Apple Inc. (AAPL), Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Part of Dangerous Chinese Witch-Hunt?

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is apparently the newest company to be facing ridicule by the state-run media in China. After all, with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) taking off some heat by apologizing for its repair and replacement policies involving its iPhone, it seems like there is not much news going on in China, so the media needed to fill some air time with a new scandal involving an U.S. tech company. Not just Apple.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), we’re bored. We need a story. Oh wait, there is your warranty! Perfect!

Yep, Microsoft is now in the crosshairs of China media, as this time China National Radio is picking on the warranty for the Surface tablet, which has a one-year warranty for every part of the tablet, including major parts and components.

The latest “scandal” has had China’s national radio network taking shots at Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and its tablet for not following national law which requires a two-year warranty for major components and one year for the entire tablet.

The radio network insists (of course) that this report has only come from recent complaints about Microsoft’s warranty policies, and is in no way related to the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) crusade, which ended once CEO Tim Cook issued a public apology and immediately changed the company’s policies for repair and replacement of its iPhone devices.

Though the state media says this isn’t a witch hunt for U.S. tech companies involving Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Apple and the rest of the gang, there are skeptics. “It sounds potentially worrisome; it looks a copycat of the whole Apple thing,” said author Doug Young,  who wrote a book about the state-run media in China.

As the Chinese national media, and by extension consumers, got their apology from tech heavyweight Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) over warranty policies, is it possible that  China believes it can bully another tech company like Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) into getting CEO Steve Ballmer to issue its own apology? How well do you know Microsoft’s Ballmer – do you think he’ll pull an Apple-esque Tim Cook? We’d like your thoughts about this in the comments section below.

DISCLOSURE: I own no positions in any stock mentioned.

Related tickers: Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)