Reopening toll; Hong Kong; US-China-Japan; Liu Jianchao on Party diplomacy

The last week before the Lunar New Year/Spring Festival should be fairly quiet. Tomorrow will see the release of GDP data and possibly official admission that the population declined in 2022. Later this week Xi should make his annual pre-Spring festival inspection tour. Outgoing Vice Premier Liu He is leading the PRC delegation to Davos, so expect to hear lots about how the PRC is reopening and getting back to business.

Summary of today’s top items:

1. Reopening toll - The government announced that since December 8th 59,938 people have died in hospitals from COVID-19 or a combination of the infection and preexisting conditions. That number likely dramatically understates to full death toll since the chaotic reopening, as it does not include people who died at home or in places like retirement homes.

2. Zheng Yanxiong is the new head of the Hong Kong Liaison Office - Zheng, with a security background, said the “liaison office cherishes the presence of order, and is eagerly looking forward to …