People’s Daily Blasts Apple Over Hong Kong App, Protesters’ Song

The Communist Party’s flagship newspaper criticized Apple Inc’s decision to approve an app that shows police activity in Hong Kong and to allow its iTunes store to carry a song that’s become a rallying cry for demonstrators in the midst of increasingly violent pro-democracy protests.

The HKmap.live app has been used by protesters to monitor the police’s whereabouts and facilitates illegal activities, the People’s Daily said in a commentary late Tuesday, echoing Apple’s reason for initially rejecting the app. It also said the song “Glory to Hong Kong,” which the paper described as advocating independence, had been “resurrected” after being removed from iTunes. On Wednesday morning, the song was not available in China and Hong Kong’s iTunes stores.