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This move comes after Apple re-instated the app into the app store under public pressure. This comes after Apple told Senator Howley that the decision to block

This move comes after Apple re-instated the app into the app store under public pressure. This comes after Apple told Senator Howley that the decision to block the app had been a mistake: https://twitter.com/HawleyMO/status/1180214941867036672 https://twitter.com/HawleyMO/status/1180214941867036672 It's important for the discussion that this app does not violate any local laws in Hong Kong. It is a safety tool. You can check out the web version here (click icons and paste text into Google translate if you can't read Chinese) https://hkmap.live/ https://hkmap.live/ In a nutshell, it shows where police are (puppy icons), police vehicles, concentrations of demonstrators (construction worker icon), sightings of the special riot squad called the raptors (dinosaur icon), and places where demonstrators can find safe transport (house icon). There's a lot of rumor flying around Hong Kong that selective website blocking will be the next emergency measure after the mask ban, so it's very important to have a backup version of this site on the app store (and Google store) in addition to the web version.

nneonneo 7y ago
Using a dog icon for the police isn’t exactly a great look if you’re trying to be neutral. It’s roughly equivalent to using a pig to represent the police in the US. I don’t see why they couldn’t have just used one of the standard emoji for police there - it’d be a lot less likely to offend.
- frankacter 7y ago
  As a counterpoint, I grew up with McGruff the Crime Dog, which is still used today: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McGruff_the_Crime_Dog https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McGruff_the_Crime_Dog Also worth noting that K9 Units are heavily utilized by police https://www.police.gov.hk/ppp_en/11_useful_info/pdu/index.html https://www.police.gov.hk/ppp_en/11_useful_info/pdu/index.ht... There is a historical precedent of that association.
  - nneonneo 7y ago
    “It’s totally ok, dogs are police too” doesn’t quite work in a culture where dogs are often invoked as insult words. There’s a different cultural context here that you need to be aware of. As I said, the American equivalent would probably be to use a little pig emoji for a police officer, which I doubt would go over well here. It’s not by a stretch the most controversial aspect of the app, but it doesn’t really help their case much.
  - k_sze 7y ago
    The policeman emoji also exists for a reason.
- idlewords 7y ago
  It's a cute puppy icon, and nobody is trying to be neutral.
htfu 7y ago
Ah, so the app is fully p2p? I was wondering what (apart from principle) made having it at all important but in that case it makes sense.

nneonneo 7y ago

Using a dog icon for the police isn’t exactly a great look if you’re trying to be neutral. It’s roughly equivalent to using a pig to represent the police in the US. I don’t see why they couldn’t have just used one of the standard emoji for police there - it’d be a lot less likely to offend.

frankacter 7y ago
As a counterpoint, I grew up with McGruff the Crime Dog, which is still used today: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McGruff_the_Crime_Dog https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McGruff_the_Crime_Dog Also worth noting that K9 Units are heavily utilized by police https://www.police.gov.hk/ppp_en/11_useful_info/pdu/index.html https://www.police.gov.hk/ppp_en/11_useful_info/pdu/index.ht... There is a historical precedent of that association.
- nneonneo 7y ago
  “It’s totally ok, dogs are police too” doesn’t quite work in a culture where dogs are often invoked as insult words. There’s a different cultural context here that you need to be aware of. As I said, the American equivalent would probably be to use a little pig emoji for a police officer, which I doubt would go over well here. It’s not by a stretch the most controversial aspect of the app, but it doesn’t really help their case much.
- k_sze 7y ago
  The policeman emoji also exists for a reason.
idlewords 7y ago
It's a cute puppy icon, and nobody is trying to be neutral.

htfu 7y ago

Ah, so the app is fully p2p? I was wondering what (apart from principle) made having it at all important but in that case it makes sense.