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Tubbo

Hi Everyone,

I have a question and a problem. Here's the situation. My contract at a certain school, in a certain province expired and I decided to move on. I have secured a position at a different school in a different province in China. My previous school has refused to give me a letter of reference. (My previous boss can't be bothered and couldn't care less about foreigners especially ones who leave her school.) However, my current school is saying that I MUST have that letter of reference. The school has tried telephoning my previous school who again refused to write the letter. So, now there are problems about me getting the 'red card' ie foreign experts certificate'. As I really need to send money home (legally), this will be a real problem. Does anyone have any suggestions??? Help...

noyb · Joined: 22 Feb 2003 Posts: 93

Looks like you are in a tough situation. Assuming the schools you mention are government universities, you might be SOL in regards to the letter of reference. If the previous boss refuses to give you a letter of reference, aside from begging or trying to go over his head, you have little other options, as I see it, other than to give up. If the boss at your new school is cool, he can help you in several ways. One is to let you change your resume so as to delete all references to the old school. The other is to help you fabricate a letter of reference from the old school. In either case, now you have learned: get the letter before you leave!

randyj · Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2003 10:19 pm Post subject:

Sometimes school administrators lack confidence in their language skills and wish to avoid a loss of face. This may sound bizarre, but I have known teachers who personally composed letters of recommendation for the signature of the FAO. Why not write a reasonable letter and ask the school to endorse it?

arioch36 · Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 3589

I think Randy is on the money. I really think this may be the Chinese way. My students think a letter of recommendation from a teacher means they write a lettter and I sign it.
My advice for a letter of release/letter of satisfactory work...write it yourself, and ask the Dean's secretary to stamp it/have the dean stamp it.
Do you have a student who could write the letter? Or better yet, another foreign teacher there?
Oh, if so, have them write the letter and bring it to the office, don't ask the dean/department if this is okay
If it is okay to do, do it first, and ask for permission later

MW · Joined: 03 Apr 2003 Posts: 115 Location: China

It may be the letter of release that is being requested.

Each Province issues their own Foreign Expert Certificate but will not do so without a letter of release from your prior Chinese employer. The letter must state that you have completed your employment obligations and left on good terms.

Write it and submit it for signature and threaten major trouble if not signed. A bluff may or may nhot work.

If you still can not get the release letter, go to Hong Kong, get a replacement Passport for your lost one, and reenter China without mentioning any prior employment or entry.

There is no central computer system.

Owen · Posted: Sat May 03, 2003 1:02 am Post subject:

It is normal for them to expect you to write the letter of release. She may really be saying that she is too busy to write it. (Yea, right. I've seen how hard the bosses don't work around China) Failing all else, ask how much her time is worth to put the schools red stamp on the release paper that you wrote. It is common to expect there to be a "special fee" for providing things that they know you must have. It's China, go with the flow.

Roger · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 9138

Changing jobs in China normally is only possible with a letter of release that must be produced for inspection by the psb so they can run a check on you.
IT's nothing to do with recommendation.

i concur with posters who suggest you write it yourself and request the lady in question to sign it.
She might sulk and refuse, of course; whether she can be forced into signing by threat is debatable.

The only other option you have is to be hired from outside of China, in which case no release letter is required.

In Guangdong they seldom ask for release letters. Clearly, the rules are not enforced uniformly throughout the country!

However, you will have to surrender your old FE certificate and residence permit and obtain new ones from your new employer!

chastenosferatu · Joined: 03 May 2003 Posts: 50 Location: Anshan, China (USA)

Write the letter and submit it for her stamp. If she refuses the western approach would be to "threaten big trouble" the eastern approach and more likely successful way would be to grease the wheels. Smile and slide over the cigarettes, treat the person in question to dinner, hand the letter with a few hundred RMB attached, that is the way it is done in China...

Stitch · Joined: 24 Jan 2003 Posts: 8

I actually had the exact same problem as you.

This is what my school did to get around it. They just didn't tell the education commission that I had worked in China before. Delete any evidence that you worked in China off your resume. Have your school to just apply for a new foreign experts cert. I got 2 foreign experts in my name that were given to me within 4 months apart from each other. (same province too). It wasn't until a week later that the education commission found out that they had printed 2 foreign expert certs in my name. But since they had already put their official stamp on it and it was in my hands already, they just let it be.

To process the resident permit, that is not through the education commission, thats through the police and they don't require any letter of release, just an invitation letter from your current school. All my school had to do was go to the police station and change the location of the res permit to the new city and tadaa, all done.

Hope that helps..