We already know that Apple is having some problems in China with the iPhone 4: the Beijing Apple Store had to be closed due to excessive demand by customers - customers who turned out to be smugglers and scalpers buying lots of iPhone to resell them at the grey market. Apple and the Chinese government are also facing another issue: people importing gadgets (so yeah, iPhones) from Hong Kong.

MicGadget is now reporting that Apple has cancelled many orders from the Hong Kong Apple online store, and new ones are not going through either.

Many customers apparently received this email:

Dear Apple Online Store Customer,

Thank you for your recent Apple order.

To ensure that all customers are given the opportunity to acquire iPhone, we have limited the quantity available per customer. Our records indicate that you’ve exceeded this limit for iPhone orders, therefore this order has been cancelled.

We apologize for any inconvenience caused.

Sincerely,
Apple Online Store Customer Support

MicGadget reports that all kinds of orders have been cancelled., and it’s not a problem of ordering system or shortages supply. It seems like Apple is simply canceling orders to prevent people from exporting iPhones to mainland China.

We took a deep research on the local forums, and we found out that almost all types of iPhone 4 orders have been canceled. It’s not about the quantity limit, or shortage of supply, all 16GB and 32GB orders were canceled no matter how much you are ordering.

Interesting, we’ll keep you posted about it - or maybe Apple PR will let us know later this week. In the meantime, check out the popular video of two women stashing dozens of iPhones in their backpacks.