New Data Raise Questions Over China COVID Death Toll

Questions mount after China released its 2025 death toll. Why is the number higher than during the COVID-19 pandemic, when funeral homes were already overwhelmed? Here's the story. China's real COVID death toll is under scrutiny. New data from Chinese authorities shows the country's death rate last year was just over 8 per 1,000 people. This number is higher than those during COVID pandemic years, when death rate hovered consistently over 7 per 1,000. China's death toll in 2025 is also higher than those recorded in recent years. China Affairs commentator Tang Shen Yun said the numbers don't add up. That's because there was no major cause of death in China in 2025, such as a pandemic, war, or large natural disaster. However, there were two major waves of death during the COVID years. The first wave of deaths came in late 2019. Crematoriums in China were so overwhelmed that people had to wait in line to cremate bodies. Some crematoriums even had to burn two or three bodies at the same time to speed up the process. The second wave came in late 2022. Virus infections surged after China relaxed its draconian lockdown measures. So once again, lines formed outside crematoriums across China. Tang said that if China's crematoriums were not overwhelmed in 2025, it suggests the actual death toll during the COVID years was far higher than reported.