They need to comply with laws in all markets in which they operate. We can disagree with those laws and speak out against them but it is not our place to decide

They need to comply with laws in all markets in which they operate. We can disagree with those laws and speak out against them but it is not our place to decide laws for others. But should Apple pull out of the market in protest? I think that iPhones being available is probably better for China than no iPhone as a protest over the law requiring all VPNs to have a valid “license”. Definitely there is a line that can’t be crossed (i.e. if the chinese government forced Apple to enable GPS tracking of all citizens I would expect them to say no) but to me this does not cross that line. People can still compile and install the app on their phone themselves (though it is harder than if it were on the AppStore). What is happening in China is so tragic and I truly hope things change in the near future so they can reach their full potential as a nation. let’s not forget, in China the government controls the entire internet. If Apple didn’t want to take down the listing, they could easily pull down the entire AppStore (if not all Apple services) with one phone call, just as they did with facebook.