Bonum Certa Men Certa

Apple: Cheap Labour From China, Now Helping China Digitally 'Conquer' Taiwan

Taiwan



Summary: More backlash against Apple, which helps a rising oppressor change facts and conceptually take over a very large island that prides itself on high quality industries

Taiwan's political system is mystifying. I spent a lot of time reading about the history and the current relation to PRC (essentially like 'Greater China' or 'United China'). My wife worked in Taipei (electronics), so I can always hear from someone who knows this better. China has been turning into the 'new Japan' in the sense that it's silently occupying and crushing dissent in neighbouring countries and islands. It expands its empire by force and by oppression. By restricting journalism it limits what the outside world knows about it. One might as well call it the Great PR Wall of China (the 'people's'). Taiwan has its own government and on the Internet/Web it has its own suffix, .tw.



"For Apple to simply label the Taiwanese people "Chinese" would be like calling Cypriots "Turks" or "Greek"."For Apple, a vicious and ruthless company that detests even its own customers if they don't toe the party line (we often compare it to North Korea for this reason), using the near equivalent or prison labour makes perfect sense. Apple uses factories in areas that have weak worker/employer regulations and where pay/working hours are incredibly inhumane. Apple got bad publicity over this and it's not too selective (different countries and provinces in Asia have different rules and practices). A country which pretends to be communist (for the 'people') while actually serving few billionaires (capitalism) -- both domestic and foreign -- is a good match for Apple, so it should make nobody wonder that Apple tries to appease and even appeal to China (Microsoft does the same thing, but that's another story).

I was horrified when I read that Apple is now showing Taiwan as though it's just a "province of China" [1] because it's like China has just silently taken over (people in Taiwan are mostly prepared to fight for their lives to defend from Chinese takeover). This is insensitive and one might wonder if it's intentional rather than an accident. It's hard to get this type of stuff 'wrong'. There is a known controversy here, similar to that of the Palestinian territories (among several other feuding nations/ethnic groups). Fictitious maps are the best kind of propaganda [2] because they help distort facts and misrepresent history [2]. Here in Europe there is great demonisation of immigrants (especially in Greece [3]) amid ethnic tensions and growing clannish tendencies (it's hardly better in north America [4]). For Apple to simply label the Taiwanese people "Chinese" would be like calling Cypriots "Turks" or "Greek". It's beyond tactless and it is insulting to many.

Related/contextual items from the news:



  1. Taiwan protests Apple maps that show island as province of China


  2. We Have Been Misled By An Erroneous Map Of The World For 500 Years


    It was featured in "The West Wing," but map dishonesty is anything but fictional. Check out this clip to get an accurate look at the size of Africa.


  3. Tell EU Member States: Save Greek "undesirables" from internment camps!
    First migrants and recent immigrants were rounded up from Greece's streets and forced into internment camps


  4. North Dakota town to halt construction in bid to stop white supremacist influx
    A hate-crimes fugitive from Canada bought several lots in Leith and is encouraging other white supremacists to move there




Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

When (Almost) One-Man Operations Are Disguised as Medium-Sized Companies
the CEO hides in the US (hiding from his ex-wives, 4 daughters from those wives, and Sirius staff that he defrauded)
Microsoft Actually in Trouble, Microsofters Unable to Obey Judges' Orders
For the second time in a week, Microsofters are unable to obey orders
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
Microsoft's Debt Exploded by 15.4 Billion Dollars in the Past 9 Months Alone (Despite All the Layoffs)
As of minutes ago, at 6PM on a Friday, the numbers are made public
 
