WELL, GOOD: The Dalai Lama announces plans for a successor, signaling China won’t have a say.

It is unclear when the search for his successor will start, though the process can take several years. The Dalai Lama has only said it would be “in accordance with tradition.”

The Tibetan spiritual leader had previously speculated that his successor might be an adult, could be an “attractive” woman, or there might not be one at all. In his recently released book Voice for the Voiceless, he said that the new Dalai Lama will be born “in the free world” and outside of China.

“Free Tibet” seems to have disappeared from the Left’s concerns in recent years.