--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One issue I have heard from individuals much more familiar with the current Chinese culture than myself, is that the cultural revolution (communist legacy if you will), really disassociated the modern mainland culture from its roots and what you see if the "off-shoots", like Taiwan and Singapore.
The ethics, asporations, priorities, etc. that a person has, are all influenced by their surroundings and the culture that the family/environment holds. I saw this all too well in Russia in the 90s. The "anything for a buck" mentality is the core issue. In US/Western-derived cultures, as well as Singapore/Taiwan, you see boundaries put in place to restrain some this capitalistic drive. For example, in the old days, a man's word, was as good as a contract written on paper. You see this in many historic documents, such as British common law and it's influence on US legal system.
When the "anything for a buck" mentality sets in, your word is no longer that valuable. So naturally, you shift to other value-driving things, such as acquisition of monetary instruments and other "stuff". Means of said acquisition take second seat to acquisition itself. The apps in this case are the other "stuff" being acquired. How they are being acquired are irrelevant, so people doing the acquiring are taking the route of least resistance.
But this is not a China problem. Anyone remember the US financial crisis? Same basic problem - it was easy for consumers to consume beyond their means, and it made sales people richer. For a while, seemed like a win-win, until people needed to pay-up that is.
All of this is incentives problem. In US for example, you have much more incentive to "play nice" with the system, than going against it. For example, it's much more convenient for me to just buy the app. That "convenience" comes from a mix of ethical convictions and the fact that pirating takes time, which I am unwilling to invest, even IF I was ok with it, which I am not ok with stealing. From the economic view, the cost of stealing the app is much greater for me than someone else, so I make the rational choice of buying it and consuming for less.