Vaccine mess; US airlines changing Taiwan designation? RMB; Where are Wang Huning & Zhao Leji?; Xi Thought; Xi in Africa

Happy Tuesday from soggy DC..

My top issues today:

• The censors are working hard to take control of the narrative around the vaccine scandal;

• Reuters is reporting that US airlines will change their website designation of Taiwan to conform with Beijing's demands;

• As the newsletter has discussed in recent issues we are in the rumor period around Beidaihe. The alleged recent "absence" of Wang Huning has sparked rumors about his fate, I have a different take, discussed in detail in item 5.

Thanks for reading, as always I appreciate tips and comments.