Hong Kong protester app to avoid police banned by Apple
International condemnation of police violence in Hong Kong is continuing to grow following the shooting of a teenager on Tuesday.
Thursday 3 October 2019 14:37, UK
Apple has banned an app allowing protesters in Hong Kong to track the movements of police, despite growing international condemnation against the violence deployed by police against pro-democracy activists.
The technology company, which produces its key iPhone product almost entirely in China, told the makers of the HKmap Live app that it would not be allowed on the App Store because it helped users evade law enforcement.
Britain's foreign secretary Dominic Raab criticised the police's use of live ammunition on Tuesday following the shooting of a teenage protester who has been charged with rioting and assaulting an officer.
Tsang Chi-kin, 18, who took a bullet in the left shoulder during a fight with riot officers in the Tsuen Wan district of the city, is still in a critical condition in hospital.
The teenager's friends told Sky News: "Yesterday, I saw that they shot him at such close range and in the left of his chest. It is obvious that they wanted to kill him."
An Indonesian journalist, Veby Indah, who police shot in the face with a crowd-control round on Sunday, has now permanently lost sight in her right eye.
Growing concerns regarding police violence have driven protesters in Hong Kong to network and collaborate, with services tracking riot forces such as HKmap Live being used to enable protesters to avoid what they see as government-directed attacks.
HKmap Live, which is still available over the web, was refused access to the App Store - but the app maker initially wrote on Twitter that it believed the ban was "more of a bureaucratic f up than censorship" and that it was being reconsidered.
The app is still not available as of publication.
Protests in have been raging for almost four months but for many the shooting of a teenager has crossed a line, and Sky News' correspondent Siobhan Robbins said that it felt as if the protest had entered a new phase.
The protests have now entered their fifth month and have escalated in violence, with demonstrators hurling petrol bombs while police have fired tear gas, water cannon, rubber bullets and now live ammunition.
Sky's Alex Crawford, who was reporting from the city's Admiralty district at the time, said: "This water cannon is very, very effective at dispersing crowds.
"I think the water has definitely been mixed with something because it is very toxic. You find it hard to breathe. It is not just water, not just blue dye."
Apple was not able to immediately respond to enquiries sent by Sky News.