Job Discussion Forums

[talentedcrayon]

Q: Do you believe that China's mostly successful efforts to cut off China from the World Wide Web will result in fewer positions being filled and more teachers leaving?

[talentedcrayon]

My answer:

I've been thinking about this lately. I believe that, at least to a small degree, China's increasing internet censorship (which disproportionately impacts the expat community), will result in fewer positions being filled and more people leaving.

For me the crackdown (of late) on the internet has made it far more time consuming to to my job and more challenging to communicate with friends and family back home. Websites I use to download worksheets or buy images (123rf.com or Linguahouse.com) to use in my lessons are either not accessible anymore, or barely accessible.

If I want to watch something funny on YouTube, or stream a movie, I find that this is either impossible or it can take up to 1 hour to download about 10 minutes worth of entertainment!

However, there has been one positive from my social media fast... I have a lot of time to read books. In the last 4 months I've read 24 books. However, this is becoming more difficult too... because sometimes Amazon cloud reader doesn't work for me...

I've decided not to renew my contract and leave China in 2 months. This isn't the only reason, but it is a contributing factor.

I am curious if others think the 'cut-off' will negatively impact recruiting and perhaps increase turnover. I can also imagine that for many recruiters, using social media to recruit is becoming harder and harder.

[RiverMystic]

I read the number of foreign workers in China has fallen drastically in the past two years. Unfortunately, I can't find the article.

[rogerwilco]

Torrenting movies and TV helps me keep my sanity. If that gets blocked....bye bye !

[fpshangzhou]

The further censoring of social media is also impacting the paid VPNs. I had Astrill and used others and they are constantly having to dance around this issue. I for one, will not pay for a VPN again. I hope things let up in the future as many of us depend heavily on the outside web to create lesson plans and other resources used in teaching. I've tried using China sites, such as Baidu and Youku, but they are extremely limited in content compared to Youtube or Google.

[talentedcrayon]

I also cancelled my VPN service. (ExpressVPN) It is essentially useless now and has been for about a month. Although, today it is kind of working (the day after I turned off automatic renewal... coincidence?).

I am going to go VPN free for about 1 month. Then I am leaving China anyway.

Anyway, thanks for the responses. Just the fact that others are feeling/thinking the same way as me makes me feel a little bit better. I am not the only person who is going insane. We can all go insane together.

[theoriginalprankster]

I'll leave China when the VPNs stop working.

I enjoy freedom of access to the greater world, and will not allow the CCP to control my behaviour.

but there are always workarounds.

[NiHaoDaJia]

I think the current situation is fine. Over 1 billion Chinese are living happily with the current website infrastructure. We as foreign teachers can get along fine as well. I am from America and I use services such as WeChat, Weibo, and Youku. They are very efficient and entertaining. I don't think many foreigners will leave, because overall China offers many cultural and economic opportunities for those who obey local regulations and customs. Many people are complaining for nothing.

[max71081]

[OhBudPowellWhereArtThou]

China will never completely cut itself off from the west. It can't afford to go back to the days of Chairman Mao.

The internet censorship is temporary--temporary in the sense that when there's a shakeup in the government, it'll be much more open than a lot of people have been experiencing it.

This is how I see it: the goal behind Chinese government is control. Each province and region is more like a separate country than a province or a state as westerners may understand the terms. This is why there are many differences in bureaucratic policy from province to province and from city to city. When one province starts barking at Beijing (and be sure that some do at times), Beijing backs down and cuts the province some slack. Same thing happens when a city complains to the provincial prefecture about some policies.

When there are enough complaints about the internet (for instance) Beijing will eventually back down and look the other way and allow traffic through.

China needs the west. It has done a fine job of alienating its neighbors by bullying them over one thing after another (e.g., Vietnam and oil rights; the Philippines and international waters). Though there's fluctuation in the yuan, I believe that China is (at least) trying to let the market determine its weight in the world. (Of course, this is true only so far as it benefits China).

The world isn't coming to an end just because the internet is more difficult to use. As soon as there's a Chinese workaround, it'll be back to what it was last year or the year before or whatever year was the "best".

What FTs need to worry about the most is inflation. In the public universities, salaries are pretty much fixed according to degree level and area. There are discretionary funds available to pay more than the *published* salaries, but if you make a survey of schools across China (see abroadchina.org), you'll see that it is generally true that salaries are fixed. Those who are in China for the long run ( especially those who are married) should make a continual push for higher wages.

So, no. The world isn't coming to an end because rules are being tightened and some of us don't have easy access to Imdb, Wikipedia or our favorite prawn sites. China will never keep foreigners and "experts" out of China. I think that the days are ending for the wholly unqualified and those who cannot perform as contracted. Those folks (I am sure) have lost some sleep over some of the constraints and enforcements.

* This is just my opinion. I am no expert in China, just a keen observer. Feel free to differ and express your own insight. This topic is certainly worthy of further exploration and discussion.

Edit made to conform with politically correct norms. I don't want to offend any shrimp out there.

[rioux]

I believe the crackdown on the internet will only get worse. It's been getting worse for several years now. I see no indication it will get better.

[The bear]

[wangdaning]

My VPN has been working continuously. That being said, no matter what restrictions the government implements people will find ways around it. Computer/networking experts and hacking groups (if those aren't one in the same) already have bypasses that don't rely on tradition vpn protocols. Despite what nhdj says, many Chinese do desire and access the outside net, including restricted sites, on a daily basis.

The Bear, I don't think that Bud was referring to complaints from people, but from lower level governments. If a province finds itself losing lots of income because of restrictions on internet they will petition Beijing, and most likely unofficially get a workaround. If many provinces do this then the law is essentially dead in the water. Might be on the books, but it doesn't mean anything.

[Shanghai Noon]

[theoriginalprankster]