Linked List: November 21, 2019

Thursday, 21 November 2019

Cook: ‘China Really Hasn’t Pressured Us’ ★

ABC News:

Cook said he isn’t concerned over Apple’s relationship with China. “China really hasn’t pressured us, and so I don’t envision that,” he added.

If China hasn’t pressured Apple, why was the Taiwanese flag emoji removed from iOS devices in Hong Kong?

It’s far from the biggest issue surrounding China. I get that. It’s just a flag emoji, and we’re talking about a regime that has put over a million people into concentration camps. But it is bullshit. Under the one-country-two-systems arrangement China itself agreed to regarding Hong Kong, there is nothing illegal about the Taiwanese flag.

It’s flat-out wrong that Apple removed the Taiwanese flag emoji in Hong Kong. But if they did so at the behest of China at least we’d have a reason why. If China hasn’t pressured Apple on this point, small though it may be, why in the world did Apple remove the flag?

It reeks of cowardice.