As of next month, China is going to begin regulating “the procedures by which one is to reincarnate“.
As the article states, it’s really simply so they can gain more control over the selection of the next Dalai Lama. Of course, that’s if the current Dalai Lama chooses to reincarnate at all. He has already said he would not reincarnate in Tibet (or any Chinese-controlled land), and has expressed thoughts that the work of the Dalai Lamas may complete, thus no further need to return.
The article also mentions the possibility of having two concurrent Dalai Lamas; which would be an interesting repetition of Christian history during periods when more than one Pope claimed authority. Let’s hope that if there’s two Dalai Lamas, they’ll treat each other with a higher degree of civility and morality than the Popes did.