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China attacks Apple for allowing Hong Kong crowdsourced police activity app

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Re: China attacks Apple for allowing Hong Kong crowdsourced police activity app

#191

Post by K0SM0S »

superkuh wrote: post #171

Here we see the true form of the word "toxic" as it is applied in modern discourse. >“Providing a gateway for ‘toxic apps’ is hurting the feelings of the Chinese people, twisting the facts of Hong Kong affairs, and against the views and principles of the Chinese people,” It's a way to say something is bad without saying anything about it.

The term in the context of propaganda is as clear as it gets though, if you mean to say "infecting or enabling otherwise 'sane' people with 'undesirable' ideas and behaviors".

Toxic is subtext that directly speaks to people (Chinese) wondering "what should I do?" => don't use it, don't even approach it or look at it (it's toxic).

It's idiomatic and quite explicit, in subtext, in this context (Chinese gov stuff).

Re: China attacks Apple for allowing Hong Kong crowdsourced police activity app

#192

Post by the_resistence »

throw0101a wrote: post #97
Scramblejams wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I doubt it. This is just, like, my opinion, man, but I think the Chinese would walk away from any company in the world in an instant if it suits their security needs. If their economic ministry is doing its job then they will have detailed contingency plans to address the loss of any of their major foreign benefactors, and if required those jobs can be replaced with state handouts, at least until the crisis passes. I…

> If I were Tim Cook I'd be real worried about being shut out of my own supply chain right about now. You're not wrong, but if people see that China is willing to shutdown someone as big as Apple, then they'll know that everyone else (who is probably smaller) stand no chance at all. People may start re-evaluating the (economic / supply-chain) risks they're will to take at that point.

they already are, trust me

Re: China attacks Apple for allowing Hong Kong crowdsourced police activity app

#193

Post by MR4D »

Scramblejams wrote: post #77
Despegar wrote: post #5

Apple will most likely be fine because it's unlike any other western company operating in China in that it employs a lot of people assembling their products. It's not in the CCP's interest for people to boycott Apple in a nationalist fervor only for unemployment to rise, which would be an existential threat to the CCP if they lost control of.

I doubt it. This is just, like, my opinion, man, but I think the Chinese would walk away from any company in the world in an instant if it suits their security needs. If their economic ministry is doing its job then they will have detailed contingency plans to address the loss of any of their major foreign benefactors, and if required those jobs can be replaced with state handouts, at least until the crisis passes. I…

Unlikely. Messing with Apple means the potential (probable?) loss of what, 1/2 million jobs?

The Chinese value stability, and that big of a dislocation would have a negative impact on their stability.

I’m sure they can pressure them, but extreme measures would be reserved for cases where a company has crossed a line that cannot be in-crossed.

Re: China attacks Apple for allowing Hong Kong crowdsourced police activity app

#194

Post by hu3 »

mikenew wrote: post #189
0xffff2 wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The trouble is that if you provide a mechanism to side-load, people will be convinced to use it without understanding the risks they are taking. See also the recent issues with MDM. In that sense, it kind of is either/or for the average user.

Is side-loading really that common for an Android user? It hardly seems widespread. Certainly not for your average, tech-illiterate consumer.

n=1

From all the android users who I have some level of intimacy, the only one sideloading an android app is my brother who uses a gps spoofer to teleport his Pokemon Go character around the world without leaving the confort of his chair. He's a dev and poweruser who knows what he's doing.

All the other dozens of users only have apps from Google's app store.

Re: China attacks Apple for allowing Hong Kong crowdsourced police activity app

#196

Post by atr_gz »

kwizzt wrote: post #174
kelnos wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're of course entitled to your opinion on the HK protests, but I don't think that's what people are looking for. You're just one random person on the internet. What I think we're interested in is figuring out what public sentiment actually is, and what's causing it. For example, is it that most Chinese people are genuinely, organically outraged? Or is it a small, vocal minority that is being amplified by state med…

I appreciate your level-headed response. To address your first point: are most people genuinely outraged? That I do not know tbh. I can only represent my own opinion. However, I have Chinese friends that have voices their discontent with the NBA and Hong Kong situation. That's all I can tell. For me personally, I'm against Hong Kong protest, but again, it's my own opinion. About the news reports in China, ofc they ar…

But people in China can't really cross check things with sources that aren't controlled by their government. I've been in China for the entire duration of the Hong Kong protests, and unfortunately I often have to watch CCTV news at night.

They didn't even cover the protests for something like two weeks. They waited until they had some negative things to cover and their talking points all sorted out, then started hammering away about how violent the protestors were and how they were all that way because of foreign influence. It was truly absurd.

The Overton [1] window in China and amongst Chinese people is therefore very far from the truth. Combine that with social pressure, and poor reporting by Western sources, even overseas Chinese people have trouble understanding other opinions on the matter.

I don't agree about your different form of censorship idea. It's completely different to have the majority of people disagree with or ignore your opinion than to have top-down censorship of different ideas. I can easily find Chinese opinions on social media and educate myself about your beliefs. Not so easy in China. To me it just shows weakness - if the government of China can't trust their people to make up their own mind, what does that say about their arguments?

I haven't tried to bring up the Hong Kong protests with many friends here in China, just because I'm afraid of losing their friendships. How must it feel for Chinese people who have sympathy for them?

As far as the NBA, some friends have actually broached the topic with me. They tend to be upper-middle class, educated types, and while they might disagree with what that one guy said (and apologized for), they aren't angry at the NBA, and they feel the government response is ridiculous and counter-productive.

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overton_window

Re: China attacks Apple for allowing Hong Kong crowdsourced police activity app

#198

Post by vermontdevil »

dkonofalski wrote: post #48
vermontdevil wrote: post #36

Apple is going to cave. And it’ll set a worse precedent because other governments are going to demand backdoors etc.

If Apple didn't cave to the US government, what makes you think they're going to cave to China?

They just removed tbe app. They caved. Shocked now?

Re: China attacks Apple for allowing Hong Kong crowdsourced police activity app

#199

Post by strken »

scarface74 wrote: post #122
strken wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This might be broadly true in the US, where iPhones are a status symbol and where they achieved market dominance early, but it's not true globally.

How is something a "status symbol" when Apple has close to half of the market share in the US and anyone can afford one via monthly payments offered by Apple and the carriers?

Most people can afford a used car or a handbag from a vaguely popular brand, but they're still a status symbol. The status it symbolises isn't particularly high, but it's still status.

Re: China attacks Apple for allowing Hong Kong crowdsourced police activity app

#200

Post by scarface74 »

strken wrote: post #199
scarface74 wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is something a "status symbol" when Apple has close to half of the market share in the US and anyone can afford one via monthly payments offered by Apple and the carriers?

Most people can afford a used car or a handbag from a vaguely popular brand, but they're still a status symbol. The status it symbolises isn't particularly high, but it's still status.

A status symbol is something that shows that you can afford something other people can’t. Almost anyone in the US who is on one of the four major carriers can afford an iPhone.

Have you ever thought that people might actually prefer it’s functionality?

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