I applaud him for wanting to keep the system intact and reduce the chaos that his death would bring, but I was understanding that the next Dalai Lama was through to be the reincarnation of the current one, going down the line for centuries.

If you select a living one now, it shatters that myth, doesn't it?

That is the usual tradition; however, this Dalai Lama has expressed that he likely will not choose to be reincarnated. So, his successor would not be him, in essence. He would have to choose a physical replacement now.

Peculiar situation in fact ! I may agree that, in Dalaï Lama's mind, the continuity of a principle is more important than the continuity of a form. As the form of succession, here, is politically compromised, the principle : compassion, "embodied" in some sort of subtle aggregate named Avalokiteshvara, may be transmitted in another form than classic re-incarnation. I think that buddhism as a form is supple enough to allow this kind of gymnastic, as long as the principle - the continuity of Avalokiteshvara's representativity on physical earth - is respected. Anyway, i'll certainly take a look on the exact terms of this re-definition.