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Release/Recommendation Letters
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choudoufu



Joined: 25 May 2010
Posts: 3325
Location: Mao-berry, PRC

PostPosted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 4:40 am    Post subject: Release/Recommendation Letters Reply with quote

i've found too many threads in reference to this topic. too much
information, some conflicting....anyway....let's get this over with...


the release letter is also known as a recommendation letter. for
purposes of employment in china, the terms are interchangeable.

only one letter is needed from each former chinese employer listed
on your resume, not needed from schools outside of china.

your employer is required to provide this letter, regardless of how
your employment ends.

you will need to produce this letter when applying for another
job in china.

the chinese name is 外国文教专家或外籍专业人员推荐信
(Foreign Expert or Foreign Professional Letter of Recommendation).
See www.ynrs.gov.cn/uploadfl/200841491633803.doc (thanks randyJ!)



so good, so far? great! now...we have a new FAO and seems a bit
unsure of the process. can someone tell me:

1. who at the school should write/sign/stamp the letter? is it the fao,
a department head, or does it not matter?

2. do most schools require the 外国文教专家或外籍专业人员推荐信 form
letter in chinese? or are they happy to accept a recommendation letter
written in english?

3. if the school gives me a letter in english, should i also ask them to
fill out the standard chinese form?

4. should the letter be sent to the new employer by your current/former
school, or can you send it yourself?

5. when are these letters normally prepared? if i want to apply/sign a
contract at a new school, i'll need it before my current contract ends.
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west2east



Joined: 03 May 2009
Posts: 120
Location: China

PostPosted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 5:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I require a release letter AND a letter of recommendation whenever I recruit someone already coming from past employment in China. Without BOTH, I cannot secure and RP for my teachers.
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Gamecock



Joined: 18 Nov 2003
Posts: 102
Location: Zhuhai, China

PostPosted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 9:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow! Between the first two posts the issue seems..clear as mud! I would also like to know the answer to the OP's questions, as well as what is the difference between the two letters.

Are they required to give one but not the other? It sure seems like a petty, vindictive person could hold an unreasonable amount of power over your future employment if so!

Is it possible different provinces have different rules about this? This has been known to happen OFTEN with Chinese bureaucracy.
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mat chen



Joined: 01 Nov 2009
Posts: 494
Location: xiangtan hunan

PostPosted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 9:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

What are your chances of getting these letters if you are not paid anyting at the end? Everything in China is paid after you are finished. A win win situation. This law only protects the Chinese employers.
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igorG



Joined: 10 Aug 2010
Posts: 1473
Location: asia

PostPosted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 11:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

These letter are a joke. It surely only protects the local employers that know little about what they do and/or how they should evaluate their workers.
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daCabbie



Joined: 02 Sep 2007
Posts: 244

PostPosted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 12:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
1. who at the school should write/sign/stamp the letter? is it the fao,
a department head, or does it not matter?


Doesn't matter as long as it has the school seal(big red stamp) on it.

Quote:
2. do most schools require the 外国文教专家或外籍专业人员推荐信 form
letter in chinese? or are they happy to accept a recommendation letter
written in english?


Chinese is better. This will go to SAFEA and the PSB both are Chinese organizations.

Quote:
3. if the school gives me a letter in english, should i also ask them to
fill out the standard chinese form?


Ask for a letter of recommendation in English for your portfolio and the Chinese document for the next school/government. Get two copies of each if you can, all with the aforementioned big red stamp.

Quote:
4. should the letter be sent to the new employer by your current/former
school, or can you send it yourself?


Keep the documents yourself. Hand deliver them to the next school. DO NOT LOSE THEM!

Quote:
5. when are these letters normally prepared? if i want to apply/sign a
contract at a new school, i'll need it before my current contract ends.


Begin to ask for it 45 days before you leave your present school. DO NOT wait until the last minute! DO NOT expect the school to do it after you have left!
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burntout



Joined: 16 Mar 2011
Posts: 16

PostPosted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 1:17 pm    Post subject: Letter of Recommendation (aka Letter of Reference) Reply with quote

choudoufu wrote:
" ... only one letter is needed from each former chinese employer listed on your resume, not needed from schools outside of china.

The Letter of Recommendation (or Letter of Reference) is a standard printed document, which acts as a form of "release from one work unit to another" in mainland China. Usually, a foreign teacher is asked only to furnish ONE from his/her current or most recent Chinese employer. There's a sense of indefeasability of title associated with these documents, which tend to extinguish the signifcance / relevance of previously issued ones.

choudoufu wrote:
so good, so far? great! now...we have a new FAO and seems a bit unsure of the process. can someone tell me:

1. who at the school should write/sign/stamp the letter? is it the fao,
a department head, or does it not matter?.

1. There are usually two red chops (stamps) on a Letter of Recommendaton. One from the teaching department you are working in, and the other by the foreign office at your school.

choudoufu wrote:

2. do most schools require the 外国文教专家或外籍专业人员推荐信 form letter in chinese? or are they happy to accept a recommendation letter written in english?

