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Apple CEO Tim Cook 'secretly' signed $275B deal with China in 2016

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Re: Apple CEO Tim Cook 'secretly' signed $275B deal with China in 2016

#541
post #473

the top comments talking about maps, it's absolutely insane 'The agreement included a pledge from Apple to help Chinese manufacturers develop "the most advanced manufacturing technologies," "support the training of high-quality Chinese talents," use more components from Chinese suppliers, sign deals with Chinese software firms, collaborate with research in Chinese universities, and directly invest in Chinese tech com…

Honestly, I'm not trying to sound like I'm speaking in bad faith or provokingly, but why did you ever expect the top executives of a multi-million (or in this case, trillion) dollar corporation to care about anything but profits and their own well-being? It's just like Zuckerberg said, "Company over country". I like to imagine those corporations as a machine with irs unique objective being profit. Every single thing…

> Honestly, I'm not trying to sound like I'm speaking in bad faith or provokingly, but why did you ever expect the top executives of a multi-million (or in this case, trillion) dollar corporation to care about anything but profits and their own well-being? It's just like Zuckerberg said, "Company over country".

That's a common ideological outlook now, but IIRC it wasn't always so and it doesn't have to be so in the future.

Simplistic free market greed-sacks like you describe should be pariahs, and treated as such by society and the government to the point that they find it very hard to make profits.

Re: Apple CEO Tim Cook 'secretly' signed $275B deal with China in 2016

#542

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I totally get that people want companies to act with dignity, but the idea that a company, even one as large as Apple, is going to make any sort of difference with respect to China's oddities is wishful thinking. Apple has a business to run. They abide by all sorts of requests in various countries in which they operate. Of course there has to be a line somewhere, I'm just not sure this is it.

> Apple has a business to run. They abide by all sorts of requests in various countries in which they operate. And then people rightly condemn them for it. Because not getting a pass even when the pressure is strong -- especially when the pressure is strong -- is the only incentive we can give them to even try to resist that pressure. That sucks for them. It puts them between a rock and a hard place. Too bad. Because…

Ironically the same people that at the end of the day might have plenty of "made-in-china" products at home.

Re: Apple CEO Tim Cook 'secretly' signed $275B deal with China in 2016

#543

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems to be Apple's standard MO to comply with local regulations regardless of market size. They've complied with Russian demands[0,1] and it looks like Apple Rus accounts for something like 2.6% of Apple's revenue, a fraction that Apple could probably do without. From a recent interview[2] with Tim Cook: >"World peace through world trade," Cook said, adding that operating in foreign countries means Apple has to "…

>World peace through world trade And here I was under the impression that most everyone - everyone important enough at least - understood that Fukuyama was (very) wrong. Perhaps his definition of "world peace" is different.

Wasn’t this the quote from IBM’s CEO in the 1930s…the one who sought world peace through his trade with Hitler?

Re: Apple CEO Tim Cook 'secretly' signed $275B deal with China in 2016

#544
post #473

the top comments talking about maps, it's absolutely insane 'The agreement included a pledge from Apple to help Chinese manufacturers develop "the most advanced manufacturing technologies," "support the training of high-quality Chinese talents," use more components from Chinese suppliers, sign deals with Chinese software firms, collaborate with research in Chinese universities, and directly invest in Chinese tech com…

What's despicable is that none of the mainstream media (WSJ, NYTimes, WaPo, Boston Globe, CNN, Fox, etc.) are covering this story. The American people atleast deserve to be informed. How is this not the biggest blow to Apple in terms of its relationship with China? For those who want to go to source: https://www.theinformation.com/articles/facing-hostile-chine... Does anyone have subscription? Would love to read Arch…

surely they will by the end of the week, after vetting sources?

Re: Apple CEO Tim Cook 'secretly' signed $275B deal with China in 2016

#545

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I totally get that people want companies to act with dignity, but the idea that a company, even one as large as Apple, is going to make any sort of difference with respect to China's oddities is wishful thinking. Apple has a business to run. They abide by all sorts of requests in various countries in which they operate. Of course there has to be a line somewhere, I'm just not sure this is it.

