Chinese PR boss says sorry after glorifying work-till-you-drop culture

In a series of videos on the app Douyin, Qu Jing told staff not to ‘expect weekends off’. Her videos sparked a backlash and have since been taken down. Photograph: Aly Song/Reuters

The head of public relations at China’s biggest search engine, Baidu, has apologised after creating her own PR crisis with a series of videos glorifying the country’s work-till-you-drop culture.

Qu Jing, who is also vice-president at the company, said she would not take responsibility for her staff’s wellbeing “as I’m not your mother” in the videos posted over the May bank holiday on Douyin, the most popular short-video app in China. In another she said: “If you work in public relations, don’t expect weekends off.”