On Thursday (Might 9) evening, Cristina Jing Qu, vp and head of the general public relations division of Chinese language search engine and tech large Baidu, issued an announcement on her WeChat Moments account, expressing an apology for the quick movies she lately posted to Douyin that triggered an intense backlash on Chinese language social media.
Over the Might Day vacation interval, Qu shared 4 movies. In these movies, she expressed her method to administration, stating, “In case you are not glad together with your job, be at liberty to resign. I’ll approve it instantly.” She mentioned that she has no obligation to “contemplate staff as household” as a result of “I’m not your mom”.
She added within the movies: “In case you work in public relations, do not anticipate weekends off. Preserve your telephone on 24 hours a day, all the time prepared to reply.”
Her remarks on the poisonous overworking tradition prevalent amongst China’s tech giants startled the web neighborhood and precipitated a PR disaster for Baidu. On Tuesday, Might 7, the second working day after the Chinese language Might Day holidays, the inventory value of Baidu listed in Hong Kong dropped 2.17% or a lack of about HKD 6 billion (US$768 million) in worth.
Following the web backlash, the 4 movies from Qu’s account had been eliminated. Rumours circulating on Wednesday steered that Qu had been fired from the corporate. Nevertheless, subsequent media reviews confirmed that she continues to be working at Baidu.
As a model, Baidu remained silent and didn’t reply to media inquiries or feedback from Chinese language netizens. Solely Qu addressed the difficulty on her WeChat account within the night. She acknowledged, “I’ve meticulously learn by way of the quite a few criticisms, that are certainly legitimate, and I humbly settle for and deeply mirror on them.” She additional defined that she had not sought the corporate’s approval earlier than posting the quick movies, “which doesn’t meet the related procedures”. She additionally clarified that her remarks “don’t characterize the corporate’s place”.
Qu reportedly issued a directive earlier than the vacations. Primarily based on a screenshot that circulated on-line, she mandated that each one Baidu’s PR workforce members needed to create private accounts on platforms equivalent to Douyin, WeChat Channels, and Crimson or Xiaohongshu by Might 2.
Qu is claimed to have gained 950,000 followers in 5 days following her controversial feedback in these quick movies. She was a former reporter from Xinhua Information Company, China’s official state press company. Earlier than becoming a member of Baidu in 2021, she was vp of Huawei’s public and authorities affairs division and China’s media affairs division.
Whereas this isn’t the primary time Baidu has been embroiled in a PR disaster, it’s the primary {that a} PR head from a significant Chinese language tech firm has been the supply of a model’s troubles.
In 2016, Baidu was below investigation by the Chinese language web regulatory authority following the demise of Wei Zexi, a pupil who had undergone an experimental most cancers remedy in a hospital listed on the prime of Baidu’s search outcomes, and which led to widespread public outrage.
In the meantime, in 2018, Robin Li, the founding father of Baidu, made an announcement suggesting that Chinese language web customers be ready to commerce their privateness for comfort. This comment ignited public discontent.