Fired for buying an iPhone 7? This is what happens when patriotism trumps materialism

When Apple started selling the iPhone in China, I’m sure that the last thing they expected to see was a bunch of Chinese citizens smashing iPhones to the tune of the Chinese national anthem in a fit of jingoistic frenzy. Strangely enough, that’s exactly what happened. A number of Chinese firms, the Nanyang Yongkang Medicine company in particular, issued edicts barring their employees from purchasing the iPhone 7. The aforementioned medicine company’s edict went viral on Weibo, reports the BBC.  This notice was timed to coincide with the eighty-fifth anniversary of Japan’s invasion of China. The company decided to commemorate the occasion by boycotting foreign products. The story was picked up by a local news channel, went viral, and dozens of other firms decided to follow suit. These companies issued threats ranging from “you’ll be fired for buying an iPhone 7” to “you’ll be removed from candidacy for annual rewards of outstanding performance.” Considering that the iPhone is made in China, the move is certainly counter-productive. Some on Weibo have even complained that the edicts violate citizens’ rights. But the less said about that the better. Some companies are attempting to brush off these dictatorial edicts as concern for their employees. “I’m not against foreign brands but I don’t like to see people buying expensive iPhones that they can’t obviously afford,” one employer told the BBC. Such concern. Much wow. Oh, and that jingoistic frenzy we mentioned earlier? Check it out here. It’s surreal. Now if only they were doing it to the Harlem Shake. That would certainly have been something.