I am referring to various Chinese government officials at local level for various business purposes. I can't go into too much detail for the sake of preserving my anonymity (not theirs).

Although, I must admit I have enjoyed the pleasure of getting shitfaced with some local officials, possibly on the taxpayers expense. That wasn't even for business or anything. My friend owned a bar and those kind of guys happen to be his friends, that just always put everything on expenses.

Yes, consulate staff are on the whole pretty useless (due to limited authority), but I recently managed to get a suspected paedophile deported back to the U.K, thanks to my interactions with them.

Would like to respond to your post, if I may John?

Yes, I agree that there a lot of faceless chinese officials, one thing that pissed me off in ESL in public gigs in China, sometimes you would never EVER get to meet the headmaster or the principal, a simply "hands off" approach to the foreign teachers or letting us know in a subtle (or not so subtle?) way that we are not Chinese and thus second class citizens not to be tolerated/treated in the same way as the Chinese staff. When even a chinese cleaning woman granny is respected more than an FT, then that is not a teaching culture I want to be in, or be ANY part of. I'd rather stay and work somewhere where I get paid and respected for what I do, and what I feel is my value and worth. The chinese take a business like approach to education, so the best way is to stand up to them, twist their racism agains them and tell them nothing is for FREE, that soon wipes the smug looks off their faces, the worst that can happen, you just won't get your contract renewed.

I generally didn't/don't like drinking with Chinese male locals, I find they try and "cock block" you with the chinese ladies, and generally act like arseholes, vomiting everywhere, chain smoking with disregard to non smokers, and being disrespectful to bar staff. I preferred to drink alone, or with other expats. But that's just me, each to their own.

You are dead right about consulate staff. While I find peadophiles disgusting, I certainly would keep a low profile in China, doing a good deed there is not viewed the same way it is in the west, as they like to cut down a tall poppy, such is the nature of the people there, but yes, you did the right thing morally.

Cheers and beers