So I’m no longer actually in Changchun or China for that matter 
, but
back in the UK for reasons stated in this previous post
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I’m In the UK now 我现在在英国呢
So I’m no longer actually in Changchun or China for that matter
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Hi David.
Having read your articles I have a few questions, if you could be so kind as to answer them for me.
I have recently replied to an advertisement calling for English Teachers, foreign experts, for Jida. The contact name at first is Michele. I have since recieved a reply from ‘ Linda Zhang ‘ whose email address is Limei Chen.
After requesting the address of the school I was told; No 338 Jiefang Road ,Changchun City. When I ‘ googled ‘ this I found a few negative reports and suspect these people and this address are all ‘ in it together ‘ . Does this sound familiar with you or your experience ?
There was of course the promise of being collected at the airport, free apartment, parties etc.
Many thanks for your time
Simon Greenock
I know this cowboy outfit, infact I made the mistake of working for them and you might want to chek out some of the previous entries in late 2005.
Don’t even think about working for ‘Linda’ if you have a choice, it got me into a terrible position. They are illegal and have no right to hire foreigners -though a few foolhardy laowai work for her. They used my passport for various illegal things which ended up with me having to deal with the police as to why my visa had been applied for using forged documents! Not a situation you want to go through. Linda is an ex Tianshuo employee – look that up on google – enough said.
She will seem pleasant enough but you will have issues over being paid late/not enough/pay deductions – not to mention they are illegal – and you will be too. You’ll be working on an F visa or a tourist visa – you’ll have to pay for it yourself, won’t get paid vacations, and wont have the support of working legally. Avoid.
I thought this may be the case. Thanks for confirming my suspicions.
I have a family member who is in Changchun teaching in a medical
school there.
Your blog scares me to death. The people over the medical school
are from Canada, her name is Carolyn. This is all I know. What
can you tell me about this college.
They have been so very nice to my family member, doing so much for
them. Free apartment, and right now they are having a 2 month break
in school and they are being so good to take him under their wings.
I am anxious to hear from you.
I don’t know which medical school you’re referring to, but If it’s the Norman Bethune Medical School (Jilin University Medical School) then I can tell you that the school itself is a great place to work. The students are brilliant and the facilities (by Chinese standards) are very good. The accommadation they provided was very good (although couldn’t leave after 10.30pm) I had no problems whatsoever with them.
The 2 month holiday is standard at Chinese universities and It should be paid. If you work for the Med school (like all FTs at Jida) you are actually paid and employed by the Dept. for Internatonal Co-operation.
They are responsible for your pay and I (and many other FTs) were not paid for 2 months of vacation, depite the contract saying so and their promises to us before we signed the contract. We only found out we were not going to be paid at the end of December – after we had finished teaching the first semester, and after we’d handed in our grades/completed our exams. Obviously we felt cheated. It is not just FTs that should get paid for the vacation, all Chinese techaers are paid as well. It is standard practice at government run colleges/universities.
I don’t know what contract she has (there are so many variations at Jida) but she should have no problem with the people at the medical school whatsoever.
I’m a Chinese teaching English in Changchun, I have some foreign friends who were in some ways cheated by some companies or colleges. I feel for them and I try my best to help them.
I searched online and found some policies issued by the State Foreign Experts Bureau,their website is :www.safea.gov.cn.Unfortunately a lot of the information is in Chinese. But here in China, if a college recruits foreign teachers, it must meet certain standards like this:the college has no financial problems, it must have personnel that can communicate with foreign teachers,it must be able to supply free apartment with necessary furniture,cooking utensils.airconditioner,internet,telephone…and it must also give foreign teachers(one-year contract) round way ticket money or ticket,travel money 2200 yuan per year. I know a lot of the contracts are not even standard and the government encourages the colleges or companies to use their recommended standard contract with appendix .The appendix is separate part of the contract ,it is just a typed paper of your requirments and their requirments and promises,but it becomes binding part of the contract.It is the meat and potatoes of the contract. A lot of the college when they recruit foreign teachers, they always try to hide the welfare policies from you, or what they are supposed to give you, so they can save the money and not pay you on time. Companies would cheat you the most.
Actually , in big cities like Beijing ,Shanghai, conditions are a lot better.
In Changchun, if you want to teach, don’t teach ChangChun University,Tianshuo company,HuaQiao foreign language institute…you really need a lot of information before you sign any contract with employer.. And if you really get in trouble, you can really go to the government and to tell the truth, government really don’t like the trouble the college or companies make for them, and they can cancel their qualification thing which they check everyyear,so the college or company can’t recruit foreign teachers wthin a couple of years..
my email:ken112259@aol.com
In Changchun, if you want to teach, don’t teach ChangChun University,Tianshuo company,HuaQiao foreign language institute…
I never had any issues with Changchun University, though the accommodation was poor.
you really need a lot of information before you sign any contract with employer..
Agreed
But here in China, if a college recruits foreign teachers, it must meet certain standards
Yes, but one must understand this is China
Companies would cheat you the most.
True in Changchun.
Actually , in big cities like Beijing ,Shanghai, conditions are a lot better.
Probably true. Laws imposed by central government are followed more so than out in the provinces. Still have to be careful though
And if you really get in trouble, you can really go to the government and to tell the truth,
Laughable! Be very careful here. People who run colleges/universities/companies generally have good connections. You will almost certainly get yourself into more trouble doing things this way. This is why I sometimes advocate ‘pulling a runner’ as the best solution.
government really don’t like the trouble the college or companies make for them, and they can cancel their qualification thing which they check every year,so the college or company can’t recruit foreign teachers wthin a couple of years..
Not true in my experience. The government body whom I went to (the state admin of foreign experts for Jilin province) told me verbatim (I’ve translated it from Chinese) ‘we have a good relationship with Jilin University, we do not want to damage that relationship’
Therefore these government depts have relationships (i.e guanxi pay bribes whatever) with the schools/universities/companies and will serve their interests not yours!
David, you are getting arrogant, I ‘ m sorry.
You are ALWAYS right.
And you are a fraud!
IP addresses dont lie –
Linda
honestlinda@sohu.com 125.32.86.5
Harry
ken112259@aol.com 125.32.86.5
125.32.86.5
Get a life and stop spamming my blog with your poison! You obviously work for a company/agent that has been affected as a result of bad publicity from this site - you reap what you sew!
Dear David,
I’ve gone through your website and I got really afraid. I haven’t bought my filght tickets yet.
I’m going to work for Lambton College-Jilin University. up to now our deal is very good and I have so suspicions. Do you have any idea about this college?
Best Wishes.
Thank u very much David. Im not Christian. I’m Muslim. This is why I didn’t understand “missionaries one year”…
Any way its a bad thing and one must be careful.
Thanks again.
Best,
They are attached to Jida but not actually part of the uni proper. The students buy their way in, so they can have a chance of going abroad to study as they have failed the entrance exam (or done very poorly, so could not get into jida proper). I think most their teachers came from Canada/have a relationship with Lambton in Canada. I know that they work longer hours and have to put in more prep work than other uni teachers but the salaries are slightly higher. Overall I think it’s a pretty decent place to teach in Changchun.
I heard one bad thing – something about them sacking all of their teachers/not giving them their bonuses and replacing them with missionaries one year. The church types would work for very little as they were being paid by their organisation to be there – forgotten the name of it, but there’s more than your fair share of bibile-type foreigners in changchun. as I’m sure you’ll find out!