China’s factory activity grew for a second straight month in April, official data showed Thursday, showing resilience despite surging energy prices and shipping disruption caused by the war in the Middle East.

The manufacturing purchasing manager’s index –- a key measure of industrial activity — was 50.3 in April, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), above the 50-point mark that divides expansion and contraction.

That figure fell from 50.4 in March, but was ahead of a forecast of 50.1 in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

The world’s second-largest economy has been struggling with a slowdown in domestic demand and investment in recent years that has weighed on its vast manufacturing sector.

March’s figure was the highest in a year, with manufacturing activity contracting in 10 out of 11 months before that.

April’s statistics showed economic output had “maintained expansion” while manufacturing “continued to show a positive trend”, according to NBS statistician Huo Lihui.

There was strong demand for electrical and IT equipment, but weaker market activity for petroleum and coal processing, Huo said in a statement.

But manufacturers faced higher costs as the prices of raw materials rose significantly, particularly in the energy and chemical sectors, Huo said.

The data suggests Chinese producers remain resilient despite global economic disruption caused by the US-Israeli war with Iran that has seen energy prices surge and Tehran restrict access to the vital Strait of Hormuz.

“The PMI index shows the manufacturing sector has not been adversely affected by the conflict in the Middle East,” according to Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management.

“The monetary policy stance seems to have a marginally loosening bias, which helps to mitigate the higher energy prices,” he said in a note.

Julian Evans-Pritchard at Capital Economics added that exports and strong external demand were the main drivers.

“Soaring demand for memory chips and green tech products likely played a key role,” he said.

Despite the positive factory data, China’s non-manufacturing PMI — a gauge of activity across services and construction — slumped to 49.4 in April, down from 50.1 in March.

Business activity in the wholesale and retail sectors contracted, suggesting consumer demand remains weak.

The authority that oversaw tender applications for the renovation work at the fire-hit Wang Fuk Court had not considered the risks of illegal tendering practices, a case manager has told an inquiry into the deadly blaze.

Testifying on Thursday, Matthew Chan, a case manager for the Urban Renewal Authority (URA), said the semi-government body had not considered the risks of bid-rigging in the tendering process for the large-scale renovation at Wang Fuk Court, a government-subsidised housing estate in Tai Po.

In a typical bid-rigging scheme, a consultancy firm usually offers a low price to oversee renovation or construction work at a fraction of the market rate.

In the case of Wang Fuk Court, where the massive fire in November killed 168 people and displaced thousands of residents, Will Power Architects was chosen to oversee the renovation project after offering a HK$308,000 consultancy fee and another HK$220,000 to inspect the entire estate.

The consultancy firm then had the opportunity to “rig” the tendering process in favour of Prestige Construction & Engineering, an affiliated contractor and carried out ineffective “rubber-stamp” inspections, the independent committee investigating the cause of the fire heard last month.

Despite being aware that there was a significant range of prices submitted for the renovation contract – with deceptively cheap consultancy fees at the lower end – the URA did not intervene in the bidding procedure, Chan told Victor Dawes, the lead counsel for the committee.

‘We wouldn’t intervene’

The URA case manager said that price discrepancies were common for various reasons, such as when a newcomer in the field wanted to gain experience by offering lower prices.

Chan told Dawes that he did not analyse whether the prices were reasonable.

“We wouldn’t intervene in the decision-making process of the owners’ corporation,” Chan said.

Dawes asked Chan whether he had thought Will Power’s price seemed “suspiciously cheap.” The case manager said that it did, “in terms of the number,” but added that he did not dwell on any possible wrongdoing involved.

Chan also said that the URA had “no role” in hiring the registered inspector and consultancy firm for Wang Fuk Court’s renovation work despite the service contract stipulating that it should have done so.

When Dawes presented a 2016 Competition Commission report on the prevalence of bid-rigging in Hong Kong’s building maintenance industry, Chan said that the URA did not take such risks into account despite being aware of rampant collusive tendering.

Chan also said that the URA “would not comment on [Will Powers’] professionalism,” as the authority trusted the consultant’s experience and would want to avoid appearing biased.

