Apple, hungry to build their market in China, has taken a position that will not endear them to the Chinese leadership and much of the Chinese people. Though the Apple iTunes store is not marketed to China, it is accessed there frequently, especially by foreigners in the country–such as those attending the Olympics.

Apple is offering up an album on the service called “Songs for Tibet,” featuring artists like Sting and Dave Matthews, and word is that around 40 Olympic athletes downloaded the album in the last two weeks. Of course, while there is not concrete evidence to support the claim, it appears as if Chinese authorities have blocked iTunes in response to the pro-Tibet album.

While Apple manufactures products in China, they have yet to gain any significant foothold with Mac or other products. With the iPhone launching, good relations with not only the government, but the Chinese people who by and large support the government’s stance on Tibet, are important for Apple to maintain and build

A government-run Chinese site, China.org.cn, was actually calling for Chinese citizens to boycott the iPhone and other Apple products in response the the album.

In reality, it’s probably more a coincidence than anything else. How is an international website supposed to justify censorship due to the beliefs of one country?

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