Dalai Lama apps blocked in China App Store

Dalai Lama apps blocked in China App Store

Some of the blocked apps display inspirational quotes from the Tibetan spiritual leader

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

BEIJING, CHINA: Saying that they are "continuing with local laws" Apple have apparently blocked at least five iPhone applications related to the Dalai Lama in its China App Store.

Some of the blocked apps, named Dalai Quotes, Dalai Lama Quotes and Dalai Lama Prayerwheel, display inspirational quotes from the Tibetan spiritual leader. One among them tells users where he is currently teaching, while another contains information about Nobel Prize winners including the Dalai Lama, said a PC world report.

Meanwhile, these apps appear in most countries' versions of the App Store.

The move comes after carrier China Unicom launched iPhone sales two months ago, making regulatory approval of the phone's contents in the country necessary for the first time.

"We continue to comply with local laws," Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller was quoted as saying. "Not all apps are available in every country," Muller added.

One more app unavailable in the China App Store is the one related to Rebiya Kadeer, who is also an exiled minority leader reviled by Chinese authorities, the report said.

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