HONG KONG/BEIJING — A handful of major Chinese companies like home appliance maker Midea have new badges of honor this year: mandatory clock-off times for staff and bans on after-hours meetings.

Staff at Midea once toiled till late in the evening, but now they’re told to leave by 6:20 p.m. The company’s page on social media app WeChat even shows a photo of people listening to a band with a caption that reads: “What do you do after work? It’s after work when life really starts.”

In China, this counts as radical corporate messaging, a sharp contrast to “996” or the practice of working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. six days a week — famously called a “huge blessing” by Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma and an integral part of its tech sector for much of the past 15 years.

Other companies have also made changes, even if not quite as dramatic. At fellow appliance maker Haier, employees have celebrated on social media the introduction of a five-day work week. Workers at DJI, the world’s largest drone manufacturer, have posted about their joy at a new policy declaring offices must be vacated by 9 p.m.

“No more worrying about missing the last metro, no more worrying about waking up the wife when I get home,” wrote one DJI worker who said he often used to work past midnight.

Haier and DJI did not respond to requests for comment.

In another sign of how the zeitgeist for China, Inc. is slowly changing, a Beijing law firm was fined in March for not taking corrective measures after it illegally extended staff working hours — a rare imposition of a penalty by authorities that drew widespread praise on social media.

But whether these nascent corporate efforts will turn into winds of change remains to be seen.

Analysts say the mandatory clock-offs seem to have been prompted by changes to European Union (EU) labor laws rather than a welling up of social pressure within China. And while “996” was deemed illegal by China’s top court in 2021, many people in tech and finance still work extraordinary long hours. Recent years have even seen the emergence of a new term “007”, referring to being either at work or on call all day every day.

Significantly, however, China’s government is calling for companies to abide by the country’s 44-hour weekly work limit.

A State Council action plan to boost consumer spending unveiled in March said workers’ rights to rest and vacation should be guaranteed, and paid leave should be encouraged. State media have also run articles making those points.

That fits with Chinese policymakers’ desire to see the world’s second-largest economy driven more by consumption and less reliant on exports — a goal that has only taken on more urgency with the imposition of additional hefty US tariffs under President Donald Trump.

Shujin Chen, China economist at Jefferies, says that while the government is earnest about promoting change, it won’t be easy given how the country’s sputtering economic growth and lack of jobs have fed financial insecurity.

“They want people to like relax more, have more holidays and consume more,” she said. “If you don’t have enough income, and if you hardly keep your job, it’s very hard for people to do that.”

A LONG WEEK
China has a long average working week — at 46.1 hours in 2024, according to the International Labour Organization. That compares with 38.6 hours in South Korea, 38 hours in the United States and 36.6 hours in Japan.

Chinese government data puts the number even higher at 49.1 hours in January, up from 46.2 in April 2022, the earliest date for which data is publicly available. The sharp increase can be explained by rising job insecurity, spurring people’s willingness to do more overtime.

Before this year, there had been some, albeit rare, pushback within China against excessive working hours.

Tech workers launched online protests against “996” in 2019 and 2021. And last year, a PR executive at search engine giant Baidu was made to apologize after demanding employees have their phones on 24 hours a day and be always ready to respond.

One tech behemoth, social media and gaming firm Tencent, has also cut way back on overtime in at least some of its units, meaning many workers no longer stay back, two employees said. Tencent did not reply to a request for comment.

This year’s shift to mandatory clock-off times by some companies stems from the EU’s adoption of new rules in December, said Liu Xingliang, a Beijing-based independent industry analyst. The rules ban the sale of products made with forced labor, a definition that encompasses excessive overtime.

“These big companies fear losing overseas orders due to violations,” said Liu, noting that while manufacturers of goods were feeling pressure from this law, China’s internet and software firms are less likely to be impacted.

Midea formalized its new rules which ban “performative overtime” in January and employee feedback has “definitely been very positive,” Zhao Lei, vice-president of the company’s home air conditioning division, said in a statement.

“We want to focus on generating innovation and creating value within the eight-hour work day, rather than after,” he said.

Not all employees are completely convinced, however.

“I am not sure the changes are sustainable,” said one employee who declined to be identified for fear of repercussions.

The employee said he was typically on call 24 hours a day and has previously been pulled into meetings even when on vacation. — Reuters

DETROIT — Western intelligence agencies warned on Tuesday of an increasing threat from Beijing’s security services to use malicious mobile phone applications to surveil Taiwanese independence activists, Tibetan rights advocates and others opposed by the Chinese government.

An advisory issued late on Tuesday warned of “the growing threat” posed by malicious surveillance software deployed by a Chengdu-based contractor reported to have ties to China’s Ministry of Public Security. The advisory was signed by cybersecurity agencies in Britain, the US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Germany.

Those most at risk include people connected to Taiwanese independence, Tibetan rights, Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, democracy advocates (including in Hong Kong) and the Falun Gong spiritual movement, according to Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)  in the advisory.

