Yup.

The sites etc. aren't clear because the reality isn't clear...it often seems that the bureaucrats have no more idea what's going on than we do.

I don't think there's a nationwide FAO per se, but supposedly all this is set by a branch of the Public Security Bureau (PSB) on the national level.

The reality seems to be that it's even worse than a provincial-level issue; it's possible that every school can be a bit different. It depends upon the "creativity" of your FAO, the strictness of the Foreign Affairs Office of the local PSB, the relationship between the school/FAO and the PSB, and God only knows what else.

I know...in a sane world there should be a uniform set of standards that we can count on to always be in effect everywhere we go in the country. But it just doesn't work that way here. This isn't a sane world. TIFC (This Is F* China). ;-{)