I have watched the video testimonials, and have much difficulty believing that everyone who goes through there is so satisfied that they volunteer to laud praise on video. What I have an easy time believing is that people go there, and naturally feel a bit vulnerable being at the mercy of the business that has all of the power in renewing their visas and the like.

I'm willing to bet that these testimonials are mandatory, and that those who refuse to say something kind probably do not receive their certification...and may well find themselves in a bad position in a foreign country. That is called Duress. For god's sake.. a lot of them look like teenagers. Teenagers don't volunteer for anything, and that's as close to a fact as you can come without it actually being fact. The average person (especially teenage person) doesn't go around espousing particular opinions to the benefit of their employer. In fact, this is so true, that many militaries (A large employer of people aged 17-26) feel it necessary to make their personnel sign a contract saying that they will.

Many people are willing to do a lot of things they otherwise wouldn't when they're made to feel their livelihoods depend upon it, so I don't see how these video testimonials mean anything at all. I don't doubt that the words they're speaking in these videos are their own. I don't have some paranoid belief that they're scripted. I am, however, about 100% certain that they were required by all people who took the course, and that these people might suffer some undesirable consequences for refusing to partake.

I realize that in many cases this is how business is done in China. I'm sure that turning a blind eye and going with the flow imposed upon you is key to the type of harmonious existence desired in their culture. However, I'm not Chinese, and most of the people this business are likely to be hiring are from countries that are democracies. Coercion of this sort does not settle well with me.

I'm not even suggesting that the managers there are bad people, or that they actively make threats against their employees. They're probably polite people. But I am sure that everyone who works under them is keenly aware of how vulnerable they are to their whims. With this in consideration, I can't see these video testimonials as being evidence of anything other than that these people were asked (and felt obligated) to say a few kind words on film (whether they meant them or not)

This doesn't even mean that they didn't mean the words. They might genuinely like everything about working there. But because of the manner in which they're brought to being in these videos, I don't know who (if anyone) is being genuine, and who is just making the rounds.