Apple has asked that Taiwanese suppliers label their products as being made in China to avoid disruptions from Chinese customs inspections sparked by Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.
On Friday, Apple told the suppliers that China is fiercely enforcing the long-standing rule that parts and components made in Taiwan should be labeled as being made either in “Taiwan, China” or “Chinese Taipei” indicating that the island belongs to Beijing, Nikkei Asia reported.
China has caused delays, imposed fines, and rejected shipments of products that say “Made in Taiwan,” but Taiwan requires all exports to be labeled as such. Taiwanese officials also allow the island’s official name, Republic of China, to be used on labels.
Moreover, the penalties for violating such rules can lead to a fine of up to 4,000 yuan ($592) or in some cases, the rejection of the shipments.
Benjamin Ismail of the anti-Chinese censorship group Great Fire told The Register that he expects Apple to continue bowing to the Chinese communist regime.
“Unfortunately, we suspect that Apple’s ‘red-line’, the moment where it will say: ‘Stop, no longer, we cannot continue to collaborate with the Chinese regime and enforce its requests for censorship,’ is nowhere close,” Ismail said.
Apple relies heavily on both China and Taiwan to supply components for its products. In 2021, more than 25 percent of Apple’s suppliers were in China, where many of the tech giant’s products are also assembled.
Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly signed a secret five-year deal worth $275 million with the Chinese Communist Party in 2016 that included promises to help develop China’s economy, internal documents obtained by The Information revealed in December.
Applecensorship.com, an anti-censorship project by Great Fire, challenged Apple on Twitter over the reported labeling requirements favoring China.
“Is it a question of time before @Apple starts removing apps which name contains the characters “台湾/台灣” (Taiwan) without specifying “province of China” from the @AppStore?” the project tweeted.
Apple’s Friday warning came after shipments from Taiwan to one of iPhone assembler Pegatron’s facilities in China on Thursday were held for review of the declaration form and cartons for labels.
Taiwan is viewed by Beijing as being part of Chinese territory and is strongly opposed to its independence being recognized.
Over the weekend, they fired missiles over the Taiwan Strait and filled the area with military ships.
Sources: TheDailyWire, Nikkei Asia, Insider Paper, TheRegister, The Information
