According to Nikkei, the company has asked manufacturers on the island to label parts destined for mainland China as made in “Chinese Taipei” or “Taiwan, China.” The labels are required to comply with a longstanding but previously unenforceable rule requiring imported goods to indicate that the island is part of the People’s Republic of China. The phrase “Made in Taiwan” can lead to delays, fines, and even rejection of the entire shipment according to the rule. However, Taiwan itself requires exports to be labeled with the point of origin: either the name “Taiwan” or the country’s official name, “Republic of China.” The choice to require suppliers to deny Taiwan’s independent existence has drawn criticism from around the world. GreatFire, which works against Chinese internet censorship, noted that the move was an escalation from an earlier slight by Apple, which removed the Taiwanese flag from emoji keyboards for users in China and Hong Kong. “It’s only a matter of time before Apple starts removing apps whose names contain the characters [for] Taiwan without specifying the “province of China,” the organization asked. “Unfortunately, we suspect that Apple’s ‘red line,’ the moment when it says, ‘Stop, no more, we can no longer cooperate with the Chinese regime and enforce its censorship demands,’ is nowhere near.” , said GreatFire’s Benjamin. Ismail told the Register news website. Apple may have felt as if it had little choice but to comply with China’s demands. Shipping delays now would be disastrous as the company moves into the final production phase for the iPhone 14, which is expected to be announced at a press event next month. Supply chain shortfalls are already starting to bite, with the company making the unprecedented decision, according to powerful analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, to ship the cheaper non-Pro variants of the phone with the same core chip already in iPhones 13 at the moment. on sale. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST However, Apple’s long-standing efforts to diversify its manufacturing process are finally paying off. According to Kuo, the company expects to ship versions of the iPhone 14 from factories in India alongside Chinese manufacturers on launch day. In previous years, Indian factories have been months behind China in cutting-edge devices, waiting for early bumps to smooth out before switching production from older models. This year, for example, Foxconn’s Indian sites began assembling the iPhone 13 in April, around the same time the company’s operations in Brazil changed hands. Models produced in India and Brazil largely serve to meet demand in local markets and are not intended for export around the world. For this, Apple’s Chinese factories still play an irreplaceable role, as they do in serving the millions of Chinese customers who buy iPhones.
