but its values and rights can definitely ... bring more awareness on the Tibetan cause,” said Rikten, a 28-year-old teacher.
The Dalai Lama announced his decision in March 2011, just days before the election of the Tibetan government-in-exile Prime Minister Lobsang Sangay, 48, who was standing again yesterday.
The Harvard-educated former academic is regarded as the frontrunner, having already beaten off three of the four other candidates in a first round of voting in October last year.
Both he and his one remaining opponent, Penpa Tsering, 49, favor the “middle way” approach of the Dalai Lama that advocates seeking greater autonomy for Tibet peacefully.
In all, 88,000 Tibetans in 13 nations from Australia to the US were registered to cast ballots for a prime minister and the 44-member parliament-in-exile.
Many voters, like Sangay, have lived all their lives in exile and never visited Tibet.
One of the eliminated candidates, Lukar Jam Atsok, spent time as a political prisoner in China and had threatened to make waves with his more aggressive policy of advocating complete independence.
On policy, there is relatively little to choose between Sangay and his remaining opponent, and opinions on the streets of Dharamsala were mixed in the run-up to yesterday’s vote. Many said they would vote for Sangay. However, some who voted for him in 2011 said they had been disappointed by his performance in office.
“I will vote for Penpa Tsering, who has decades of experience serving in the Tibetan government-in-exile and in the Tibetan community. He will have more substance,” said Lhadon, a 55-year-old woman.
Both Sangay and Tsering voted, while Atsok cast an “empty vote” to express dissatisfaction over the election commission’s move to bar his candidacy.
The results of the election are expected on April 27.
Tsering was born in India and has served in the Tibetan parliament-in-exile based in Dharamsala for 10 years, where he is currently the speaker.
Whoever prevails can expect to remain in the shadow of the Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who remains the most potent rallying point for Tibetans, both in exile and in their homeland.
The Himalayan hill town has been home to him and thousands of Tibetan refugees since he fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.
Despite the Dalai Lama’s status, many exiles said it was important to vote.
“The election is really important. It is a basic right of a citizen to vote and we take this opportunity as a blessing,” said Sonam, a 22-year-old Tibetan student in Nepal.
She said she hopes the Nepal government would allow voting to go ahead after authorities confiscated ballot boxes in 2011, apparently under pressure from China.
China has widely been seen as waiting for the Dalai Lama’s death, believing that the movement for Tibetan rights would not survive without its charismatic and world-famous leader.
The globe-trotting Buddhist monk raised concern among his millions of followers last year when he scrapped a tour of the US for health reasons.
Asked about the election, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lu Kang (陸慷) said Beijing had never recognized the government-in-exile and hopes other nations “will not provide any stage for Tibetan separatist activities.”
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
SECOND SPEECH: All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist the CCP, despite their differences, the president said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday discussed how pro-Taiwan and pro-Republic of China (ROC) groups can agree to maintain solidarity on the issue of protecting Taiwan and resisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The talk, delivered last night at Taoyuan’s Hakka Youth Association, was the second in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. Citing Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui’s (蔣渭水) slogan that solidarity brings strength, Lai said it was a call for political parties to find consensus amid disagreements on behalf of bettering the nation. All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist
By refusing to agree spending increases to appease US President Donald Trump, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez threatened to derail a summit that NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte needs to run smoothly for the sake of the military alliance’s future survival. Ahead of yesterday’s gathering in The Hague, Netherlands, things were going off the rails. European officials have expressed irritation at the spoiler role that Sanchez is playing when their No. 1 task is to line up behind a pledge to raise defense spending to 5 percent of GDP. Rutte needed to keep Spain in line while preventing others such as Slovakia
RSS