蘋果在華可能遭遇"谷歌時刻"

When Google decided it would stop complying with Chinese censorship, it cited a cyber attack originating in that country. “What at first appeared to be solely a security incident . . . was something quite different,” Google wrote. Five years later, most Googleservices remain blocked in China.

當谷歌(Google)決定不再配合中國審查制度時，該公司提到源自中國的一起網絡攻擊。“起初看似單純的安全事件……到頭來卻是相當不同的情況，”谷歌寫道。5年後，多數谷歌服務仍受到中國屏蔽。

Apple experienced a significant cyber attack in China this week – bad timing, as the iPhone 6 just went on sale there. Apple has disclosed few details. The attack was serious enough that Tim Cook met a vice premier on Wednesday to discuss “protecting user information”, as the state news agency puts it. (He even wore a tie for the occasion.) It’s the latest of many setbacks, including state media campaigns against Apple and a delay in the iPhone 6 release. China is crucial for Apple: it accounted for more than a third of revenue growth in the last fiscal year. Without China, sales growth would have been below five per cent in five of the last six quarters.

蘋果(Apple)最近在中國遭遇重大網絡攻擊——時機很糟糕，因爲iPhone 6恰好在中國發售。蘋果披露的細節很少。這次攻擊如此嚴重，以至於蘋果CEO蒂姆•庫克(Tim Cook)上週三會晤了中國副總理馬凱（那天庫克甚至戴上了一條領帶）。官方通訊社稱，雙方討論了“保護用戶信息安全”問題。這是衆多挫折（包括官方媒體協同聲討蘋果，以及iPhone 6發售延遲）中的最新挫折。中國對蘋果至關重要：在上一財年的營收增長中，中國市場的貢獻超過三分之一。若沒有中國，過去六個季度中有五個季度的銷售增長將不到5%。

Most companies blocked in China are in the information-sharing business (Twitter, Facebook). Apple’s position may appear simpler because it makes hardware. A seller of, say, fibre optic cable to China would not be accused of abetting violations of privacy, even if the calls and emails passing through that cable were monitored.

在中國被屏蔽的多數企業從事信息共享業務（如Twitter和Facebook）。蘋果的情況也許看上去更簡單，因爲它主要做的是硬件。舉例而言，向中國銷售光纜的賣家不會被指控助長侵犯隱私行爲，即便通過光纜傳輸的通話和電子郵件受到監聽。

Apple is also a software company, however. Its privacy policies govern everything stored on the iCloud, such as users’ photos, contacts and text messages. Changes to encryption settings in Apple’s operating system means police can no longer access data stored in it, which will displease authorities in China just as it has in the US. Apple recently started storing some iCloud data on servers located in China. The data are encrypted, but also subject to Chinese law. Google concluded that operating a search business in China was incompatible with its principles. This week’s attacks show that Apple cannot avoid making its own hard choices about China.

不過，蘋果也是一家軟件公司。它的隱私政策適用於存儲在iCloud雲服務中的所有內容，如用戶的照片、通訊錄和短信。蘋果操作系統的加密設置變化意味着，警方將不再能夠訪問存儲在蘋果iCloud上的數據，這使中國和美國的執法部門都感到不快。最近，蘋果開始將一部分iCloud數據存儲於中國境內的服務器。這些數據是加密的，但也受到中國法律的管轄。谷歌得出結論，在中國運營搜索業務與該公司的原則不相容。最近的攻擊表明，蘋果也無法避免作出有關中國的艱難抉擇。