China notified the UN last year, and has kept them updated as required.
Here's one such notification: http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/oosadoc/data/documents/2017/aa...
Here's one such notification: http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/oosadoc/data/documents/2017/aa...
What they haven't said is "the reason it's going to deorbit at an unspecified time instead of an exact time is because we've lost control so we can't do a controlled reentry burn to have it splash harmlessly in the Pacific. So if it puts a few redhot hunks of ceramic through an apartment building there's nothing we can do. Sorry."
Everyone knows they've lost control, and it's not the first time a country has lost control of a satellite. But maybe they get some legal benefit out of not admitting the loss of control. Because otherwise they should confess, it's not like this is the first time a country has lost control of a satellite.