Red Death spreads

Red Death - second of the great plagues of the Days of Fire - spreads throughout China.

Right after a number of border clashes between Russian Federation and People's Republic of China a new pandemic starts in China. Red Death is believed to be an artificial form of ebola virus, made to be much more resistant to environmental conditions, transmit via droplets and explicitly tailored to target humans possessing a number of genetic markers typically associated with people of Chinese descent. The virus is believed to be made and unleashed by Russians in a desperate (and insane) bid to curb the growing power of China. The end result is 78 millions of victims during the first outbreak alone. The virus resurges four additional times during the next two decades, with its final death toll estimated at around 200 millions.   The side-effect of the Red Death include the utter collapse of the Pax Sinica in the Far East (by the end of the first outbreak), the Chinese economy (second outbreak) and the Chinese state (third outbreak). Fourth outbreak was essentially tantamount to kicking an already dead person for no reason. People's Republic of China ceases to exist. What replaces it is sometimes compared to the Warring States Period. Tibet and Sinciang go independent. Mongolia swallows Outer Mongolia after forcing the Chinese settlers (at least those who remained alive after the fourth outbreak decimated the area) to flee. Taiwan takes over the PRC position as 'Chinese state recognized worldwide' and seizes a number of territories in the continental China. Hong Kong becomes an officially free city (and aligns politically with Republic of China).   The rest of China is turned into perpetually shifting collection of territories controlled by a variety of warlords, with the only mostly stable area being the one controlled by the so-called Henan Government (centered in the Henan province), mostly due to said government being controlled in an increasingly high degree by Christians and Buddhists, surging in numbers (which gives them some level of international support).