"An aggressive media used its monopoly power to bully others and achieved its political agenda. I don't know why such victory should make one happy," one
commentator contended.
"Hearing about Apple's apology, I am reminded of the Google controversy in 2009," another widely shared comment read, referring to Google's confrontation with the Chinese government four years ago over its
censorship policy, which contributed to the company's exit from the mainland. "The company tried to adjust itself while holding its principles, but was
still driven out in the end. I never feel it represents a failure on Google's part. When later generations look back on our behaviors today, they will
definitely laugh."
From day one of the Chinese media blitz against Apple, which started with a television exposé on deficiencies in Apple's after-sales services in mid-March,
a very different campaign has been unfolding on in Chinese social media. Hundreds of thousands of Weibo users -- students, intellectuals, white-collar
workers and celebrities -- voiced their support for the American technological behemoth, while directing their condemnations at the state media for its
deplorable public relations tactics. This debate reflects a dichotomy that is increasingly emerging in China- between a heavy-handed, nationalistic
government and an increasingly outward-looking public willing to consider global information and ideas.
Since its flagship store opened in Beijing in 2008, Apple has grown into a shining beacon of success among foreign businesses in China. Thousands of guofen, Apple fans, routinely stand in lines overnight for the release of Apple's newest gadget, and technology geeks, much like their American
counterparts, rush to interpret and analyze the devices' novel features. Last year, Apple's sales in China reached $23.8 billion, which made up for 15
percent of its worldwide revenue and ranked China Apple's second largest market after the United States.
The latest model of iPhone is priced at around $850 in China, two and a half times of the average monthly disposable income of an urban resident. In the
luxury-obsessed Chinese society today, where one hears of stories
like a college student working at a construction site to pay off the loan he took to buy an Apple product, Apple's significance as a status symbol is not
to be underestimated. But deeper reasons also exist for the brand's ultra-popularity in China. On Internet forums, most customers quoted Apple products'
superb quality, convenient operating system, and slick design as the biggest draws. Many Weibo users who defended Apple against Chinese media's attacks put
iPhone in comparison with domestic mobile products from companies like Huawei, lamenting the gap in user experience with the two brands. "Of course I would
choose the better product," one user opined, "and it has nothing to do with which country produced
it."