He also told the hearing that the URA receives more than 10,000 tenders every year and has no ability to scrutinise every application in detail.

Chan added that the URA’s “Smart Tender” platform, which anonymises the bidding procedure and arranges third-party price estimates to provide a fairer tendering process, could not address risks “with 100 per cent certainty.”

Australia’s foreign minister said Wednesday that China has agreed to work together to facilitate exports of jet fuel, in an attempt to ease supply disruptions caused by the war in the Middle East.

The conflict and closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil transits, have caused fuel prices to soar and left many Asia-Pacific nations facing an energy crisis.

China, a major exporter of jet fuel and diesel to Australia and other countries, has avoided the worst of the war’s energy impacts thanks to its vast oil stocks, but paused exports at the start of the war to protect its domestic supplies.

“I can confirm… that the Chinese government is facilitating engagement with Australian businesses on jet fuel,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong told reporters in Beijing, following talks with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and Chinese Vice President Han Zheng.

She added that the move was “an important step, however, it is the first step”.

Earlier in the day, Wong pressed her case to Han, telling him that refineries in the Indo-Pacific region have been disproportionately affected by the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, according to an Australian foreign ministry readout.

In the talks, she called for greater reciprocity in trade, emphasizing that Australia’s steady supply of raw materials and food to China should be matched by a reliable flow of gasoline, kerosene and fertilizers back to Australia.

“I made the point that the import inputs China supplies to Australia, including jet fuel, support the Australian resources sector, which in turn helps to maintain the flow of commodities that are so important in the bilateral trading relationship,” Wong told the press conference.

China is set to resume exports in May with major state-owned companies applying for licenses to do so, the Financial Times reported Tuesday, citing industry sources.

Chinese authorities have not commented publicly on the matter.

During her talks with Chinese officials, Wong added: “We were able to speak frankly, as we do, about those areas of difference, including consular issues, human rights, foreign interference, and regional and international security.”

The Hong Kong government has introduced a string of measures to manage ecotourism hotspots in Sai Kung and Lantau Island, as a surge in visitors is expected during China’s upcoming Golden Week holiday.

The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) said in a statement on Wednesday that it would deploy drones and additional staff to patrol several hotspots – including Sharp Island and High Island Reservoir’s East Dam in Sai Kung, as well as Shui Hau on Lantau – from Friday to Tuesday.

The announcement comes two days before Labour Day, a public holiday in Hong Kong and the start of a five-day Golden Week holiday in mainland China.

“In addition, the AFCD will conduct joint patrols with the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) during the holiday to remind visitors not to litter, and the FEHD will also strengthen the cleaning of public areas on the island,” it said. “The AFCD will conduct joint sea patrols with the Marine Department and the Police to maintain order.”

The government has faced criticism over its management of ecological hotspots, especially after overtourism and visitors’ environmentally degrading behaviour during last year’s Golden Week holiday.

Jim Chu, assistant director at AFCD, said on RTHK on Wednesday that authorities expected 1,000 people to descend on Sharp Island daily during the Labour Day Golden Week – far higher than the average of 600 to 800 visitors during regular weekends and public holidays.

Sharp Island, Shui Hau

The coastal areas of Sharp Island and Shui Hau on Lantau Island are currently not designated as country parks, marine parks, or marine reserves, the AFCD said in the statement.

It also said it had installed footfall counters at the pier of Sharp Island and in Shui Hau to monitor visitor numbers and would set up booths and distribute leaflets to educate tourists about environmental protection and conservation.

“The AFCD is currently promoting environmental protection awareness among visitors through various publicity and educational efforts,” it said.

The AFCD will also cooperate with the WWF-Hong Kong to set up public education booths.

AFCD staff will “explain or advise” visitors if they display any potential behaviour that could cause ecological damage, such as damaging, disturbing, feeding, or collecting marine life, or entering the water near corals.

Greenpeace criticised the measures this week, saying they were advisory and lacked deterrence, describing them as “a toothless tiger.”

