This appears to be true.

I work at an international school in Ningbo. All the foreign teachers were called into a meeting yesterday afternoon and what has been said by Paul and Simon was echoed.

We have been given three weeks to get our degrees and criminal record check authenticated. Luckily our school saw the potential difficulties and has agreed to cover the costs but have said it must be done so get on with the process now so to speak. It will be required for two stages, not just the initial z visa but for the PSB for resident permits and any subsequent renewal, Two of the ten foreign teachers we have already has it, the rest including me haven't. The problem is there seems to be no clear procedure for this in any country which is causing the headaches.

I have managed to find a company in England, http://www.apostille.org.uk who very quickly replied to my emails, the cost is £66 per document. I will be sending my documents to them later today. This may help those in England who have to do this. What worries me is after this if the Chinese authorities say it is insufficient or some other reason.

We initially thought it was something to do with G20 in Hangzhou but having read the other posts it appears to being gradually rolled out elsewhere.

Whatever the intentions of this I think it is going to cause an exodus of foreign teachers as even those who are bona fide are going to get fed up with this especially where schools are not wanting to pay for it.

As Paul said, watch out and be ready. Changes are definitely in the pipeline!