Thanks for that. The info you posted should perhaps be noted by any other FT who is considering the same actions as the FT I wrote about.

He's obviously just doing what the school FAO has told him to do. Whether or not he encounters problems along the way, who knows?

After all, a 'release letter' is issued to a FT by the school stating that the school has officially released the FT from their contract, usually when it's expired, it essentially has nothing to do with the RP.

However, if I hear more, I'll post it.

Alan, I should add that I did not actually observe the way(s) the Brit Council went about verifying that my university degree parchment was valid. That was because they gave me a receipt for it before sending it to a room in the same building for authentication. They might very well have undertaken other checks as well as looking for watermarks.

Some years later, I obtained a transcript, supposedly equivalent to my degree parchment, from my university. It had a watermark too! At that time, I recall Guangdong province was no longer accepting university degree transcripts, be they originals or photocopies! Very strange indeed!

I note Taffy, the forum idiot, has posted information about a fake diploma provider. He says they will provide watermarked fakes, but the information he has posted about said provider doesn't say that! That's one reason why he's the forum idiot!

He's scored another job in another province - one where these new rules are not fully
enforced

I hope that he is able to "score" a new FEC and Residency permit. His passport number is in the FT database that each province Immigration department and Chinese Embassy has access to and routinely reviews prior to issuing FECs or Z visas.

I do suspect that some provinces will be less rigorous on the criminal background and apostille documents for FTs that are already 'in house', but I would be surprised if the immigration officials overlook release documents of FTs new to the province because the 'scorned' school has the ability to report the midnight FT Run and it's easy for them to locate the runner since he will be once again added to the FEC database as now working for the new institution.

Additionally, if the visa documents he fills out are erroneous (they lack the prior employer), this falsification qualifies him for deportation.

Thanks for the reply. I am not claiming it as a fact, I am no expert.

But yes, I think they should request transcripts, sealed in an envelope from the university and posted to the degree holder with the name and address on the front. They are useless in entry - exit in China.

It's a fact that an official transcript is much more authoritative than any apostille. Transcripts are close to impossible to forge, they have special properties, just like money. Organizations usually rely on them alone and not some ridiculous authentication process, like the one the Chinese have adopted.

Watermarks either on transcripts or on original university degree certificates are great verifications in their own right. Original documents of the kind above are as difficult to forge as bank notes are.

The Brit Council are on the ball in this regard. They will view the originals, looking for watermarks. They do not accept photocopies, because photocopies are not watermarked, unlike originals!

A couple of haughty Chinese know-all school FAOs who clearly knew no Latin, had dared to question the validity of my original university parchment. I sent them away with fleas in their ears by holding my parchment in front of a strong beam of light so that the watermarks were clearly visible, after having done the same with a 100rmb bank note!

Where I come from, our apostilles come attached to each required document with a kind of wedge that looks like a huge ugly staple.

It's a fact that an official transcript is much more authoritative than any apostille. Transcripts are close to impossible to forge, they have special properties, just like money. Organizations usually rely on them alone and not some ridiculous authentication process, like the one the Chinese have adopted.

My Chinese embassy is also uncaring and lazy enough to waste teachers' money by not accepting documents along with return envelopes over the mail. Who knows, maybe they operate corruptly by pocketing kickbacks from couriers and agents!

Stupid policies that are shooting themselves in the foot. They want to go after the non native speakers without a degree from a western country , doesn't really bother me, but then who will teach their kids, certainly not older white blokes.

Then they want to make it harder for the native speakers with genuine degrees, all because some white guys thought it would be great to use fake degrees to land teaching jobs, again why not do a background check in country, fingerprint, retina scan, and then demand copy of transcripts from uni, and perhaps email the uni registrar....too much like hard work for the racist,useless staff in entry-exit.

You know your onions, that's for sure! I think what you've said makes a lot of sense. Transcripts, or their photocopies, are preferable to original degree documents, or photocopies thereof.

Re the new university degree verification system, this might interest you. My degree is a parchment from Edinburgh University, written entirely in LATIN! It's in the form of a scroll with a wax stamp. It has a signature also. The scroll has watermarks that are only visible to the naked eye if you shine a bright light on the parchment. The watermarks are elliptical stamps bearing the words' University of Edinburgh'. I'd think a Notary Public who knew Latin would stamp the parchment as genuine, though a photocopy might not be accepted, as watermarks wouldn't be on it. However, the Chinese Embassy might not accept a photocopy either, as their staff wouldn't know any Latin, and there wouldn't be any watermarks on it! They might even conclude that I had graduated from a Roman university!

If the 'Caring' poster wants to label me as 'Fox News' then so be it. I've had worse hypocorisms to deal with from people with far more sarcastic ability....

Anyway, I know many FT's who live paycheck-to-paycheck, and the July/August break with no salary usually causes them lots of pain and grief.
Enter the FT who has just been told that in order to renew his soon-to-expire RP, he must get his docs verified.
It seems that, like many others, he neither has the willingness nor the funds to do so, so he's packed up and left without a word.
He's scored another job in another province - one where these new rules are not fully enforced - and been told to leave China. He will be issued with a brand new invitation letter so there's (apparently) no need for a release letter from the place he's walked out of.
His teaching schedule has already been prepared by the school he's walked out of, and the first they'll know about it is when he fails to show up for class.

Under normal circumstances I would say that his actions are not only irresponsible, but deplorable. But right now circumstances appear to be far from 'normal'.

By that, I'm not saying I am condoning his actions, but I think there are lots of FT's out there who fully understand them.

This is Paul Fox.....reporting for 'Fox News'......[edited]

You've no idea how desperate some employers have become. I've been offerd teaching positions in other provinces, to teach with a spousal visa! But I've invested money here, in property, and the risk of being deported, unable to return for3/5 years ain't worth it. I love my Chinese wife too much, too. I said I won't risk it for a biscuit! Doing so for a 'peanut' fine of 5,000 RMB, and a swift return to the PRC, would tempt me. But times have changed! I shall remain an almost toothless former FT the right side of the law!

If the 'Caring' poster wants to label me as 'Fox News' then so be it. I've had worse hypocorisms to deal with from people with far more sarcastic ability....

Anyway, I know many FT's who live paycheck-to-paycheck, and the July/August break with no salary usually causes them lots of pain and grief.
Enter the FT who has just been told that in order to renew his soon-to-expire RP, he must get his docs verified.
It seems that, like many others, he neither has the willingness nor the funds to do so, so he's packed up and left without a word.
He's scored another job in another province - one where these new rules are not fully enforced - and been told to leave China. He will be issued with a brand new invitation letter so there's (apparently) no need for a release letter from the place he's walked out of.
His teaching schedule has already been prepared by the school he's walked out of, and the first they'll know about it is when he fails to show up for class.

Under normal circumstances I would say that his actions are not only irresponsible, but deplorable. But right now circumstances appear to be far from 'normal'.

By that, I'm not saying I am condoning his actions, but I think there are lots of FT's out there who fully understand them.

This is Paul Fox.....reporting for 'Fox News'......[edited]