China has not been a happy camper these past few weeks. An international tribunal has just recently ruled that their claim to ownership of a group of tiny islands it has been tussling over The Philippines, Brunei, and Malaysia over has just been declared not legitimate. Filipinos were just all too glad to send them off online (#CHexit).
However, China won’t take this sitting down, and is bringing down the pain — right on their iPhones.
Wait, what, China?!
Here, we see a group of students go to town on their precious iPhones.
and here, this guy expresses his rage and frustration on his own phone with a hammer. You’ve got to hand it to him, the guy is rather thorough.
Other Weibo users have called upon fellow iPhone-totting Chinese to post pics of their destroyed iPhones. The message is pretty clear: “Take out your iPhones, and smash them. If you don’t, you aren’t Chinese!”
Okay. Calm the ef down, China.
Okay. What exactly is going on?
China is very angry, for sure. But it’s chosen to direct its anger not at the Philippines, to at the international tribunal — but at the United States. Why? apparently they feel that the US is the biggest Western force backing all the other smaller Asian countries in the Spratlys dispute. Naturally, they see the ruling as very anti-Chinese, so they’re displaying their patriotism by boycotting American goods.
Hence, Apple. this is kind of a big deal, considering the Chinese looooove their iPhones. Apple holds the largest smartphone share in China, outstripping that of even America.
So this country-wide iPhone destruction is rather awkward, considering these phones are also partly assembled on Chinese soil.
Aren’t you glad you’re reading this article from the comfort and convenience of your own unsmashed smartphone?
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