some news is too weird to make up

[quesarah]

From the Ridiculous and Grasping Desk, I bring you the following actual news story:

China is Attempting to Regulate Reincarnation.

Seriously?

Comments

[lahermite.livejournal.com]

you couldn't make that shit up!

[a-pawson.livejournal.com]

Well sort of. In reality all the Chinese government are doing is insisting they have the power to approve the appointments of Tibet’s two most important monks, the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama. It's a political move really, the fact they are considered to be reincarnations of "living Buddhas" is sort of irrelevant.

[i_kender]

Yeah, I heard about that... weird, huh?

[madenglishbloke.livejournal.com]

this is indeed funny stuff, if slightly scary stuff - but the best bit?
they are trying to regulate the following of religion IN OTHER COUNTRIES!
without the reincarnation being registered in advance in beijing, it is illegal to reincarnate outside of tibet china (because, as we all know, tibet is a part of china, and not a seperate country **nods**), and anyone outside of tibet china reincarnating would be doing so illegally.
teh stoopid, it burnz...

[kimberlychapman.livejournal.com]

I saw this story on someone else's LJ a few days ago and mentioned it to Corran and he said he'd heard that the whole point is so China can "find" the next Dalai Lama themselves and raise him to their specifications.

So it's really all about the politics of a powerful religious position.

[nightxade.livejournal.com]

Well..overpopulation *is* an issue..