Let me begin by saying that this is simply a request for advice and I do not want to wade through rantings of those who want to question my sense of morality, professionalism or anything else. Please, if you want to give me advice please do so and it will be appreciated. If you want to lecture me, well, please don't. The serial lecturers, and those of us who are weary of their lectures, will know what I'm talking about.

This is a question about China.

In January of this year, less than two weeks before my Residence Permit was set to expire, I very suddenly found myself without a job. A lengthy explanation is not necessary for the purposes of this post. Against my instincts, but with very little choice, I accepted a job with a school in another city that I KNEW at the time had a somewhat dodgy reputation. The school did, however, manage to get my RP renewed for another year and got me a new Foreign Expert Certificate. I lasted about 2 months at the school before I got disgusted and left. I didn't do a runner or anything. I let them know I was leaving and they were more or less OK with it. (Let's just say they'd had quite a few FT's come and go and were familiar with the drill.) They hired a replacement within a matter of days. When I initially told them I wanted out I was assured by the principal, who, like me, is a foreigner, that getting a release letter would be no problem. I never did get the actual letter, though, and the school still also has my Foreign Expert Certificate, as far as I know at least. OK...moving along. It is now nearly July. My current RP expires at the end of December. A school in the city where I now live wants to hire me and just now asked me, Do you have a Foreign Expert Certificate? Can we see it please? The request was in an email and not in person so I didn't have to stand there and stammer like an imbecile and think of what to say. My question is: What would be the best way to handle this? I'm SOMEWHAT, but not COMPLETELY sure my former school will not raise a fuss if my present school asks for a copy of the FEC and a release letter. However, if the former school decides to be snotty they might very well turn around, say No dice, let the authorities know where I am, and it could potentially get pretty ugly.

Both the former and present schools are in Guangdong Province, by the way.

My original plan was to hang about this city where I now find myself until my present RP expires and then maybe stay here on a series of F visas. (Please, you folks who feel a pathological need to lecture us who work on F visas, keep your impulses in check. I know this city well and working on any type of visa, as long as it's real and current, is never a problem here.) However, this job offer is tempting and if I can somehow pull it off legally I'd like to take it. Any advice?