Apple CEO Tim Cook Meets with Top Chinese Official After iCloud Login Harvesting Claims

[Swift]

American wages and benefits WOULD mean an end to Apple's profit margins ... and THAT just ain't going to happen.

No, it wouldn't. Labor is not that big a piece of the pie. What is true is that we don't have the infrastructure of advanced manufacture here anymore. it's not just Apple. Starting after Tienanmen Square, George H.W. Bush made the decision to do business with the People's Republic, because trading with them would open them up while-- more money for our corporations! History awaits knowing how that worked out.

 

[CFreymarc]

What role would the State Department play - this is an internal China problem - nothing to do with the US.

This is not just an internal PRC problem. It is an American company offering a service that a foreign national is interfering within an international commerce action. I can easily see the State Department, Commerce Department and USCYBERCOM in on this if Apple willed it.

 

[blue22]

Tim's in-person plea...

China: can't we all just get along?

 

[RedOrchestra]

This is not just an internal PRC problem. It is an American company offering a service that a foreign national is interfering within an international commerce action. I can easily see the State Department, Commerce Department and USCYBERCOM in on this if Apple willed it.

And what has China's reply always been to western intervention ... Shut-up and mind your own business.

China will do what China will do.

 

[Parasprite]

If they WEREN'T involved, why would they need to do any damage control? That makes ZERO sense.

Rumor is that Parasprite is cheating on his wife. Ok, Parasprite! Do some damage control!

Because they are being blamed for it. It makes them more of a target diplomatically without giving them any sort of benefit.

Get the media and several Fortune 500 companies to care about it, then we can talk.

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Maybe it's not too late to pull out of China.

The pull out method doesn't work as well as you'd think.

 

[CFreymarc]

And what has China's reply always been to western intervention ... Shut-up and mind your own business.

China will do what China will do.

Their internal control lines are getting weaker and weaker, it will snap eventually and when the manufacturing lines shut down due to civil war, all hell will break loose. Always have a Plan B when doing business with China.

 

[RedOrchestra]

... when the manufacturing lines shut down due to civil war, all hell will break loose.

Should that occur, the entire US economy will tank.

 

[FieldingMellish]

China might be to Apple what Apple was to that sapphire production company.

 

[Keirasplace]

I wouldn't mind at all. Realize that if such a thing were to happen, the wages of such workers would be commensurate, and it would also have an indirect effect of raising wages across many industries due to the drain on labour.

Realize that if this happened ($2000 phone), no one would buy the phones and thus it would have a bad effect.

But, $2000 is not realistic. Say, the cost of doing it in the US added $150-200 to each phone (more realistic) and then Apple took its cut, so an extra $225-300 at retail. That's one hell of a markup compared to the competition for no advantage at all. Unless they're sure that most people would switch, not a given at all, why would they do that?

BTW, you do realize that most of the money you spend on this phone DOESN'T END IN CHINA!! Probably 15% does, with another 5-10% in Taiwan, if you subsract the cost of material. Most money gets put in that big pile of money tm, gets returned to shareholders or is used for various operations.

 

[Eraserhead]

Their internal control lines are getting weaker and weaker, it will snap eventually and when the manufacturing lines shut down due to civil war, all hell will break loose. Always have a Plan B when doing business with China.

Why do you think China will have a civil war?

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No, it wouldn't. Labor is not that big a piece of the pie. What is true is that we don't have the infrastructure of advanced manufacture here anymore. it's not just Apple. Starting after Tienanmen Square, George H.W. Bush made the decision to do business with the People's Republic, because trading with them would open them up while-- more money for our corporations! History awaits knowing how that worked out.

So what should George Bush senior have done over something that to put it in perspective killed less civilians than Israel's war on Gaza over the summer?

 

[CFreymarc]

Should that occur, the entire US economy will tank.

Never underestimate the ability of domestic US manufacturing to turn on a dime kicking the ass of every central planner out there.

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No, it wouldn't. Labor is not that big a piece of the pie. What is true is that we don't have the infrastructure of advanced manufacture here anymore. it's not just Apple. Starting after Tienanmen Square, George H.W. Bush made the decision to do business with the People's Republic, because trading with them would open them up while-- more money for our corporations! History awaits knowing how that worked out.

That infrastructure can start-up in a matter of months if needed. Keep in mind, most of the capital equipment in those Chinese manufacturing lines were built here in the USA.

Never underestimate the ability of domestic US manufacturing to turn on a dime kicking the ass of every central planner out there.

 

[ricci]

This is typical Chinese gov. They have a hard time with giving their people freedoms! I was in Hong Kong and witness the riots for democracy and freedom to choose in open elections. Hong Kong is NOT mainland China! Now on the other hand, when I next went to Shanghai, everything on the news about the pro democracy demonstrations, the literally blocked out, no
signal! Then the tv would come back on when the news report on Hong Kong was over! Totally P***** me off! Internet is monitored and regulated what you see and able to search! They want to know everything you do so they can control you! People in Hong Kong have had a taste of freedom and democracy and don't want to give that up! I feel sorry for them because China will crush them! They would have done it already if the world wasn't watching! They are afraid of that coming to the mainland !

 

[Tech198]

Its like a local NSA !! Havan't been back to HK since 2008, guess things changed a bit.

 

[flameproof]

The Chinese probably don't need access to the phone since there are iCloud servers are located in China. That is what they are trying to get access to iCloud with this phishing attack it seems.

If there are iCloud servers in China they don't need to do phishing attacks. Under Chinese law they must be accessible to law enforcement.

Interestingly. for the same reason Xiaomi is moving some user data of international customers out of China:

http://www.engadget.com/2014/10/22/xiaomi-international-user-data/

 

[RedOrchestra]

Forget about all that BS - here's the REAL reason Cook is in China -

https://www.macrumors.com/2014/10/23/apple-25-new-stores-china-next-two-years/