SICK MAN OF ____________ is a standard term used to describe a regime or government that is so weak, it can't get its act together and is in danger of being toppled or collapsing. Here are some examples....
It’s a historical term going back over a hundred years. It’s a variation on sick man of Europe, which predates sick man of Asia.
The Chinese Communists used the term themselves in their revolutionary propaganda. Even today Xi Jinping uses the term to brag how the Chinese Communist Party turned China from being the sick man of Asia into a global superpower.
That’s why the ChiComs are so touchy about the term.