John Gruber might be technically brilliant but to be politically informed is a whole different matter. His pieces on those issues over the last few months "reek

John Gruber might be technically brilliant but to be politically informed is a whole different matter. His pieces on those issues over the last few months "reek of" nativity, to use his own last sentence. Sure, everybody is entitled to their opinions but I'm not sure if it makes sense for him to be so loud and self-assured on these things before actually getting a solid grasp of them. His argument that Taiwanese flag has been OK to the Chinese regime because it's similar to the Hongkongnese flag is just plainly nonsense, if one has the least bit of awareness of Chinese news. Sure, HK and Macau have their own flags, but it is based on the understanding that ultimately they're "part of China". The Taiwanese use of their flag intends to signify that they are a completely independent political entity. You cannot simply claim they're the same thing. In fact, there have been countless incidents of international brands subject to the wrath of Chinese consumers (not really the regime) just because their wording/map etc. might be interpreted as supporting Taiwan independence. I'm not saying it is good for the populace to be this sensitive and nationalistic, but it is just the fact at this moment. I'm sure that when Apple decided to remove the flag, it's more of a "careful not to have any reason to be subject to a potential boycott" decision, i.e. a commercial one, which is natural to all profit-driven companies.