Is Apple helping HK rioters engage in more violence?

By Bo Lanping  (People's Daily)    

Apple recently allowed a map app to be available on its App Store. This mobile app claims to provide transportation information for the convenience of the public, but is actually used to identify the whereabouts of the police, allowing the rioters in Hong Kong to go on violent acts.

The developers of the map app had ill intentions by providing a “navigation service” for the rioters. Apple’s approval for the app obviously helps rioters. What was its true intention?

Hong Kong is experiencing severe times and its people are tired of the unrest. In the past few days, the rioters have become more audacious and have conducted violent acts more frequently. Apple chose to approve the app in the App Store in Hong Kong at this point. Does this mean Apple intended to be an accomplice to the rioters?

The map app is just the tip of the iceberg. In the Apple Music Store in Hong Kong, there was also a song advocating “Hong Kong independence.” Such a song was once removed from the music store and has resurrected.

As a company with international influence, Apple has always enjoyed a high reputation. A company has its own standards of conduct, but should also have its social responsibilities. If Apple abandons its responsibilities and let violent acts get worse, it puts more users at risk.

Business is business, and politics is politics. Nobody wants to drag Apple into the lingering unrest in Hong Kong. But people have reason to assume that Apple is mixing business with politics, and even illegal acts. Apple has to think about the consequences of its unwise and reckless decision.

Foreign companies probably don’t understand the sentiments and way of thinking of Chinese people. Our ancestors had been bullied. But today we are united more than ever. On issues involving principles, we have zero tolerance for wrongdoings. 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.

Apple and other corporations should be able to discern right from wrong. They also need to know that only the prosperity of China and China’s Hong Kong will bring them a broader and more sustainable market.