Apple are typical corporate hypocrites: bang on about LGBT+ rights, human rights, devote a whole day to the issue of systemic racism faced by the black community and others, talk about respect for freedom of speech, and yet all that is irrelevant if that conflicts with making money because it 'respects local laws'.
China treats many of its ethnic minorities like cr**. It has bans on certain religious. It bans and blocks websites, news outlets, apps which speak out against the government.
So yes, as a business, if they want to operate globally, if they want to sell products in China they should comply with local laws.
But they should also stop pretending they have moral principles.
It's a conflict we all face. I'll be a lot happier if/when Apple move all manufacturing out of China and into countries that at least try to address basic human rights.
Actually, there is absolutely NO hypocrisy here whatsoever, since Apple, as an american company, is also fully complying with AMERICAN laws.
There is a difference between voicing your objections about laws or subjects you find injust, and not complying with a law you find injust. Apple is VOICING its opinion on various subjects, but is still always complying with the law, BOTH in the US AND ELSEWHERE.
You're making it sound as if it is not complying with US laws while complying with the rest of the world ( China in this case), but that is absoilutely not the case. Apple is complying with the laws of every place it is doing business in ,
including the US. Therefore there is no hypocrisy here.
Now, whether Apple should refuse to comply with US laws as well as foreign laws when it finds them injust, that is another subject, but let's not confuse the issues here.
To think that a company, even as big as Apple can unilaterally defy the laws of a foreign government is incredibly naive. That type of change happens through either internal political pressure or foreign political pressure, either openly or in the shadows.
Real life is not a Marvel comic book.