According to the NGO, the government is promoting 22 sites with high ecological value as tourist attractions, but they are not protected by Hong Kong’s environmental ordinances because they lie outside designated country parks and marine parks.

Sai Kung campsites

The AFCD also said it would step up monitoring of campsites at Ham Tin Wan, Sai Wan, and Long Ke Wan in Sai Kung East Country Park to reduce littering and maintain cleanliness.

“The AFCD will deploy additional staff day and night to patrol, be stationed, enforce regulations against violations, and use drones and CCTV systems to assist in monitoring the campsites,” it said.

Greenpeace said that Ham Tin Wan and Sai Wan campsites suffered from overcapacity and littering during the Lunar New Year holiday in February.

The government announced in March that it would introduce a campsite booking system by National Day.

Hong Kong remains at 140th place on Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) global press freedom index of 180 countries and territories, with the NGO highlighting the 20-year sentence handed down to Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai earlier this year.

The press freedom watchdog released its annual index on Thursday, ahead of World Press Freedom Day on Sunday.

Hong Kong’s position is unchanged from last year. At 140th place, between Rwanda and Syria, the city also remains in the “red zone” – meaning a “very serious” situation.

It has tumbled down press freedom indices since Beijing imposed a national security law in Hong Kong in 2020, in the wake of the pro-democracy protests and unrest that began the summer before.

In 2019, it was at 73rd place. From 2021 to 2022, it fell from 80 to 148, after independent media outlets Apple Daily, Stand News and Citizen News shuttered under authorities’ pressure.

Hong Kong has ranked higher in subsequent years, though RSF has said this was mostly due to changing situations in other places. The city’s press freedom score has fallen consistently, from 41.64 in 2022 to 39.49 this year.

RSF said in a press release that press freedom was at a “25-year low” across the world, with the average score of all countries and territories hitting a record low.

See also: Explainer: The decline of Hong Kong’s press freedom under the national security law

The US fell seven places, and other countries in the Americas, including Ecuador and Peru, also dropped.

Meanwhile, Norway ranks No. 1 for the 10th straight year, followed by the Netherlands, Estonia, Denmark and Sweden.

In Asia, Taiwan is the highest-ranked place at 28. China placed 178th, just after Iran, with North Korea and Eritrea at the bottom of the list.

‘Systemic collapse’

RSF’s Asia Pacific advocacy manager, Aleksandra Bielakowska, told HKFP on Wednesday that Hong Kong had seen a “systemic collapse” in its press freedoms.

The city ranked 18th in 2002, the first year the index was published, she said.

“Hong Kong used to be a stronghold of free press, not only regionally but globally,” Bielakowska said.

She said that in recent years, authorities have been pursuing different ways of dissuading the media from independent reporting, including denying visas to journalists or barring them from entering Hong Kong.

Reporters have also reported being followed by unknown individuals. Most recently, in April, media outlet InMedia said its journalists had received harassing text messages “in recent months” and suspected they were being stalked after work.

When the Hong Kong Journalists Association wrote to the Security Bureau about it, the bureau accused the association of making “groundless speculations” that law enforcement was following reporters.

Aleksandra said this was in line with the authorities’ trend of dismissing claims of harassment of reporters as “rumours.” She said there were “strong indications” that authorities were targeting reporters via “centralised operations.”

Declining press freedom

In a press release published on Thursday, RSF referred to the February jailing of pro-democracy media mogul Lai, the founder of now-defunct newspaper Apple Daily.

The watchdog wrote that “a draconian national security law has allowed the authorities to imprison independent publisher Jimmy Lai, who was recently sentenced to 20 years in prison.”

Lai’s sentence is the longest to be meted out under the national security law so far. He was found guilty in December of conspiring to collude with foreign forces and conspiring to publish seditious materials.

Six former Apple Daily employees were also jailed for up to 10 years, with judges saying they played “affirmative and extensive roles.”

In recent years, there have been reports of journalists being denied visas or entry to Hong Kong. The independent media sector has been targeted by tax audits, while reporters have said they believed they were being followed.

Authorities, however, have maintained that the city continues to enjoy a large degree of press freedom.

