Public obituaries of famous professors and scientists make it difficult for Beijing to hide the Covid-19 death toll. China ratchets up influence operations against Taiwan in the new year while the semiconductors industry is stuck in Beijing’s neck like a wooden log. The Taliban has signed an oil deal with China worth $540 million. Chinascope looks at news from China – and the world – as the Chinese mainland, Taiwan, and Hong Kong prepare to head into the Chinese New Year. China over the week Data manipulation in the age of rapid information flows can be tricky, even for the…