Video: The Rise of GNU/Linux and Free Software as Seen by RMS in 2004
DTP's founder argued that when Windows goes below 85% "market share", it'll lose its grip in the monopoly sense
Russia: GNU/Linux Rises to Highest Adoption Level Since Invasion of Ukraine
Moving up in the north
Microsoft's Latest Financial Report: We "Gained" 300 Million Dollars in "Goodwill" and Liabilities Grew by 32 Billion Dollars
Microsoft's debt has reached an all-time high
The Register US = The Register MS
Formerly The Register UK
Weeks After Microsoft Shut Down Its Operations in Pakistan Windows Falls to All-Time Lows
Only less than a month ago it was quietly revealed, based on laid-off staff, that Microsoft shut down in Pakistan
Criminal Behaviour is the Standard Operating Procedure at Microsoft
In the future I'll be able to tell how, when dealing with SLAPPs from Microsofters, their Microsoft services failed me and sometimes even blocked my contacts
GNU/Linux Rises to All-Time Highs in Europe
many people will get fired for buying Microsoft
All-Time Highs for GNU/Linux on the Client Desktop/Laptop, Based on Steam Survey
GNU/Linux rose to 2.89% in Steam
Links 02/08/2025: Blaugust 2025 and "Russia Declares Navalny Memoir ‘Extremist’"
Links for the day
Free Software is Not a Business Model
Go ahead, ask your friend, "how do you plan to monetise your children?"
LLM Slop Harms Real Literature, Real Web Sites, Real Journalism
LLM slop is a parasite and it'll run out of legitimate outputs
Upcoming OSI Scandal Series
The OSI is a rogue actor because it serves Microsoft in exchange for money
Slopwatch: The Issue Persists, But the Consensus in the Media Changes as Google Enrages It With LLM Plagiarism
We've meanwhile assessed the latest output from Linuxiac
IRC Proceedings: Friday, August 01, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, August 01, 2025
Links 02/08/2025: İstanbul Retail Inflation Reaches 42.48%, US FBI Opens Office in New Zealand
Links for the day
Gemini Links 02/08/2025: ZFS, LLM Hype, and Fake Modules
Links for the day
Links 01/08/2025: Health, Conflict, and Attacks on Freedom of the Press
Links for the day
Meeting (Webchat) With Maria Arranz Gomez, Florian Grundies, Jürgen Janda and Konstantinos Kortsaris Confronts EPO Management About Breaking Promises and Crushing Workers
The lack of consistent messages suggests plans other than what's advertised and the lack of consultation (secrecy) likewise
Links 01/08/2025: "The Great British Firewall" and U.S. Army Sponsors Palantir
Links for the day
For Second Day in a Row, Top Story in The Register MS is "Microsoft Says"
The editor in chief exercises control over everybody else
LLMs as Attack Method Against Free Software and Programming
DDoS in "hey hi" (slop) clothing
Stability and Reliability, Backward Compatibility
I don't fancy relying on social control media as "sources"
What "the News" Looks Like in 2025
The "says" (or "sez") phenomenon
History Will Be Distorted, Sometimes Intentionally, Under the Guise of Intelligence (Manipulated/Curated Slop)
Militarised misinformation or military-grade chaff is a national security threat, even domestically
Financial Engineering Companies: A Company Worth 4 Trillion Dollars Would Not Borrow 100+ Billion Dollars at Interest Rates Like Today's
Many headlines perpetuate the lie Microsoft had just 2 waves of layoffs
Microsoft is Googlebombing "Linux" While Paying Former News Sites to Publish SPAM
How much lower will IDG sink?
Google as a 'Bullshit Generator' Disguised as Intelligence
It'll probably cause Google to get sued a lot, both by individuals and companies
As Expected, Google in the UK Now Experiments With Slop Instead of Web Search
At this point more people ought to stop and think: Does Google's search engine deserve trust?
The Data You Don't Give Away is Your Advantage
stop sharing data that does not need to be shared
Being Obedient or Doing the Right Thing
The world always changes for the better because of people who think "Outside the Box", not the cogs
Gemini Links 01/08/2025: Happy Hacking Keyboards and New Gemini Arrivals
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, July 31, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, July 31, 2025
Sabotaging Linux on Behalf of Microsoft With UEFI 'Secure' Boot (De Facto Remote 'Kill Switch'), Then Defaming, Stalking and Harassing Critics of 'Secure' Boot for 12 Years, Then SLAPPing Their Spouses and Them
The sorts of stubborn lunatics we've been dealing with
Moving on in Techrights, Geeks Gonna Geek
In the coming weeks we plan to focus (as we explained last week) on patents, GNU/Linux issues, and the occasional philosophical essays
Slopwatch: Google News Has Lost the Plot
Almost the majority of articles returned for "Linux" are fakes
Links 31/07/2025: Australia Restricts YouTube Access, Personal Privacy at Risk
Links for the day
Links 31/07/2025: Spotify Collapses and Spotify Now Forcing Some Users to Undergo Face-Scanning
Links for the day
A Lot of Supposedly "Successful" Businesses Are Just Debt-Racking Vessels Without Any Prospects of Financial Sustainability
The probability of bankruptcy of any business is more than 0%
theregister.com: The Voice of Microsoft US?
It basically sold out
Yes, You Can Love and Adore Things Whilst Also Criticising Them
Is society being divided and groomed/primed to be resistant to constructive criticism?
Links 31/07/2025: War in Ukraine, Security News, and Cyberattacks Against Journalists on the Rise
Links for the day
Gemini Links 31/07/2025: Fake Money and Gemini Diaries
Links for the day
An Illusion and Cult Worship of Magnitude (Ubiquity as "Victory")
GNU has been around for over 40 years and it'll likely continue to exist for another 40 (in some form)
Google: From Pointing to Relevant Sites to Pointing to Social Control Media to Actually Parroting Social Control Media as "Facts"
Google has become a misinformation company
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, July 30, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, July 30, 2025