After Lai was sentenced, the government said in a statement that it condemned claims that Lai was the victim of “political prosecution.”

“The… case has nothing to do with freedom of the press at all. Over the years, the defendants were using journalism as a guise to commit acts that brought harm to our country and Hong Kong,” the government said.

Hongkongers caught carrying more than five vape pods or 100 heat sticks in public will face up to six months behind bars and a HK$50,000 fine from Thursday.

Cases involving smaller quantities will attract fines of HK$3,000.

The rules cover alternative tobacco products such as vapes, herbal cigarettes and electronic smoking products.

They are part of a government effort to tighten controls on smoking, and apply regardless of whether a person is consuming the products.

“No person may import, promote, manufacture, sell, or possess for commercial purposes alternative smoking products, including electronic smoking products, heated tobacco products and herbal cigarettes. Starting 30 April 2026, no person may possess a specified alternative smoking product in a public place,” the Department of Health’s Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office says.

The import, manufacture, sale, distribution and promotion of alternative smoking products was banned in April 2022, meaning there is no legal means to acquire them.

Obstructing the police enforcement of the new legislation, or failing to show an ID card, can lead to a fine of HK$10,000.

Not applicable to private property

The ban does not cover private premises such as homes at this stage, said Grace Wong, senior medical and health officer at the Department of Health, as reported by TVB.

From December 1 next year, cigarette packaging will be standardised with brands and product names minimised to thwart the promotional effect.

According to the Department of Health, 9.5 per cent of Hongkongers smoked in 2023 – a reduction from 23.3 per cent in 1982.

The Hong Kong government has announced it will provide diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) subsidies for public and commercial vehicles, amid higher fuel prices due to the ongoing Middle East war.

The diesel subsidy of HK$3 per litre will run for two months, from 12am on Thursday to 11.59pm on June 29, finance chief Paul Chan told reporters on Wednesday.

He said the subsidy, which will benefit public and commercial vehicles, as well as vessels that use diesel fuel, would be reflected in the listed price at petrol stations, and the government would reimburse the price difference to oil companies or distributors.

The government proposed the diesel subsidy scheme earlier in April, with an estimated expenditure of HK$1.8 billion, and the proposal was “swiftly approved” by the legislature, Chan said.

The finance minister also said the LPG subsidy of HK$0.5 per litre for taxis, minibuses and school buses would run for two months. The measure will benefit around 16,900 taxis, 3,440 minibuses and 170 school buses in the city.

Authorities plan to roll out the LPG subsidy in late May, he said, without saying exactly when.

See also: Hong Kong to see ‘shocks, volatility’ in oil supply amid Middle East war, leader John Lee says

Chan said that due to the ongoing Middle East conflict, the cap price for LPG at dedicated filling stations would rise by over HK$1 per litre – an increase of more than 28 per cent.

“Given that the majority of minibuses and taxis run on LPG, this will place significant pressure on their operations,” he said in Cantonese.

Transport minister Mabel Chan said at the Legislative Council on Wednesday that the LPG subsidy would cost the government around HK$38.4 million.

She said the expenses would be “reallocated internally” through three bureaus: the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, the Environment and Ecology Bureau, and the Transport and Logistics Bureau.

Tse Chin-wan, the environment and ecology minister, told the media at the legislature on Wednesday that the government would sign contracts with oil companies and conduct audits to prevent abuse of the subsidies.

China will ban the sale of drones in Beijing and require users to apply for permission for all flights in the capital under strict regulations that enter force on Friday.

Officials have cited public security for the new rules, which also forbid bringing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or their core components into Beijing.

E-commerce platforms will be banned from shipping UAVs to Beijing, though drone owners who have completed real-name registration of their gadgets before May 1 will be allowed to take them in and out of the capital.

Drone users in the city of 22 million will have three months after the new rules kick in to register their devices with local police stations.

Several sellers across the city had already removed drones from displays ahead of the rules change, AFP saw Tuesday. An employee at a DJI outlet in central Beijing said the gadgets were being boxed up for transport to other cities.

