I've read and reread this thread and I want to comment on the use of common sense to determine whether someone is telling the truth. The thread contains several stories that are quite 'creative'. Be advised that Wenzhou and LingXi are remote from 'mainstream' China and I remember that it was difficult for my son when he first arrived. That was several years ago. He is now fluent in Mandarin and is professionalizing one particular DD Dragon franchise. The purpose of 'going legit' is to become a better school and employ better teachers than the other fly-by-night schools. Those other schools have a vested interest in slagging this franchise because they can't compete based on the quality of the product. There is a reason that Hilton succeeded and "The Bates Motel" failed.

Some of the earlier posts sound like bad movies from the 1970's. The word weasel was used in a way suggesting a non-native English speaker. We'd call someone an assh*le not a weasel. You can also ignore criticism of the current teacher who would not publish contact information for his employees on the wide open Internet. Would you work for someone who would breach your privacy so easily?

It is impossible for a school owner/operator to isolate a teacher in the manner described in an earlier post. Everyone has a cell phone and nobody should travel in China (or even leave the house) if they can't purchase a cell phone or use an Internet cafe. Your family and embassy can protect you if you contact them (and how hard is that?). If you don't know how that works, stay home. You should also have a loss-of-contact procedure worked out in advance as there are lots of reasons that you can lose touch with your friends and family. Wenzhou is off the beaten track so there is some onus on westerners to learn some Mandarin. It isn't for everyone but you can freely discuss every issue at the interview stage. The school does not want dissatisfied teachers because of the time taken to hire teachers and the disruption of the schedule when someone leaves without notice.

There are also disgruntled former employees in this world but I will not go into it except to say that people have been dismissed for cause. It is rare but it does occur. It is inconvenient for the school because it disrupts the schedule and someone else winds up doing a major pile of extra work.

In closing, don 't leave home without a well developed b*llsh*t detector, a cell phone, skype, twitter, facebook and at least two working e-mail accounts (with secure and different passwords). Trust your instincts but don't get fooled.