Yes,'bait and switch' is an interesting,but dishonest tactic too often used by Chinese employers to cheat mug louwai.Of course there are enough of the latter in China to be taken advantage of by the aforementioned tactic. But it needn't necessarily involve switching desirable workplaces and grossly inflated salaries for backwaters and low pay,respectively.

The following application of 'bait and switch' came to my attention last year:a foreigner had been offered a post in a small city.He was astute enough to insist on a stamped contract from the school before venturing forth.Once there he was asked to help them out by teaching an excessive number of classes for just a few days.That was the first untruth,it went on for 3 weeks.In addition his fourth lesson had been assessed by the dean of the English department,who had susequently told him she was satisfied with it.But a formal contract was not forthcoming.He smelt a rat,so he stuck his neck out by insisting on one.But the salary that was offered to him was much lower than that on his e-mail contract.So he refused to sign it,explaining why to the clerkess who offered him it.She said that the salary specified on his e-mail contract was significantly higher than what was offered on the 'real' one because the school was one short of its complement of FT's at that time,clearly an unacceptable excuse.Next the dean tried to bully the FT to sign,and was visibly angry when he still wouldn't.The salary offered for 25 lessons a week on the two-term e-mail contract had been X Yuan a month.In contrast,the salary offered on the 'real' contract,only a one-term one,for 32 lessons a week was 1000 Yuan lower.The FT threatened to walk out,at which point,the dean changed her tune.But he was told he'd have to wait for a few days for the 'new' contract to be typed,and not to divulge his salary to his fellow FT.Yes,divided we fall while the Chinese stand united!Surprise,surprise,the 'new' contract wasn't offered,yet another untruth.So,after the school had broken the deadline,the FT refused to teach.And he told them he wouldn't leave until he was paid in full according to the e-mail contract for the duration of his teaching.He told me that he was sure the dean,the clerkess and the headmaster were acting in collusion.The FT got the money owed to him in full.Unbeknown to the school,he had fixed up another position via the internet just before then.Meanwhile the clerkess was frantically seeking part-time FT's from other schools and a university in that city to replace the disgruntled FT.No doubt the school would have to pay through the nose for their services!At the end of the day the lied-to louwai was deemed a bad foreigner.But what about the dishonest Chinese employer and his staff?If said louwai hadn't insisted on the school stamp,he'd have been badly cheated.And if he had trusted what the school told him on site,he wouldn't have been able to get another job easily,due to the new term having run on too long for him to be able to do so.As can be seen from the above,'bait and switch' takes more than one form in China.So,tread warily,only trust the written word,not what is spoken.