Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
In China, reactions mixed to LinkedIn on the way out
HONG KONG — For nearly seven years, LinkedIn has been the only major Western social networking platform operating in China. People like Jason Liu view it as an important career-enhancing tool.
Come the end of the year, Liu will no longer have access to the localized version of LinkedIn, after Microsoft, which acquired the platform in 2016, said recently that it would pull out, citing a “significantly more challenging operat- ing environment.”
“It’s a shame,” said Liu, 32, who works in the technology industry in Shenzhen and uses the site to network with other professionals. “LinkedIn gave me a platform to post about my results at work, such as my achievements and promotions.”
LinkedIn will be replaced in China by a jobs posting site called InJobs, without a social media feed and capability for sharing content, Microsoft said.
LinkedIn has over 54 million users in China, its second-largest market after the U.S. Its departure will leave them without access to a platform for networking with professionals in other countries. There are none in China with a similar global reach.
LinkedIn is “irreplaceable,” Liu said.
To access LinkedIn’s international site in the future, Liu said he would have to use a virtual private network to circumvent any blocks, even if it makes the process more of a hassle.
Stefan Ouyang, who works in Shanghai for a foreign internet company, said that he found two jobs via LinkedIn and often uses it to keep in contact with colleagues abroad.
“I worry if I’d still be able to reach my contacts who are using the international version of LinkedIn, and whether it’d be difficult to contact (human resources) managers (on the new version,)” he said.
It is not clear if InJobs will retain these features, and LinkedIn did not immediately comment.
Foreign social networking platforms in China have faced challenges in balancing users’ ability to post what they want with government rules requiring censorship of content deemed unacceptable for political or other reasons.
Some foreign companies, such as Google, withdrew from China as they were unwilling to abide by those rules.
“The biggest challenge that Western tech firms face in China is the same that Chinese tech firms face — an ever-changing and arbitrary regulatory environment with new crackdowns, rules, and pressure to enforce the CCP’s politicized censorship and surveillance,” said Sarah Cook, research director for China, Hong Kong and Taiwan at the non-governmental organization Freedom House.
The sands have shifted, with Chinese President Xi Jinping growing “more intolerant of dissent and open conversation now than just five years ago,” she said.
There are Chinese platforms that offer social networking and content features, such as Maimai, but they’re not global and are favored by white-collar workers in China’s technology industry.
Not everyone is sad to see LinkedIn go.
Zhang Fang, who works at a government-backed institution in Beijing, said LinkedIn doesn’t list job opportunities for civil servants or government organizations in China.
“I registered a LinkedIn account in university, but after I graduated and started working I have never used it once,” he said. “It doesn’t help my career development, unless one day I decide to join the private sector or a foreign company.”
Emchel Wu who works in advertising in Shanghai, said she rarely uses LinkedIn to network anyway.
“It’s kind of embarrassing to have all of your contacts displayed,” she said. “From when I joined LinkedIn, I have added all of four people.”