Don't be an apologists for these companies. These megacorps have a big influence on the fabric of society. They must be held to a higher standard.

Each should start by their own circle of influence by not buying products made against their morals.

Re: Apple CEO Tim Cook 'secretly' signed $275B deal with China in 2016

#546

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I support that. At the same time I assume you have written this in a device manufactured in China together with many companies there object we have in our daily lives. Are enough of us willing to abstain from these devices?

Ah, that ol' "argument" https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/259/257/342...

Ah, the ol' "No ethical consumption under capitalism so I do not need to care about what I consume" argument. Just because injustice is so widespread in the world does not mean that we do not have the responsibility of our own impact upon the world.

Re: Apple CEO Tim Cook 'secretly' signed $275B deal with China in 2016

#547
post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People outside of China are served a different set of maps. Each country is served maps that conform to their territorial claims. E.g. If you view the map of India while in India, it'll appear different than if you viewed it in China.

One thing about claims (say display Crimea as part of Russia within Russia and as Ukraine elsewhere), but distorting SIZES of the places on maps according to someone's political preference is well... plain out ridiculous, laughable. It displays how messed up China is more than anything else. It's seriously hard to expect the place that does things like that, as a next superpower. You can't build a superpower on silly…

It's a mistake to treat "China" as one coherent entity with a single unified purpose, which chooses to prioritize the mapping issue front-of-mind.

China has over a billion people. That one middle manager in the maps department is personally offended by territory appearing smaller, has zero relation to the rest of the country and shouldn't affect your opinion.

Many bureaucrats in the USA draw stupid lines in sand that nobody cares about, yet the USA is a strong superpower nonetheless.

Re: Apple CEO Tim Cook 'secretly' signed $275B deal with China in 2016

#548

Apple’s approach to China remains the most disappointing (and hypocritical) thing about the company. When privacy really matters for the users that need it most, Apple sells them out for continued access to the Chinese market. https://stratechery.com/2021/the-information-on-apple-in-chi...

I have a secret to share. Apple and others may virtual signal but at the end of the day it's all about profits. If you believed otherwise you were mislead. "Think Different" is just a commercial slogan.

On Tyranny is a great read.

Re: Apple CEO Tim Cook 'secretly' signed $275B deal with China in 2016

#549
post #473

the top comments talking about maps, it's absolutely insane 'The agreement included a pledge from Apple to help Chinese manufacturers develop "the most advanced manufacturing technologies," "support the training of high-quality Chinese talents," use more components from Chinese suppliers, sign deals with Chinese software firms, collaborate with research in Chinese universities, and directly invest in Chinese tech com…

What's despicable is that none of the mainstream media (WSJ, NYTimes, WaPo, Boston Globe, CNN, Fox, etc.) are covering this story. The American people atleast deserve to be informed. How is this not the biggest blow to Apple in terms of its relationship with China? For those who want to go to source: https://www.theinformation.com/articles/facing-hostile-chine... Does anyone have subscription? Would love to read Arch…

> What's despicable is that none of the mainstream media (WSJ, NYTimes, WaPo, Boston Globe, CNN, Fox, etc.) are covering this story. The American people atleast deserve to be informed.

That's not true. IMHO, this is part of a larger story (Apple's obsequious compromises with China), and the NY Times has previously reported on other parts: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/17/technology/apple-china-ce....

It's seems The Information broke this story, but I doubt it will be very long before other outlets catch up.

Re: Apple CEO Tim Cook 'secretly' signed $275B deal with China in 2016

#550
post #407

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Standing up against the government is one of the messages of their anti-1984 ad.

No it isn’t. That was about standing up to IBM.

I thought the Big Brother figure on screen looked more like Bill Gates than IBM. The real enemy was Microsoft and Windows.
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