It's not weird. Apple reversed their decision and allowed the app on the App Store. Now they are facing veiled threats from Chinese state media for doing the right thing.
It got through the approval process recently.
Bloomberg claims they saw the initial rejection notice, which was later reversed.
[1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-03/apple-rev...
What I meant was that it had never been approved, so the state never switched.
But you’re right, the reporting was that it was initially rejected, so I was wrong.