Cheers and beers to a decade ago in China, when the respect was so evident..but did they really mean it :CONFUSED

I've been here a lot longer than you, not meant disrespectfully, by the way!
On the contrary, I'm not at all confused.
In those days, they needed us to stay put, because if we had done a midnight run, they couldn't have replaced us quickly, and hence would have been left with egg on their faces.
But unfortunately for us, the net has changed all that! Now the employers here are the masters, and they know it. They needn't pussyfoot around us, and buy us meals. It has become too easy for them to replace us in this age of globalization assisted by the net and joblessness in the West.
In the old days, they NEVER meant a word of it, respect for us, that is. Surely you have seen that flattery here is as common as it is in the States.
I like what that poster Smartie has said. Indeed, he is smart. Now the roles are reversed here, we need to practise what they previously were doing. Reversal of their culture, on their home soil, as it were, is the required approach in the new circumstances here, imo!
Cheers and beers with your FAO's during regular dinners paid for by you. No worries, glowing teaching reports will ensue.....LOL!