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JoeThePlumber · Joined: 11 Apr 2010 Posts: 90

These are from a fourth-tier college (Quzhou College) in a third-tier city (Quzhou, in the hinterlands of northwestern Jiangsu Province). Is anyone else seeing stuff like this in the FT contracts?

rioux · Joined: 26 Apr 2012 Posts: 880

Answer: Sadly it is yes.

I do wonder though about the filling out of forms before leaving the city. Total insanity. If you were to just go to the city that borders where you are forms need to be filled out?!
To further the stupidity please don't tell me that it is subject to approval/disapproval!

I do wonder though if I ever showed up to the hospital and gave them my health insurance card from another country what their reaction would be. -- classic.

OhBudPowellWhereArtThou · Joined: 02 Jun 2015 Posts: 1168 Location: Since 2003

#3 is a reflection upon past teachers, and not really a reflection of what the school expects of you. There's usually some verbiage about observation. If there isn't, you should expect to be observed. No big deal. I don't care for the way it is expressed your contract, but THIS IS CHINA.

I haven't seen #6 in a long time. If you stay in a hotel, you'll probably be asked for your passport. I don't know to whom your stay is reported, but if you work for a public university, it's a good chance that the school will find out. My experience is that if I go away for the weekend, I might tell the FAO. Sometimes I'm asked for a contact number. Sometimes not. Sometimes, I've just gotten a "Have a nice weekend" response. Usually, I don't say anything. Who needs to know?

Health and life insurance? That's a good one. Unless you carry really expensive insurance that provides for medevac, what good is your home health insurance? Like Rioux, I'd expect little more than the CBSOD (Chinese Blank Stare of Death) in response to my home health insurance card.

LIFE INSURANCE? If you die in China, be sure that NOBODY will take it upon himself to ship your ashes home.

And whom does your school expect to be your beneficiary of your life insurance if you should die?

I swear, I expect to see a provision for organ harvesting in a contract some day.

The bear · Joined: 16 Aug 2015 Posts: 483

Aside from the last point I don't think they're that strange.

The first one (number 3) as someone already said is not a reflection on you but of their past experiences. The second point (number 6) is actually a law in China. However, the final one is weird. I thought it was the employers duty to provide health insurance, something about SAFEA making it a requirement.

Worth noting that's what's in the contract and what happens are sometimes two different things in China. My last university had a 'no overnight guests' clause in the contract, I asked about this and was guaranteed by the FAO it wouldn't be a problem, asked past/current FTs about it and got the same response. It's just something the university had to include for some reason. I had numerous guests stay, sometimes over a week, and there was never any problems. Just saying, it's worth asking about these things and not blackballing something straight away.

Though the no health insurance would make me walk.