What?
What's happened? Apple seems to be getting attacked from all sides. Not the least of which is Shenzhen Proview Technology, which is trying to stop the United States tech giant from selling its iPads on the mainland or even exporting iPads to other countries. At first, the case would seem like a no-brainer. It's Apple, right? But a few mainland courts have ruled in Proview's favour and forced shops to take iPads off the shelves. The case is not as simple as it seems.
Who?
Who is Shenzhen Proview Technology? The company is a subsidiary of a Hong Kong company, Proview International Holdings. That company owns production plants in Shenzhen, Wuhan , Taiwan and Brazil. Shenzhen Proview is deeply in debt, increasing the pressure for it to demand a big payout from Apple. Proview International has been suspended from trading on the Hong Kong stock market since August 2010 and will be removed from the exchange in June if it cannot show it has enough resources to keep running.
Apple is a big customer of Foxconn, which is the mainland's largest private employer. That fact that Apple makes its products in China will make it difficult for the central government to stay out of this case.
Why?