It seems incredible to me the iPad is still not available in the country where it is manufactured. Whilst workers at the “it’s not really a sweatshop” Foxconn factory work over 70 hours per week to meet global demand, they can’t legally own of the very things they produce.

Latest estimates point to a Chinese iPad release in August, preceded by a July release in the Sovereign States of Singapore and Hong Kong. One of the key differences between these states and Mainland China is the media and commercial freedoms available. Hong Kong in particular is designated a special economic region, which in translation means that it’s the capitalist cash machine of Communist China. With that comes less state regulation, in particular around media services and the internet. Global web access has always been a problem in China. My brother lived in Beijing a couple of year’s ago and we did an experiment: we both emailed each other with the words “Free Tibet” hidden in the contents of the email… neither of them were received! The Chinese must be keen for its people to buy home-grown iPad clones as there will be no danger of anti-Party material being received from outside the country.

The same is true of streaming TV. Apple is currently in talks with the state-run TV channels to enable Chinese programs to be streamed through the iPad. The official term being used for these programs is, “special content”. For “special content” read “Party censored”.

Apple bleats on about how environmentally friendly it is. That’s all very well. It claims to monitor and police working conditions, particularly in its Foxconn factory. However, Apple has a huge vested interest in China: where else in the world would it find such productivity at such a low price? And as for human rights and other abuses in China? Well, I guess we don’t talk about that.