Yes, you can't stick to your guns every time when you feel that Chinese employers renegade on the contract or present you with a restriction that they didn't inform you about before you arrived, otherwise you wouldn't stay anywhere very long; however, locking one in at night is too much and I did get my own way on that occasion by threatening to leave. I wouldn't suggest to every teacher that they take things that far- it was easy for me for me to take my chances since I've reached the age where I have money and wouldn.t have been in a desperate situation if the bosses hadn't capitulated.

I have to say that I don't believe that every time the Chinese bosses try to restrict your freedom or fail to furnish you with things they should (expert certificate, health certificate, your own passport, wage slip) that the reasons are always routed in culture. Now, Witty has a thing about refusing to give wage slips- I don't believe that they refuse to do so because they are hiding something but rather a symbolic gesture to put Western monkey in his place "we are the bosses here, these are our rules, like it or lump it" Same with the clocking in and out- they haven't had the confidence to make you use your finger print way yet like the Chinese teachers have to bbut they might get around to it. Of course clocking in and out doesn't work the way they plan, it just serves to create hostility in the foreign teacher right from the offset- you don't feel you are part of a team, more a factory worker.