OPINION
Tenzin Nordon* believes would-be candidate Tashi Lamsang has what it takes to represent the Tibetan people in North-South Americas at the 18th Tibetan Parliament in Exile, come the 2026 elections.
I came to the United States from India as a teenager – young, unsure, and still learning how to carry the weight of exile in a new country. Like many young Tibetans in exile, I grew up balancing gratitude for the community and a deep sense of responsibility to the cause.
Throughout my life, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been the moral center of my life. In moments of uncertainty, I look to his teachings for clarity. In the moments of anger or grief, I return to his message of compassion and nonviolence. My devotion to Kundun has never wavered. And it is precisely because of this devotion that I believe it is necessary to speak honestly about our political future.
Now in my early thirties, I look back and see how much I’ve grown, not just in age but in bearing responsibility to the cause of Tibet. That growth did not happen on its own. It happened because leaders in our community chose to guide rather than control, to trust rather than silence, and to lift younger voices instead of speaking over them.
That is why my support for Tashi Lamsang la, candidate for North-South America Chithue in the 2026 Tibetan election, is deeply personal.
Lamsang la’s journey is one of courage, devotion, and sacrifice. Born in Tibet, he came to India as a young man to study and to seek blessings from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, about whom he had heard so much in his childhood in Tibet. After completing his studies, he was to return home to Tibet to reunite with his family, but that did not happen. Due to the political unrest in Tibet in 2008, Lamsang believed that it was his responsibility to stay behind and dedicate himself to the ongoing protest waves that shook the Tibetan world both inside and outside Tibet. The year the Beijing Olympics happened witnessed the biggest spread of protests by Tibetans everywhere in the world.
For two years, I had the honor of serving the 17th RTYC NYNJ alongside Tashi Lamsang, who was the President at the time. During that time, I truly understood what true leadership rooted in service looks like.
He did not command; he guided.
He did not seek the spotlight; he created it for others.
Lamsang la guided our entire team with patience, clarity, and discipline, and under his leadership, we completed our term with unity and purpose and achieved great success. What stood out to me the most was how he intentionally created space for younger members like myself and my colleagues to step forward – not as assistants, but as leaders.
He trusted us with responsibility. He encouraged us to grow.
We were given opportunities to lead conferences, organize major initiatives, and speak in front of thousands of Tibetans during the March 10 Uprising protests, whether outside the United Nations or the Chinese Consulate. He never used those moments to center himself. Instead, he stood beside us, ensuring we were prepared, supported, and confident.
Lamsang not only talks about empowering youth but also practices it. That is what it means to walk the talk.
He has dedicated 16 years of his life to serving the Tibetan cause – often without recognition or personal benefits. He made us believe that the true blessings of community work is the experience and the deep sense of satisfaction. Whether we had seen failures or public criticism on certain events, he maintained his consistency with a half smile. His record speaks not just to experience, but to commitment across generations and continents.
He is the only North-South America Chithue candidate who has taken the time to visit Tibetan settlements, sweater-seller markets, and colleges in India, Nepal, and Bhutan, while also engaging deeply with Tibetan communities across North America. Everywhere he goes, he listens – with respect to elders who carried exile on their backs and to young people searching for their place in it.
At a more personal level, he keeps a deep and unflinching faith in the spiritual and political leadership and the ultimate cause of Tibet. His faith, he told me, is his inspiration and joy in life, and that’s what keeps him going.
Though he personally believes in Rangzen – the goal of independence for Tibet – he has always been clear and disciplined in respecting the Middle Way Approach as the official policy of the CTA. He has always understood that personal belief must never undermine collective unity. He honors the vision underlying it not only through words but through restraint, respect, and responsibility.
This balance is rare. And it is necessary.
Whether through co-founding the Yarlung Center in New York to preserve Tibetan language and culture, organizing global Future of Tibetan conferences, or building alliances with other communities oppressed by the CCP, his work is always grounded in one purpose: protecting Tibetan identity, dignity, and hope.
He had participated in the lobby process led by Tibetan leadership in Washington D.C. He knows many senators and congressmen, some of whom even know him by his service records.
Campaigning and lobbying for Tibet in Washington D.C. or touring the Tibetan communities in North and South America, Lamsang is making an unprecedented commitment of time, resources, and human efforts. This is a part of the election manifesto that Lamsang is offering.
The upcoming 2026 election is not just about a seat in the Tibetan Parliament. It is about the tone we set for the future of Tibetan politics. As a young Tibetan shaped by exile, guided by His Holiness, and deeply invested in our community’s future, I do not take this endorsement lightly. I offer mine because I’ve worked alongside Lamsang, learned from him, and witnessed his leadership firsthand.
For Lamsang, running for the parliament seat is to continue the responsibility he has carried for most of his life to the next level, not for a title.
Being born and raised in Tibet, and his family still under Chinese occupation in Tibet, he deeply understands the true situation inside Tibet.
At a time when our community needs unity and leaders we can trust across generations, I believe Tashi Lamsang la can deliver on that promise. Lamsang is the bridge between the older generation whose sentiment and wisdom he inherits, and the younger generation he has actively mentored through years of activism.
With deep respect for our elders, faith in our youth, and hope for Tibet’s future, I believe he is the right choice for the 2026 North-South America Member of Parliament.
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* Tenzin Nordon is an analyst at a fashion company based in New York City’s Garment District. She previously served during the 17th term of RTYC NYNJ and has interned briefly with the Office of Tibet in both New York and Washington, D.C.