And another company folds to the woke, SJW “human rights” juggernaut that is China.
According to Bloomberg, the Taiwanese (Republic of China) flag emoji “??” has been deleted from all iPhone users living in Hong Kong. It appears Apple banned the Taiwanese flag in the iOS emoji keyboard in the latest iPhone update, emphasizing how the company must cater to all demands of the Communist Party of China or be at risk of being sanctioned and losing some or all of its mainland China revenue (just ask the NBA).
“The change was implemented via software on iPhones sold in Hong Kong and Macau. After Apple released new versions of its iOS 13 operating system in recent days, users in those cities noticed that the Taiwanese flag option was no longer available on the emoji keyboard,” reported Bloomberg.
The banning of the flag emoji was done through a software update on iPhones sold in Hong Kong and Macau late last week.
Apple had catered to China’s demands before, as it removed the Taiwanese flag emoji for all users in China.
Apple has a tremendous presence in China, and it uses factories in the country to produce most of its smartphones. The company must carefully follow all demands by the Chinese government, or risk penalties, and or even expulsion from the country if the violation was severe enough.
We noted on Wednesday that Apple could be marching its way to a retaliation strike by the Chinese, not just because of President Trump’s blacklisting of Chinese technology companies, but due mostly to the US technology company’s involvement in supporting protestors in Hong Kong with a new app that allows people to track police movements across the city.
China’s official newspaper, the People’s Daily, criticized Apple on Tuesday night for allowing HKmap.live, which crowdsources real-time locations of police in Hong Kong.
Apple has “betrayed the feelings of the Chinese people” by allowing the app to be downloaded, said the People’s Daily.
The paper also said Apple had allowed the song Glory to Hong Kong, which advocates Hong Kong independence from China, to be downloaded on iTunes.
“Over and over again, Apple’s actions are incomprehensible, and people have to wonder about their intentions,” the People’s Daily said, adding that, “This reckless behavior will cause a lot of trouble for Apple.”
Apple joins several American companies that have been reprimanded by China for supporting the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong. One of those companies in the spotlight this week is the NBA. China banned all broadcasts of NBA games earlier this week after Daryl Morey, general manager of the Houston Rockets, tweeted his support for the Hong Kong protesters.
