Working and living in a foreign country is invariably a formative experience. I admire the resolve and initiative of individuals that voluntarily choose to leave their homeland and work in a country where they do not speak the native language, where they have few, if any, friends, and where they will be employed by an organization about which they have little information.

My admiration for this cohort is unfortunately tempered by the observation that many of these ‘expats’ suffer upon arrival in China. Some of their suffering is the result of unscrupulous employers and invasive regulatory requirements. This site attempts to provide these new FTs with data about these employers prior to their arrival and legal and palliative recourse if they are already employed by a company where profit rather than education is the mission statement.

Unfortunately, it must also be said that some FTs arrive in China already damaged. The behavior and communication of these individuals neither are China’s fault nor welcomed by the Chinese people. I routinely caution my students to recognize that ‘expats’ are NOT representative of the general population of their homeland.

The careful reader of this forum will be able to distinguish between contributors that are providing information and contributors that are, in Ginsberg’s words, “destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked”.