Apple mentions Taiwan, Hong Kong, angers China who casts doubt on sales

Apple listed China, Hong
Kong, and Taiwan as separate regions in its annual event on
Wednesday.
Apple; Business
Insider

• Apple mentioned Taiwan and Hong Kong without using
  China’s prefered terms at its annual iPhone event on
  Wednesday.
• Chinese state media and citizens lashed out at the tech
  giant for not acknowledging Chinese sovereignty over those two
  regions.
• The state-run China Central Television suggested that
  Apple could lose its market demand in China, and that its
  actions could “cause unnecessary political and legal
  troubles.”
• Taiwan has for decades operated as a separate country
  from China, but Beijing insists that Taiwan belongs to
  it.
• Hong Kong is a special administrative region that
  belongs to China.
• Apple has a lot to lose from alienating China.

China is lashing out at Apple after the tech giant mentioned
Taiwan without using Beijing’s preferred term for it at its

annual iPhone event on Wednesday.

While introducing the launch date for the new iPhone XS and XS
Max, Apple listed China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan separately
alongside the three regions’ national flags.

Multiple news outlets run by the Chinese state have since
published posts demanding explanations from Apple, with China
Central Television (CCTV) suggesting that Apple’s actions could
“hurt” its market demand in China and “cause unnecessary legal
and political troubles.”

Chinese
President Xi Jinping.
REUTERS/Guillermo Granja

CCTV
wrote on Thursday: “People with a little bit of common sense
will list ‘Hong Kong, China,’ and ‘Taiwan, China,’ on official
occasions. How can such a serious and professional occasion like
the Apple keynote not do this?”

“A company known for its rigor and service excellence must be
very sophisticated in every detail. Details about a country’s
territorial sovereignty must go through rigorous verification
before they can be released to the public,” it added.

“If this kind of sloppiness is allowed to continue, it will not
only hurt the company’s reputation and market demand, but also
cause unnecessary political and legal troubles.”

CCTV also noted that although Apple separately listed the US and
US Virgin Islands separately, the company made clear the US’
sovereignty over the region. However “US Virgin Islands” is the
official name of the US-administered island chain, used to
differentiate from Britain’s Virgin Islands holdings.

Additionally, Apple listed Puerto Rico, a US territory, without
describing it as belonging to the US. 

Tim Cook at a conference in China in
March.
Reuters

The state-run Beijing Daily also
wrote on popular microblogging site Weibo: “How difficult is
it to add a ‘China’ in front of ‘Taiwan’?”

The state-run tabloid Global Times added:
“Apple, what do you mean by this?”

Apple’s official Weibo page was also
flooded with comments demanding explanations and saying the
company was “ill.”

Other commentators on Weibo accused Apple of disrespecting
China and threatened to return
all their Apple products.

China is one of Apple’s
biggest markets.
Getty

Apple has a lot to lose in China

Apple has a lot to lose if CCTV’s threats become a reality. China
is one of Apple’s largest markets, as well as home to its main
production base.

Chinese consumers are also starting to prefer domestic tech
brands, like Huawei, over Apple,
Bloomberg reported this week.

Earlier this year
Apple deleted thousands of gambling apps in China after the
country’s state media targeted the firm for encouraging gambling,
which is banned in mainland China.

Last year, Apple also removed hundreds of virtual private network
(VPN) apps, which helped users bypass China’s Great Firewall and
let them access foreign media, which is also banned in China.

Shawn Zhang, a law student and Chinese human rights expert,
tweeted
immediately after the event: “I think Apple will soon
issue an apology for hurting the feelings of Chinese
people.” The Chinese Communist Party regularly says that
references to Taiwan that do not acknowledge its claim of
ownership hurts the feelings of Chinese citizens.

Business Insider has contacted Apple for comment.

Apple listed China,
Taiwan, and Hong Kong as separate regions when it was introducing
its new XS phones.
Shayanne
Gal/Business Insider

Taiwan and Hong Kong are a sore subject for China

Taiwan, also known as the Republic of China, describes itself as
an independent nation and has for decades maintained diplomatic
relations with other countries without China’s involvement.

China, on the other hand, claims that Taiwan belongs to it.

Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China, which
means it belongs to China but operates under a different
government and separate legal system.

Earlier this year China
pressured dozens of internatioanl airlines and companies to
stop referring to Taiwan as a separate country on their flight
listings. Many have complied.

The White House in May stood up for US companies’ right to
recognize or ignore China’s claim to Taiwan by calling China’s
pressure campaign “Orwellian nonsense and part of a growing trend
by the Chinese Communist party to impose its political views on
American citizens and private companies.”

Multiple countries also cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan over
recent months, which Taiwan has blamed on China. The latest break
came last month when El
Salvador broke diplomatic ties with Taiwan, leaving the
island nation with just 17 allies left.

Taipei has blamed
the trend on China’s “dollar diplomacy” —
using foreign aid and investment to pressure economic allies to
cut ties.