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Apple Hides Taiwan Flag in Hong Kong

(blog.emojipedia.org)
1456 points pulisse | 5 comments | 07 Oct 19 16:24 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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tinus_hn ◴[07 Oct 19 16:46 UTC] No.21182965[source]▶
In other news, when you were able to visit Google Maps in China you would see the Chinese view of the world where disputed regions are part of China, while the rest of the world would see something else.

https://qz.com/224821/see-how-borders-change-on-google-maps-...

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paxys ◴[07 Oct 19 17:15 UTC] No.21183340[source]▶
This is true for every country in the world. Google Maps in the US displays borders/countries which the US government recognizes.
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1. unethical_ban ◴[07 Oct 19 17:33 UTC] No.21183597[source]▶
I disagree. You may see "contested" borders, but not outright US policy. For example, the US recognizes the sovereignty of Kosovo, but Google Maps shows it as a dotted border. And Wikipedia accurately describes it as a disputed state.
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2. dheera ◴[07 Oct 19 17:42 UTC] No.21183727[source]▶
Recognition of one side or another in a foreign dispute is a little different than having your own dispute or claim.

Guantanamo Bay (disputed between US/Cuba) used to be marked as US territory in Google Maps at least when viewed from the US, although interestingly, I'm looking at it now it doesn't say Cuba / United States along the border anymore.

I can't imagine the amount of crap they must go through on the backend to deal with these idiotic human politics. Humans suck.

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3. thefringthing ◴[07 Oct 19 17:52 UTC] No.21183858[source]▶
There is no dispute about what country Guantanamo Bay is part of: both the US and Cuba agree it is part of Cuba.

The dispute is about whether the lease agreement which allowed the US to use that territory as a naval base is still in force. Early after the Cuban Revolution, one of the US's regular rent cheques was mistakenly cashed, and the US claims this is recognition on the part of Cuba that the lease remains valid.

4. gus_massa ◴[07 Oct 19 17:56 UTC] No.21183906[source]▶
> Recognition of one side or another in a foreign dispute is a little different than having your own dispute or claim.

I agree. A better list of places to look in the maps are the current disputed areas between USA and Canada https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_areas_disputed_by_Cana... In particular, what do you see in this map? https://www.google.com/maps/place/Machias+Seal+Island/@44.33...

5. wahern ◴[07 Oct 19 21:53 UTC] No.21186375[source]▶
You assume that maps are uniform throughout the U.S., or that the U.S. government mandates certain depictions. They're not, and the government does not, except for the maps it purchases for itself.

Whatever Google depicts is what Google chooses to depict; and what they pick, at least in the U.S., is a function of what they believe people expect to see or need to see. They depict Taiwan as a separate state despite the U.S. government not recognizing them as such because it's what people expect to see. It's trivial to find maps in the U.S. depicting any alternative you desire. Equivocating popularity with government-mandated depictions is not constructive.