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No I pirate because it makes economic sense and also because I feel no shame in doing so. Neither do the chinese. Having money doesn't prevent people from picki

No I pirate because it makes economic sense and also because I feel no shame in doing so. Neither do the chinese. Having money doesn't prevent people from picking lower prices options. The cultural attitude I talk about dominates most of the culture in china. You walk into shenzhen not only is software pirated but entire phones, products and hardware is pirated and sold publicly. It's completely normal in china. Not to mention many people are proud of their own businesses. Whatever your experience is I feel you're telling it from within some social strata that is largely different from the rest of china and this is only a minority opinion. Like the author I say this in the most non judgmental way possible.

powerapple 6y ago
No, there are iPhone assembled from parts, I won't call it pirated. And people who buy those phones because they cannot afford it. It is very different from what you are doing. And the worst part of your story is that you attribute what you did to something not yours, so you don't have to take the responsibility of your own behavior. It is wrong. Look at the iPhone sales figure from Apple, and look at android sales numbers. And you are trying to suggest that "the rest of China" buys a counter fake iPhone? You are either dishonest or you know nothing about China.
- neonological 6y ago
  > No, there are iPhone assembled from parts, I won't call it pirated. And people who buy those phones because they cannot afford it. It is very different from what you are doing. And the worst part of your story is that you attribute what you did to something not yours, so you don't have to take the responsibility of your own behavior. It is wrong. Some are legit parts. Many are pirated. There's even android phones sold under the apple brand with a reskinned android OS. You 100% don't know what you're talking about at all. You want proof? Watch it: https://youtu.be/e4wbFdePb-k?t=278 https://youtu.be/e4wbFdePb-k?t=278 The more you watch the more educated you'll be. >Look at the iPhone sales figure from Apple, and look at android sales numbers. And you are trying to suggest that "the rest of China" buys a counter fake iPhone? You are either dishonest or you know nothing about China. Yes. Dude. In China they have entire factories that build counterfeit stuff. >And the worst part of your story is that you attribute what you did to something not yours, so you don't have to take the responsibility of your own behavior. It is wrong. This is where you're wrong. I never admitted or justified what I was doing as right or wrong. In fact I think it's wrong. I'm human and I'm not perfect. I'm very capable of doing things that are wrong. The difference between you and me is that I don't have to lie to myself about the reality of what I'm doing. I don't have to justify it to myself. It's wrong, but I do it regardless without lying to myself. There are moral lines I don't cross, but I'm no boy scout. If you can't see that pirated goods are rampant in China than you're lying to yourself. Stop lying. Accept reality for what it is, don't let national pride blind you from the absolute truth.
  - dang 6y ago
    Your comment also crosses into personal attack; please don't do that on HN, even when provoked. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
  - powerapple 6y ago
    Let me be very honest with you, my friends, and my relatives, and all the people I know, I have yet to meet a single person who bought a counterfeit iPhone or Android. They live in third-tier city, regular people.
    - neonological 6y ago
      Explain the video. Explain the actual physical knock off of the iPhone in that video. Explain what sort of resources are required to build a phone that looks like that. I can assure you that thing is not hand made. It's coming out of a factory. Your anecdotal evidence pales in the face of visual evidence and information distributed by a wired documentary. Whether you or your friends buy knock offs doesn't change the fact that a huge industry of cheaters exists. I think you haven't been to the States. What you may consider "normal" is actually far off from what happens in the west. The western perspective on China: https://youtu.be/5ncOyYzOP3w?t=274 https://youtu.be/5ncOyYzOP3w?t=274
      - powerapple 6y ago
        The total mobile phone shipment in China for 2020 is 326 millions. You are telling me there are a huge industry outside these numbers. I don't know what to say to be honest. Mobile phones are the last to have knockoffs, because the price range is so large you can get something decent at any given price. I wouldn't trust some random documentary more than real knowledge on the ground. One industry I won't disagree with you is brands, clothing, Nike/Adidas for example. The problem is still affordability. The consumerism has educated people to value brands, and they will buy counterfeits when they cannot afford it. I don't blame people buying counterfeits to be honest, people make financial decisions based on their circumstances, either setting a trust to avoid taxation, or a shell company, to buy some counterfeits product they cannot afford.
- dang 6y ago
  You broke the site guidelines with this comment. Please don't cross into personal attack. If you wouldn't mind reviewing https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and sticking to the rules when posting here, we'd be grateful.
  - powerapple 6y ago
    Apologies. I need to improve my writing. It is not meant to be a personal attack.
    - dang 6y ago
      Appreciated!