2. The Letter of Recommendation is a standard Chinese form completed in Chinese script. Athough often referred to as a Letter of Reference, it is NOT the same as a western Work or Character Reference.
choudoufu wrote:
3. if the school gives me a letter in english, should i also ask them to fill out the standard chinese form?

3. YES

choudoufu wrote:
4. should the letter be sent to the new employer by your current/former school, or can you send it yourself?.

4. Documents can and do get lost, so it is wise to scan the Letter of Recommendation yourself, and then email such scan to the new school that you are interested in. Be sure to keep the original, as you may need it at some other time.

choudoufu wrote:
5. when are these letters normally prepared? if i want to apply/sign a contract at a new school, i'll need it before my current contract ends.

5. These Letters are normally prepared when a teacher leaves the school. However, you can ask your school sooner. Recruiting in China for the next full academic year (September onwards) really starts to heat up around April / May each year. Some contracts and schools make their decisions 2 - 3 months before the end of the existing contract term as to whether they want to continue contracts with the foreign teachers already onboard. So, if you ask anywhere from early April onwards, that should not seem particularly out of order.

.
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dog backwards



Joined: 27 Jan 2011
Posts: 178

PostPosted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 12:07 am    Post subject: Re: Release/Recommendation Letters Reply with quote

choudoufu wrote:

you will need to produce this letter when applying for another
job in china.

the chinese name is 外国文教专家或外籍专业人员推荐信
(Foreign Expert or Foreign Professional Letter of Recommendation).
See www.ynrs.gov.cn/uploadfl/200841491633803.doc (thanks randyJ!)





Why does this form mention Japan?
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choudoufu



Joined: 25 May 2010
Posts: 3325
Location: Mao-berry, PRC

PostPosted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 1:47 am    Post subject: Re: Release/Recommendation Letters Reply with quote

dog backwards wrote:
Why does this form mention Japan?


where did y'all find japan on this here form?

all i gots was "日期"
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dog backwards



Joined: 27 Jan 2011
Posts: 178

PostPosted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 9:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I had it translated.
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TexasHighway



Joined: 03 Dec 2005
Posts: 779

PostPosted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 11:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I didn't see any mention of 日本。 The closest I could find is 原合同起着日期 which is the original contract date. Maybe you should fire your translator.
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dog backwards



Joined: 27 Jan 2011
Posts: 178

PostPosted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 3:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Foreign culture and education expert and foreign specialists letter of recommendation Plans to recommend the unit: Surname Country Nationality Translation Nature Leaving Passport number Birth years Original contract beginning and end date State of health Original contract wages amount Returning to homeland airplane ticket Medical insurance way Unit () individual
() Marital status Once held the post of the work Spouse children Once made the unit Business agency opinion in the overseas Chinese laborer (courtyard, department, center): Business agency person in charge signature: Year Month Japan External affairs department opinion: 1st, contract fulfillment situation: Very good (); Good (); Generally (). 2nd, original "Outside Special Card" whether to hand in for cancellation: Has given (); Treats gives (). 3rd, other needs to explain item: The external affairs department stamps Year Month Japan

Last word of the document and three lines above
This looks like a completed form to me.
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TexasHighway



Joined: 03 Dec 2005
Posts: 779

PostPosted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 3:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The places they translated as "year, month, Japan" "年,月,日" are year, month, and day.
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wangdaning



Joined: 22 Jan 2008
Posts: 3154

PostPosted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 5:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Looking at the document it becomes clearer why people have an issue getting one. The FAO and department head don't know how to fill it out. After skimming off the tuition fees, not paying for insurance, and not providing you with a ticket they are not sure how to justify it.

It has been a long time since I had to deal with visa issues. The sucky part is that when I leave my job there is no action that management can take to get their Chinese counterparts to understand. I guess having the form is really helpful, probably better to fill it out yourself and ask them to chop it.
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choudoufu



Joined: 25 May 2010
Posts: 3325
Location: Mao-berry, PRC

PostPosted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 4:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

dog backwards wrote:
....Last word of the document and three lines above[/b] This looks like a completed form to me.


you paid someone to translate this? i get a better translation
from gooogle:

Foreign experts and foreign professionals, letters of recommendation

To be recommended by:
Name Nationality
Translation Name Sex
Passport No. Date of Birth
Health status of the original contract start and end dates
Return to the original contract salary tickets
Way of health insurance unit () Individual () Marital status
Working spouses and children of former
Work unit in China
Business advice (institution, department, department, center):

Business Unit Leader Signature:

Year Month Day

Foreign affairs departments to:
1, the contract situation: good (); good (); general (.)
2, the original "Foreign Experts Certificate" is for cancellation: Paid (); to be paid ().
3, other issues need to explain:


Seal of the foreign affairs department

Year Month Day
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