DJI, which is the world’s largest drone maker and has been sanctioned by the US government over security concerns, is dominant in the Chinese market but now faces being locked out of its home capital by the new rules.

The city’s airspace will be closed to all drone flights without prior approval from authorities, with fines of up to 10,000 yuan ($1,463) for illegal flights and possible confiscation of the drone.

Organisations or individuals caught selling drones or 17 core components will also face fines under the new rules.

‘One-size-fits-all’

Drone storage rules will also be tightened in the capital, with individuals allowed to keep at most three drones at a single location within Beijing’s sixth ring road.

Online, many users complained that the new rules were onerous and left them with few opportunities to fly their gadgets in Beijing.

“This is a crazy one-size-fits-all system,” one user wrote on the social media platform WeChat.

Others said they would sell their drones ahead of the new rules.

At one drone-flying school in central Beijing, staff told AFP they were worried about how they would acquire new drones or components when their stock breaks or needs maintenance.

But they hoped that educational and sports facilities like theirs would eventually receive some exemption from the rules.

The new regulations hold that exemptions may be provided for special purposes like counter-terrorism, agriculture, education and sport.

“As the capital, Beijing faces more challenges in low-altitude airspace safety, making it more urgent to strengthen the management of UAVs,” Beijing municipal official Xiong Jinghua said when the rules were announced in March.

National laws have also been tightened this year in China, with illegal drone flights now punishable by up to 15 days detention and UAVs required to provide real-time data to authorities during flights.

Hong Kong Disneyland Resort has recorded a 36 per cent drop in net profit in its latest fiscal year, although other figures, including hotel occupancy rate and guests’ per capita spending, trended upwards.

The theme park announced its results for its 2024-25 fiscal year, ending in September 2025, on Monday.

Amid rising costs, Disneyland saw a net profit of HK$536 million, down from HK$838 million in the 2023-24 fiscal year.

The park’s attendance was also down, from around 7.7 million to 7.5 million, while the hotel occupancy rate improved.

The resort has three hotels – Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel, Disney’s Hollywood Hotel and Disney Explorers Lodge. The overall occupancy rate rose from 73 per cent during the last fiscal year to 80 per cent, the park said.

Per capita spending also increased by 2 per cent, the statement said.

“Our steady performance is a testament to the resort’s resilience and timeless appeal,” Tim Sypko, managing director of Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, said in a press release on Monday.

The park is set to expand with the addition of new Pixar- and Marvel-themed experiences. The new Pixar attractions will coincide with the animation studio’s 40th anniversary and the upcoming release of Toy Story 5.

Opened in September 2005, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort had struggled to turn a profit for nearly a decade before turning the ship around in the 2023-24 fiscal year.

Before that, it had suffered nine consecutive years of losses. The park had three years of steep losses of over HK$2 billion from the 2019-20 fiscal year to the 2021-22 fiscal year amid the 2019 protests and unrest, followed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The park relies heavily on tourists. For the 2024-25 fiscal year, 64 per cent of visitors were inbound guests, while the remaining were local.

Hong Kong Disneyland Resort is currently celebrating its 20th anniversary, with festivities to continue until early June.

A domestic worker has been arrested on suspicion of child abuse after allegedly putting her employer’s two toddlers in a dog cage on two occasions.

Police said they received a report on Tuesday from the children’s mother, who alleged that the Indonesian domestic worker had put the two boys, aged two and three years, in a dog cage on two separate occasions in February.

The mother said she saw the incident on surveillance footage broadcast to her mobile phone.

The 32-year-old domestic worker was arrested at a residential estate in Tsing Yi on Tuesday on suspicion of ill-treatment or neglect by those in charge of a child or young person.

The mother also reported the case to the worker’s employment agency before deciding to file a police report.

The case has been passed to the Kwai Tsing police crime unit for further investigation.

The two toddlers did not have any visible injuries and had been discharged from hospital after treatment, according to local media reports.

The mother – a single parent who has three boys and a dog – began hiring the domestic worker in mid-2023, local media reported, citing unnamed sources.

