diff --git a/libs/utils/String16.cpp b/libs/utils/String16.cpp
index c856ceb..b09b728 100644
--- a/libs/utils/String16.cpp
+++ b/libs/utils/String16.cpp
@@ -93,6 +93,19 @@
 {
 }
 
+String16::String16(StaticLinkage)
+    : mString(0)
+{
+    // this constructor is used when we can't rely on the static-initializers
+    // having run. In this case we always allocate an empty string. It's less
+    // efficient than using getEmptyString(), but we assume it's uncommon.
+
+    char16_t* data = static_cast<char16_t*>(
+            SharedBuffer::alloc(sizeof(char16_t))->data());
+    data[0] = 0;
+    mString = data;
+}
+
 String16::String16(const String16& o)
     : mString(o.mString)
 {