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BackIsn’t it more advanced than Taiwan? Call 120 on mobile phone for help, "advertisement cannot be turned off." Old Chinese woman dies tragically at home
Isn’t it more advanced than Taiwan? Call 120 on mobile phone for help, "advertisement cannot be turned off." Old Chinese woman dies tragically at home
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自由时报1 hour agoTech4 min readChinaView original

Isn’t it more advanced than Taiwan? Call 120 on mobile phone for help, "advertisement cannot be turned off." Old Chinese woman dies tragically at home

China has a serious problem with the proliferation of advertisements on domestic mobile phones and smart applications. Not only were the assistance systems of the visually impaired disabled by advertisements, but it was also reported that family members died due to the ads popping up on their phones when they dialed the 120 emergency hotline, delaying their time in getting to the hospital. This triggered heated discussions and criticism both inside and outside China.

Quick Look

  • The proliferation of advertisements on domestic mobile phones and apps in China has caused controversy.
  • Not only are visually impaired people blocked from reading messages, but there are also reports that family members died after being interrupted by pop-up advertisements when dialing the 120 emergency hotline, which delayed medical treatment.
  • The incident set off a wave of testing in the community, exposing the problems of excessive commercialization and lack of supervision of China's technology products.

AI-generated summary

Why It Matters

China's technology industry has developed rapidly in recent years, but the problem of excessive advertisements and malicious pop-ups on mobile devices and smart applications has long existed, causing public dissatisfaction.

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In recent years, the Chinese government has been actively attacking technology industries such as electric vehicles, robots, 3C products, and artificial intelligence (AI). Patriotic pinkettes have also continued to promote "China's technology is the world's best", and even used it to ridicule Taiwan's poverty and backwardness, and that it is not as advanced and powerful as the motherland. However, it has recently been reported that when Chinese people dialed the emergency number 120 (similar to Taiwan's 119), a large number of advertisements popped up on their mobile phones that could not be turned off, causing family members to miss the time to get to the hospital and die.

Li Ying, a well-known overseas Chinese writer in Italy and a Chinese dissident, "Teacher Li is not your teacher," shared a story about the controversy over domestically produced mobile phones that sparked heated discussions in China in early September this year. A visually impaired Chinese was seen on the street opening a domestically produced mobile phone and trying to read messages through the assistive system. Unexpectedly, a large number of advertisements popped up on the screen of the mobile phone, making it completely impossible for the visually impaired person to use it. The picture triggered heated discussions among Chinese netizens, and many people revealed that the reason why the vast majority of visually impaired Chinese people buy iPhones is not because they are unpatriotic, but because the bounce ads on domestic mobile phones are too serious.

Not only that, but a 19-year-old Chinese man posted a cry saying that his mother suffered a heart attack in the early morning and collapsed in the toilet at home. His elderly father, who was seriously ill, hurriedly dialed 120 on his mobile phone. As a result, advertisements that kept popping up on the screen and could not be dismissed made the father desperate. He could only rush out of the house to ask neighbors for help and help send him to the hospital. As a result, his mother missed the best golden rescue time and died. As soon as the news came out, it quickly triggered a wave of testing in the Chinese community. A large number of Chinese netizens shared that when they use different brands of domestic mobile phones to dial 120, the screen will indeed display a lot of advertisements first.

"Xiao Zheng", a YouTuber who is keen on observing the confusing behavior of compatriots within China's wall and has lived in Japan for many years, also shared the chaos of "advertising overflow" of China's 3C products in August this year. Many Shenzhen residents who live in the so-called "smart community" and do not use traditional keys complained that they had to scan the designated QR code with their mobile phones when entering and exiting their homes. However, once the code was scanned, they had to watch dozens of endless pop-up ads. Some people were even trapped outside their homes in the early morning. According to Chinese media reports, the parent company of QR Code, which triggered a strong backlash, has now entered more than 60,000 communities in China.

Chinese and foreign netizens commented on this, "This is no longer harassment, it is exchanging human lives for traffic", "Isn't it a solution to the aging population", "Huawei is the same as the CCP, its greatest ability is to kill people", "China dials 120 seconds to pop up Douyin, so it makes money ”, “Rescuing the wounded and rescuing the wounded has become a shake, advertising is faster than first aid, and the elderly have become targeted for precise harvesting”, “My mother has been using Xiaomi mobile phone for several months, and a webpage will automatically pop up on the screen with advertisements in more than 10 seconds, and it will even automatically download an APP or call the e-commerce shopping hotline, which cannot be turned off at all.

Taiwanese netizens bluntly said, "It's like a dog showing off an electronic dog leash to me", "1.4 billion people can enjoy such an advanced door!", "China's method of harvesting leeks is really far ahead, and Taiwan really can't compare in this regard", "Technological progress should provide one more choice. In China, you have this choice." "You still have to read ads when you scan the QR code when you go home, and your money will be deducted if you click incorrectly. There have been riots in Taiwan. It's basically a scam." "I'm used to the backward, comfortable and convenient life in Taiwan. I really can't get used to such an advanced life in China and I don't want to think about it."

Open Questions

  • Will the mobile phone brands and related applications involved face official punishment?
  • Will the Chinese government introduce new regulations on mobile phone bounce ads?

Related Topics

This article was originally published by 自由时报.

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