A Voice for Freedom

I thought this was a joke when I first heard about it, but apparently not. In what has to be the most ludicrous totalitarian act in history, China has officially banned Tibetan Buddhists from reincarnating without government permission. The Chinese government calls it "an important move to institutionalize management of reincarnation".

It appears that China is attempting to stop the exiled Dalai Lama from reincarnating in Tibet. As the Dalai Lama refuses to be reborn in Tibet so long as it's under Chinese occupation, however, this seems to be rather pointless.

Oh, and also, there is the small matter of it being totally insane!!

There are two options when it comes to reincarnation: either it's real or it isn't. If it isn't real, this is all totally cuckoo. And if it is, then I think it's quite unlikely the Chinese government can actually control the ingress and egress of departed souls through its borders. How are they going to enforce this law? Maybe they'll post a sign at every port of entry: "ATTENTION: If you are a spirit seeking reincarnation, you MUST have a Rebirth Visa (form #38905-B). Violators will be warded off with sage."