The lesson here is: do not believe what your current FAO department tells you about new visa regulations. They think they know or they don't know and they never say "I don't know".

This is especially true if the school has appointed a new foreign affairs officer. It's a job that most Chinese teachers regard as a burden that is too lowly paid. They don't do the job conscientously, as a rule. That's bad news for FTs with integrity. That quality is severely lacking among the majority of China's FAOs.

However, in the past, FTs without integrity have feasted on their shortcomings!