Did something happen to make it stop communicating in March 2016?

Is there any relevance to that date or is it just bullshit?

"It stayed in orbit—but in March 2016, it stopped communicating with Chinese space authorities. Over time, its orbit naturally began “decaying”. Imagine whirling a stone tied to the end of a string, and then you slow down and eventually stop whirling. You’ll see the stone slow too, and it makes a couple of final circles, and then it will fall."

https:// www.livemint.com/Science/VfhzkgnYuD5zbs5uSkLcGM/The-final-plunge-of-a-Heavenly-Palace.html