About the counterfeit goods, it doesn't really matter where it is in Asia, they exist everywhere. Yes, including the very most developed cities like Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai. It's also not about the rule of law or anything. It's about producing something that people can afford. Though these Asian countries or cities are so technologically advanced, these things will still exist. One thing to really recognize about Asia is that income equality is still nowhere near the developed West.
The other thing is that most of the law enforcements cannot do anything about it. For example, in Thailand, though bribery also exists, they cannot just arrest the sellers of the counterfeit goods just because it's considered a tort where if those IP owners don't sue them, then the police cannot do anything no matter how obvious it is. So these people can keep selling these things until Apple in Thailand decide to sue them.
And again, it's not about not respecting Western IP owners in particular. The makers of these knockoffs just don't care. Whether it's a local or Western, any brands, they would do it if they can produce it at a cheaper price.
At last, Taiwan = China = Hong Kong = Macau but Thailand is not China. These knockoff iPhones are produced in China (Thailand hardly produces anything but keyboards, hard drives and LCD TVs really) but imported and sold in Thailand and anywhere else in Southeast Asia. It just happened to be spotted in MBK, Bangkok.