Call for regulation

In a statement emailed to the media on Wednesday, lawmaker Elaine Chik expressed concern about the case and called for strengthened early warning and prevention measures to combat child abuse.

She urged employers to prioritise hiring domestic workers with first aid training, nursing, or child psychology backgrounds, adding that hiring agencies should advise workers on managing stress when caring for infants.

Chik, a member of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), also called on authorities to implement mandatory training on Hong Kong child protection laws and to look into establishing a regulatory authority to oversee standards for domestic workers.

The lawmaker also said she would bring up the incident at the Legislative Council and ask the government to provide follow-up measures for child abuse cases.

The United States led a group of regional countries in calling China’s actions during a dispute over the Panama Canal a “threat,” prompting backlash from Beijing on Wednesday.

Washington and Beijing accuse each other of seeking to control the Panama Canal, a vital trade link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Panama took control of two of the canal’s ports previously operated by a Hong Kong-based conglomerate following a decision by the Panamanian Supreme Court in January.

Since then, Washington has alleged China detained two Panama-flagged ships in response to the takeover, while China has threatened Panama with payback and rejected the US claims.

The United States led countries including Bolivia, Costa Rica, Guyana, Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday in calling China’s actions “a blatant attempt to politicize maritime trade and infringe on the sovereignty of the nations of our hemisphere”.

“Panama is a pillar of our maritime trading system, and as such must remain free from any undue external pressure,” the US State Department said in the joint statement.

“Any attempts to undermine Panama’s sovereignty are a threat to us all.”

China’s foreign ministry slammed the statement as a “smear” on Wednesday.

“It is the United States that is politicizing and over-securitizing the port issue,” ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a news briefing.

“It is the United States that is hypocritically posturing and spreading rumors and smears everywhere.”

Trump returned to office last year vowing to seize back US control of the Panama Canal, which was handed over in a deal reached by former president Jimmy Carter, who vowed that the US would respect its sovereignty.

After Panama’s moves against the Hong Kong-based company, Trump declared victory and the canal issue largely disappeared as a point of contention between the countries.

In a national security strategy last year, the Trump administration vowed aggressively to promote US interests in Latin America against outside powers led by China.

A government official has said authorities will “look into” the situation after a resident at the fire-hit Wang Fuk Court found rubbish and other items that did not belong to his flat when he retrieved his belongings.

The resident of Wang Cheong House, the first block hit by the blaze, told reporters on Tuesday that he found items such as cigarette butts, face masks, and drink packets that he believed were left behind by construction workers who had entered his unit.

He also found other items that did not belong to his flat, which he believed were his neighbours’, local media reported.

“When our neighbours come up looking for their things, will they know that their belongings have been placed in my flat?” said the resident.

Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk said at a press conference on Tuesday: “Regarding the situation where it appears people had discarded items in the flats, I will have to look into that.”

Tuesday marked the ninth day of Wang Fuk Court residents returning to their units to retrieve their belongings.

On that day, residents of Wang Cheong House, which sustained the most fire damage, and Wang Tao House were allowed to return to their homes in batches.

The blaze broke out in November last year and engulfed seven of the Tai Po housing estate’s eight blocks, killing 168 people and displacing thousands.

‘Easy to say’

On Tuesday, resident Ma Chung-kui, who plays the zheng, salvaged his collection of the traditional Chinese musical instrument from his flat at Wang Tao House.

He said he hoped to return to his flat again, as the three-hour time slot was only enough for him to retrieve a third of the instruments.

“How could I let go? That’s crazy. It’s easy to say, but not to do,” he said, referring to Cheuk’s earlier remarks advising residents to be mentally prepared to “let go” of some of their belongings and prioritise things with sentimental value.

Another family, who returned to Wang Cheong House, laid down flowers to mourn their parents, who died in the fire.

At the same Tuesday press conference, housing chief Winnie Ho also addressed concerns about why residents were not allowed to take the lift to their flats. She said that the water used to combat the blaze might have rusted the metal components of the lifts.

“We take residents’ safety very seriously. We understand that residents wish to take the lifts to make it easier for them to get in and out, but safety must be our top priority,” Ho said.