powerapple 6y ago

No, there are iPhone assembled from parts, I won't call it pirated. And people who buy those phones because they cannot afford it. It is very different from what you are doing. And the worst part of your story is that you attribute what you did to something not yours, so you don't have to take the responsibility of your own behavior. It is wrong. Look at the iPhone sales figure from Apple, and look at android sales numbers. And you are trying to suggest that "the rest of China" buys a counter fake iPhone? You are either dishonest or you know nothing about China.

neonological 6y ago
> No, there are iPhone assembled from parts, I won't call it pirated. And people who buy those phones because they cannot afford it. It is very different from what you are doing. And the worst part of your story is that you attribute what you did to something not yours, so you don't have to take the responsibility of your own behavior. It is wrong. Some are legit parts. Many are pirated. There's even android phones sold under the apple brand with a reskinned android OS. You 100% don't know what you're talking about at all. You want proof? Watch it: https://youtu.be/e4wbFdePb-k?t=278 https://youtu.be/e4wbFdePb-k?t=278 The more you watch the more educated you'll be. >Look at the iPhone sales figure from Apple, and look at android sales numbers. And you are trying to suggest that "the rest of China" buys a counter fake iPhone? You are either dishonest or you know nothing about China. Yes. Dude. In China they have entire factories that build counterfeit stuff. >And the worst part of your story is that you attribute what you did to something not yours, so you don't have to take the responsibility of your own behavior. It is wrong. This is where you're wrong. I never admitted or justified what I was doing as right or wrong. In fact I think it's wrong. I'm human and I'm not perfect. I'm very capable of doing things that are wrong. The difference between you and me is that I don't have to lie to myself about the reality of what I'm doing. I don't have to justify it to myself. It's wrong, but I do it regardless without lying to myself. There are moral lines I don't cross, but I'm no boy scout. If you can't see that pirated goods are rampant in China than you're lying to yourself. Stop lying. Accept reality for what it is, don't let national pride blind you from the absolute truth.
- dang 6y ago
  Your comment also crosses into personal attack; please don't do that on HN, even when provoked. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- powerapple 6y ago
  Let me be very honest with you, my friends, and my relatives, and all the people I know, I have yet to meet a single person who bought a counterfeit iPhone or Android. They live in third-tier city, regular people.
  - neonological 6y ago
    Explain the video. Explain the actual physical knock off of the iPhone in that video. Explain what sort of resources are required to build a phone that looks like that. I can assure you that thing is not hand made. It's coming out of a factory. Your anecdotal evidence pales in the face of visual evidence and information distributed by a wired documentary. Whether you or your friends buy knock offs doesn't change the fact that a huge industry of cheaters exists. I think you haven't been to the States. What you may consider "normal" is actually far off from what happens in the west. The western perspective on China: https://youtu.be/5ncOyYzOP3w?t=274 https://youtu.be/5ncOyYzOP3w?t=274
    - powerapple 6y ago
      The total mobile phone shipment in China for 2020 is 326 millions. You are telling me there are a huge industry outside these numbers. I don't know what to say to be honest. Mobile phones are the last to have knockoffs, because the price range is so large you can get something decent at any given price. I wouldn't trust some random documentary more than real knowledge on the ground. One industry I won't disagree with you is brands, clothing, Nike/Adidas for example. The problem is still affordability. The consumerism has educated people to value brands, and they will buy counterfeits when they cannot afford it. I don't blame people buying counterfeits to be honest, people make financial decisions based on their circumstances, either setting a trust to avoid taxation, or a shell company, to buy some counterfeits product they cannot afford.
dang 6y ago
You broke the site guidelines with this comment. Please don't cross into personal attack. If you wouldn't mind reviewing https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and sticking to the rules when posting here, we'd be grateful.
- powerapple 6y ago
  Apologies. I need to improve my writing. It is not meant to be a personal attack.
  - dang 6y ago
    Appreciated!