A Stitch in Haste

Posted without much comment:

In one of history's more absurd acts of totalitarianism, China has banned Buddhist monks in Tibet from reincarnating without government permission. According to a statement issued by the State Administration for Religious Affairs, the law, which goes into effect next month and strictly stipulates the procedures by which one is to reincarnate, is "an important move to institutionalize management of reincarnation."
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[T]he situation is shaping up in which there could be two Dalai Lamas: one picked by the Chinese government, the other by Buddhist monks.

China has long been thumbing its nose at the Vatican and oppressing its Catholic population by appointing its own "official bishops." So to veteran China critics, this is hardly a surprising development.