It seems you need the state’s stamp of approval to do anything, including reincarnate:
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.” But beyond the irony lies China’s true motive: to cut off the influence of the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled spiritual and political leader, and to quell the region’s Buddhist religious establishment more than 50 years after China invaded the small Himalayan country.
I’m not sure what China is thinking with this one. They want to reduce the influence of the Dalai Lama but I’m guessing Buddism doesn’t stipulate that the state must give one permission before they can reincarnate.
Honestly this ruling is just weird, I wonder if the politicians stopped to consider how this law would be enforced before passing it.