Reflecting on rules that allow bad apples

Apple may feel itself singled out because Apple provides Chinese consumers with a new iPhone but with the old back cover after the first two weeks, plus an extended warranty period of 90 days, while some other enterprises only offer free repair of the broken parts and a warranty period of 30 to 90 days on the Chinese market.

In his letter on Apple's China website Tim Cook goes further, abolishing the "keep the old back cover" policy and extending the warranty period after within-first-year repair for the new iPhone for one whole year, which meet with requirements of Chinese consumer protection regulations.

Some Chinese media have called Cook's statement a letter of apology, but I think it is a statement of Apple's "incomparable" service.

CCTV's consumer rights program, broadcast every year on March 15, is meant to serve the interests of consumers. But the most effective way of doing this would be to raise the country's service and quality benchmarks.

Unfortunately some of China's media have so far ignored the fact that China's rules, which are the fundamental guarantee of consumers' rights, are lower than those in some developed countries and allow monopolies to enrich special interest groups.

The State quality authority should open its eyes and follow the rapid global technological advancement keenly and amend the rules protecting consumers' rights. That it has the awareness to update its national quality standards and consumer rights' rules is of great importance to ensure domestic enterprises pursue more technological breakthroughs and offer better services for consumers.

Moreover, if a crisis initiated by the media has become a publicity coup for Apple, the media should draw the necessary lessons.

The author is a writer with China Daily. E-mail: liyang@chinadaily.com.cn