In response to Re: Allestra Recruiting - Internship In China (fully paid) (Monitor)

teaching illegally in China is not to be recommended, but some foreigners are doing it.

Selling crystal meth to primary schoolers isn't recommended, either, but some people are doing it.
Neither should be condoned or encouraged or abetted. Saying that recruiters are useful for enabling illegal work, IMHO, damns them much more than it justifies them.

Personally, I have no quibble at all with people who start out on an L of F visa...as long as they're just STARTING OUT that way. You can't get a Residence Permit until you have a job, and the best jobs are very rarely advertised to people still abroad, and it takes schools at least a little time to go through the process of getting the Permits. Coming over on an L, looking for work, and then getting the Permit ASAP is fine. It's the people who come over and STAY on an L or F Visa that I decry, and worry for.

As for forged and fake degrees...yes, it IS rampant in Chinese TESL. And I agree that it's very likely a lot of recruiters are involved with it. However, you don't need a recruiter to get a bogus degree, or to get a job with one.
If Chinese schools were decent and honest and applying real standards, I'd be screaming bloody murder about people using fakes. Sadly, though, most Chinese schools are thoroughly rotten and dishonest...so in the case of China IMHO if YOU can pull the wool over THEIR eyes for a change, and you acquit yourself honorably in the classroom, then more power to ya.

And, older folks are indeed finding it harder to get work...more and more provinces are indeed strictly enforcing the rules denying them Residence Permits. However, this definitely doesn't justify becoming an illegal migrant...indeed, more mature people ought to know better in the first place. As of this writing, there are still places all over China that don't apply the age restrictions...and one can find work in them honestly, no recruiter required.

I just can't think of ANY reasonable or attractive scenario that involves the need for using a recruiter.
I can think of lots of Invitations to the Blues that DO involve using a recruiter.
Don't use a recruiter. Just...don't. If you have to rely on one of those scammers to get a job, you really should reconsider coming to or being in China at all.