For someone who is completely ignorant to what is going on with Taiwan / Hong Kong / China… What's the quickest way to get up to speed from a "neutral?" source?
Apple Hides Taiwan Flag in Hong Kong
381–390 of 730 posts
Re: Apple Hides Taiwan Flag in Hong Kong
#382Earlier quoted context omitted.
At least 30% of my enjoyment of Venom came from it being set in SF and me going “Hey look I know that corner!” or “Wow we’ve been to that restaurant, they totally used a different place for that shop front!” Seeing your town in a movie is incredibly rewarding. Just like a musician is basically required to shout “Hello $PLACE” at some point during a performance PS: for the downvoters, that’s what the linked article ci…
Yea, it's one of the fun things about living in New York. Me watching the first Avengers: How'd they get from Upper East to Washington Sq in like 20 seconds?
And how do the protagonists in US TV series and films always just immediately get a parking spot just in front of their destination??
Re: Apple Hides Taiwan Flag in Hong Kong
#383Earlier quoted context omitted.
I doubt Apple leadership is unbothered by the reality of censorship that some countries impose. Unfortunately China fully embraces censorship though. There is a lot of good done by giving another billion and a half people access to a non-privacy-invading mobile OS so balancing that against bowing to censorship is a tough decision. If you think you disagree, please discuss your reasons.
> There is a lot of good done by giving another billion and a half people access to a non-privacy-invading mobile OS so balancing that against bowing to censorship is a tough decision. > If you think you disagree, please discuss your reasons. Because it's not going to work that way, since that "access" actually amounts to authoritarian leverage over the ecosystem. Apple feels it needs the Chinese market more than the…
I have no inside knowledge but what I’ve heard is that Apple’s cloud generally does not hold any keys. Keys are derived from information available only on user devices including the user password, and do not leave the devices. There are exceptions for cases where required for some cloud based functionality but that would not include simple storage and retrieval.
However this may be different in China. Just saying it’s possible for the cloud to be kept in the dark in some cases and that’s what Apple supposedly does whenever they can. Yeah some weasel words there, I realize.
Re: Apple Hides Taiwan Flag in Hong Kong
#384This reminds me of the story about how the first release of Windows 95 was banned in India because 8 pixels of the map shown in the timezone selection control panel were colored in such a way that suggested parts of Kashmir were part of Pakistan. https://www.cnet.com/news/how-eight-pixels-cost-microsoft-mi... https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20030822-00/?p=42...
I wonder what would have happened if Microsoft just didn't listen to them. If they ban Windows over a petty reason like that, they're screwing over their own economy.
Microsoft employees in India would risk harsh punishments, including prison time.
Re: Apple Hides Taiwan Flag in Hong Kong
#385The degree that China goes to censor things reminds me of kindergarten. Pull the shades down, and kids won't want to go outside? Is it simply a reminder to their people of who's in charge, at this level of pettiness?
The United States doesn't officially recognize Taiwan as a country. Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations. Apple's revenue in Taiwan is peanuts compared to that of mainland China. The list goes on.
> The United States doesn't officially recognize Taiwan as a country.
That means little. The US has de-facto diplomatic relations with Taiwan, and has made official commitments to its defense against threats (which realistically could only ever come from the PRC), such as selling it arms. The weirdness and official ambiguity here are driven by the PRC's sensitivities, and do not represent any real commitment to the PRC's position.
Re: Apple Hides Taiwan Flag in Hong Kong
#386Earlier quoted context omitted.
Korea has similar regulations: https://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/one-thing-north-k... If you zoom in on South Korea you'll notice that the map tiles are raster-based instead of vector-based like the rest of the map. At certain zoom levels, South Korea looks like it has no roads or cities, compared to the much more industrious North. It's kind of hilarious.
Korea is different. South Korea actually does require mapping servers to be ran on SK soil, but it does not put requirements on the data center owner or the workforce running the services. I'm sorry if this comes off as nit-picky as it is not my intention, but comparing the mapping services requirements of China and SK are worlds apart. The intent of each policy is important to think about.
What is the intent of SK's policy?
Re: Apple Hides Taiwan Flag in Hong Kong
#387Earlier quoted context omitted.
Multinational companies conforming to local laws and customs isn't scary, it's status quo. (Most) Companies sell products and services not ideology. Sometimes prexisting ideology comes preloaded in because regionalization and cultural competence cost extra. Mostly that's an economic bug that people have conflated as a soft power feature because non-western markets were too small to advocate for themselves. It's compl…
> Multinational companies conforming to local laws and customs isn't scary, it's status quo. You are missing my point. The fact that it is status quo is the scary part. I do not accept that companies should be let off the hook for empowering and enriching oppressive reigns because of "local laws and customs". I do accept that companies should be let off the hook for destroying environments and ecosystems because of l…
Your beef seems to be companies being incentivized to maximize shareholder profit at all cost. Your solution seems to be to legislate morality and corporate conduct, which is exactly what every country including China is doing out of their respective self-interest. Unless you mean to only enforce western liberal values in which case it's an argument for subsuming companies to one nation's foreign policy goals (in Apple's case, US) - a complaint frequently levied at China. The current solution is to let the consumers decide which seems to be the least bad of all options.
Trying to tie trade to morality is exactly why Chinese influence is increasing - they are ideologically agnostic when it comes to trade relationships. That's just the new competitive environment we're in. The alternative is withdrawal and decoupling at the cost of hundreds of billions in trade and feel good points for some people at best and a long-term national security concern by pushing Chinese tech independence and future competitiveness at worst. Current administration already wasted that card IMO.
I think your real question is what does the west have to do to contain Chinese ascent which many people think runs counter to Western interests. The answer is I don't know. Though I don't think bilateral trade belligerency helps or individual action in the west. Developing countries are looking to the China model because it looks like it works - conflating the good and the bad with necessary and sufficient. I think western influence would go a long way if they managed to solve the myriad of problems at home and offer and offer an appealing alternative. Other countries aren't stupid, they're look at what works / is working. Too many things in the west is broken right now.
Re: Apple Hides Taiwan Flag in Hong Kong
#388Earlier quoted context omitted.
Even if there was (I don't know, am not a HK lawyer), you would probably have a few problems if you complained about THAT exact feature being removed. Of course, this is just speculation on my part.
'One country two systems' as agreed to by the CCP under the Sino-British Joint Declaration, prior to the handover of Hong Kong, means that the PRC is only responsible for military defence of HK. Anyone who disagrees that 'one country two systems' applies in Hong Kong is accusing the CCP of lying. Which we know the CCP would never do. Edit: anyone who has spent time on HN in the last few years and commented on the act…
People might be complaining about your use of unexpanded acronyms (CCP, PRC), or infusing a huge political stance onto a narrow legalistic question.
Re: Apple Hides Taiwan Flag in Hong Kong
#389What's the worth of this? The local law says HK is part of China, and automatically Apples has to abide to local law, which states China view Taiwan not as an independent nation. What's so surprising?!
> HK […] Taiwan Dear Chinese keyboard warrior, you seem to be mixing up a former British colony and a beleaguered sovereign nation in a single sentence. But your English is getting better I guess, so there is that.
Please don't break the site guidelines, regardless of how wrong another comment is or you feel it is.
Re: Apple Hides Taiwan Flag in Hong Kong
#390Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don’t see what the big deal is. Taiwan’s own passports say China on them.
I'm graciously assuming ignorance here. They say "Republic of China," which is the legal name of Taiwan. That is different from "People's Republic of China," which we in the west just call China.
Both “Taiwan” and “China” agree there is only one China and Taiwan is part of it, but they disagree on which government is legitimate :)