The warning comes amid increasing tensions surrounding Taiwan, including April 1 Chinese military drills around the island and a March 28 visit to the Philippines by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in which he reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to deterring Chinese aggression in the region.

The Chengdu-based contractor, Sichuan Dianke Network Security Technology Co., Ltd., was linked to the deployment of a pair of distinct malware packages. They were tracked as “BADBAZAAR” and “MOONSHINE” and used to ferret sensitive information from mobile devices while also giving operators remote access to devices’ cameras, microphones and location data, the advisory said.

The warning is for non-governmental organizations, journalists, businesses and other individuals who advocate for or represent the groups, the NCSC said in the advisory.

“The indiscriminate way this spyware is spread online also means there is a risk that infections could spread beyond intended victims,” it said.

Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, told Reuters that China “firmly opposes the smear attacks against China without any factual basis,” and that the tracing of cyberattacks is complex. “We hope that relevant parties will adopt a professional and responsible attitude when characterizing cyber incidents, basing their conclusions on sufficient evidence rather than unfounded speculation and accusations.”

The warnings build on previous cybersecurity industry reporting that detailed malware and infrastructure have been used by the contractor going back several years.

The advisory cited a Jan. 29 report published by Intelligence Online, a news organization focused on international intelligence operations, linking the malware to the contractor. The report said the contractor has provided services to China’s Ministry of Public Security.

The FBI, NSA and intelligence agencies in Australia, Canada, Germany and New Zealand participated in the advisories, according to the NCSC.

The FBI declined to comment and the NSA did not respond to requests for comment. — Reuters

WASHINGTON — A US judge on Tuesday ordered President Donald Trump’s White House to lift access restrictions imposed on the Associated Press (AP) over the news agency’s decision to continue to refer to the Gulf of Mexico in its coverage.

US District Judge Trevor McFadden, who was appointed by Mr. Trump during his first term, ruled the White House must allow AP journalists access to the Oval Office, Air Force One and events held at the White House while the AP’s lawsuit moves forward.

The White House began limiting AP’s access to several events that featured Mr. Trump after the news agency said it would continue using the name Gulf of Mexico while acknowledging Mr. Trump’s order to change the name of the body of water to the Gulf of America.

“The Court simply holds that under the First Amendment, if the Government opens its doors to some journalists — be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere — it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints,” Mr. McFadden wrote in his ruling.

Mr. McFadden said his ruling will not go into effect until Sunday to give the Trump administration time to appeal his decision. The judge is expected to issue a final ruling in coming months; that ruling could also be subject to appeal.

“Today’s ruling affirms the fundamental right of the press and public to speak freely without government retaliation,” AP spokesperson Lauren Easton said in a statement.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The AP says in its stylebook that the Gulf of Mexico has carried that name for more than 400 years and, as a global news agency, the AP will refer to it by its original name while acknowledging the new name Mr. Trump has chosen.

The AP sued three senior Trump aides in February, alleging the restrictions were an attempt to coerce the press into using the administration’s preferred language. The lawsuit alleged the restrictions violated protections under the US Constitution for free speech and due process, since the AP was unable to challenge the ban.

Lawyers for the Trump administration have argued that the AP does not have a right to what the White House has called special access to the president.

Two AP journalists, Zeke Miller, the agency’s chief White House correspondent, and Evan Vucci, its chief Washington photographer, told the court at a March 27 hearing that the restrictions had hampered the AP’s ability to cover Mr. Trump.

“We’re basically dead in the water on major stories,” testified Mr. Vucci, who had taken a now-iconic photograph of Mr. Trump pumping his fist after a 2024 assassination attempt.

Mr. Miller said he had noticed a “softening of the tone and tenor of the questions that some reporters are asking of the president.”

Brian Hudak, a Justice department lawyer representing the Trump officials, disputed during the hearing that the AP had been entirely shut out.

Mr. Hudak said the White House had the authority to keep AP journalists from the president’s personal and work spaces and accused the agency, in its editorial choices, of “refusing to adhere to what the president believes is the law of the United States.”

AP journalists were barred from the group of White House reporters, known as the “press pool,” that covers events in the Oval Office and travels with the president.

The White House in February took charge of deciding which media outlets are part of the press pool. Reuters, which has issued a statement in support of the AP, has historically been a permanent member of the pool and now has a rotating spot for wire services.

The AP has also been blocked from attending larger events in the White House that were open to other reporters with White House press credentials, according to the news agency’s complaint.

The AP, formed in 1846, says on its website that it operates from nearly 250 locations in nearly 100 countries. Its journalists provide news to customers worldwide in text, photos, graphics and video.

The restrictions prevent the AP’s journalists from seeing and hearing Mr. Trump and other top White House officials as they take newsworthy actions or respond in real time to news events.

The move has been criticized by several press freedom groups and the White House Correspondents’ Association.

Most news organizations, including Reuters, call it the Gulf of Mexico and where relevant include the context about Mr. Trump’s executive order. — Reuters