> The legal situation and the rip-off in China is rampant. I was
> cheated by a person calling himself TONY in Hangzhou. I want everyone
> to know of him. TONY is based in Beijing and Tianging. He sent me to
> a middle school in Hangzhou and they did not pay me nor did he. The
> school had no intent of keeping me and TONY said that they did. TONY
> did not pay a very good employee as well. What can be done to tell
> everyone to beware of TONY and Hangzhou Middle School?

> A woman calling herself BabyHoney gave me a job at a railway repair
> depot. When I got there I was told that my only job was to train the
> leader, but that he was leaving for a few days. I had nothing to do
> for about 10 days. I ate, watched TV, and drank some. I was told upon
> his return that there was no way to make me legal and that I not only
> had to leave, but would receive no pay let alone the separation
> allowance.

> What can be done to warn all future teachers to avoid TONY and
> BABYHONEY?

> Sincerely,
> Bruce Stout

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Bruce ...

I empathize with you COMPLETELY! As you have probably read, I was also victimized by similar LIES! OF COURSE, a wee bit more investigation would help before spending one's hard-earned money to make such a cumbersome journey. Nonetheless, despite all the time you spend on researching ANY organization, IF they're robbers at heart, and IF it has been PREdecided that your contract terms are "subject to alteration" once you have arrived, you are, indeed, a cooked goose! However, in all fairness to the honest employers and agencies operating out there, yes, you ARE most definitely taking a chance by hiring instructors "sight-unseen," as it were. But, perhaps a little more investigation on YOUR part could be conducted. The telephone is a great instrument to use to check up on a teacher's credentials before hiring him/her. Also, Mr. Employer, please remember that a round-trip ticket is QUITE a bit of money for the average ESL teacher to afford. At least HALF of that should be PREpaid by YOU... that is, once you have investigated and approved of a candidate. But, there are still enough of the bad guys out there. And, as our dear friend Mr. Xi once aptly put it, "A peasant is always a peasant!" I agree with you wholeheartedly, Xi, albeit a GREATER number of answers to this calamity lie on YOUR &#!@! side of the Pacific!!! Why not start THERE?