Miscellaneous News

Overbom

Brigadier
Registered Member
lol the CIA got her good
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She said there was no secret scandal behind her resignation. “I am human. We give as much as we can for as long as we can and then it’s time. And for me, it’s time.
“I am leaving because with such a privileged job comes a big responsibility. The responsibility to know when you are the right person to lead - and also when you’re not.”
 

jwnz

Junior Member
Registered Member
Guys don't over think about Ardern's resignation. She's not been popular in NZ for a while now. Her party Labour has failed to delivery all the major election promises for over 5 yrs. The economy is in a bad shape and business confidence is at 50 yr low. Labour has been doing poorly in the polls. She simply saw the writing on the wall and quitted early.

As for any new PM or after the Oct election later this year, I wouldn't worry too much, kiwis are pragmatic and we're too dependent on trading with China. Any PM won't last long if they toe the US line too much at the expense of the economy.
 

jwnz

Junior Member
Registered Member
Probably both are factors. US overlord pressure and domestic issues. For me, the US pressure is more overwhelming imo.

Nah, nothing to do with the US. If you know a bit of NZ's history, you would know that NZ has been standing against the US the most amongst western countries. Her resignation is 100% due to domestic issues and politics.
 

Strangelove

Colonel
Registered Member
Assembled in India with China-made parts... LOL


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Apple's relationship with China | Wangjing skyline


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relationship with
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has been described as “untenable,” as the company faces criticism from senators on both sides of the political aisle. But unraveling that relationship will take more than 20 years, according to one former Apple engineer tasked with finding ways to automate production.

There is some good news today, as more than a dozen key Apple suppliers were granted permission to expand their work in
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, but ironically this only served to underline the company’s dependence on China …


Background​

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written
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on
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of Apple’s dependence on China, as well as on
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the company faces in addressing this.

The
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made even clearer the risks of the company having most of its manufacturing eggs in one basket. Recent COVID-19-related disruption at the
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was estimated to have cost the company a
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.

India is seen as Apple’s main hope when it comes to relocating production outside of China. A report last year suggested that
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, and another one this week indicated that
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.
But a new report suggests that Apple’s relationship with China could remain as intertwined as ever for at least another couple of decades.

Apple’s relationship with China “untenable”​

The
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reports that there is bipartisan concern that Apple is effectively forced to do the bidding of the Communist Party, and that this situation simply cannot continue.
Apple did not just fail to support [protests by iPhone workers]; as it emerged Chinese citizens were using AirDrop to share information,
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, in a move seen a as acquiescing to Beijing’s demands. It was tantamount to “doing. the bidding” of the Chinese Communist party, said Democrat Mark Warner, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
The company has high-profile critics in both parties. Republican Senator Josh Hawley accused Apple of being so dependent on China that it can no longer express basic American values. “When the communists in Beijing tell Apple to jump, it asks, ‘How high?” Hawley says. “Apple’s relationship with China is untenable, both economically and morally.”

Progress in India… but with Chinese companies​

Apple’s attempts to increase production in India got a boost in the form of some 14 suppliers being given government permission to expand their operations, reports
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. But the catch is that these are Chinese companies.


More than a dozen of Apple Inc.’s Chinese suppliers are receiving initial clearance by India to expand in the country, helping the tech giant’s efforts to diversify its assembly network beyond China.
AirPods and iPhone assembler Luxshare Precision Industry Co. and a unit of lensmaker Sunny Optical Technology Group Co. are among the companies gaining approval, people familiar with the matter said.

Progress is also being hampered by political tensions between India and China, in the wake of violent conflicts over
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.

While India is now approving several Chinese suppliers’ expansion in the country, some are still getting rejected, the people said. Apple submitted a list of about 17 suppliers to Indian authorities, and a few of them were turned down, at least one because of direct ties to the Chinese government, one of the people said.

“Will take at least 20 years”​

One of the key barriers to the large-scale relocation of production lines is that the final assembly process is still very labor-intensive. Only yesterday it was revealed that iPhone production lines require
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as equivalent ones for Android phones for Chinese brands.

Apple has been working with Foxconn for many years on
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, with dreams of
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– but one former engineer tasked with this project says that it’s at least 20 years away.

“Apple can’t diversify,” says one former Apple engineer who had been tasked with finding ways to automate production to overcome rising labour costs. This person says the iPhone maker has been striving to move its operations outside China since at least 2014, but with little progress to show for it. “China is going to dominate labour and tech production for another 20 years.”
 

Overbom

Brigadier
Registered Member
Good proposal
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China and EU ties still on ‘very good’ ground, Chinese envoy says in call to drop mutual sanctions, revive trade pact​

  • Europe views Beijing as a rival but respects its position on issues like the war in Ukraine, Chinese ambassador Fu Cong tells CGTN
  • China has proposed to the EU that both sides ‘lift sanctions simultaneously’, Fu says
“Europe is divided on certain issues, especially if you judge it from public rhetoric,” Fu said.
“But what gives me encouragement is that since I came [to Brussels], I have talked to politicians and officials. I’m quite encouraged by what they say privately to me. They say that they will stick to strategic autonomy. There will be no decoupling between China and the EU,” he emphasised.
Fu, who called for an end to the mutual sanctions shortly after he took office, said China had proposed to the EU that both sides “lift our sanctions simultaneously”.
“The reaction is that some people say this is a good idea, and some people are still thinking about this,” he said.
“It is on the table, and we sincerely hope that this can be a solution to break the impasse.”
 
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