[UPDATE] Local teacher talks about teacher friends still stranded in China
Having experienced a troublesome couple of months while supporting the two aspirant teachers who are still being held in China, she would like to warn others.
More than four months ago, the country was startled by the news of 53 South Africans (all under the age of 25) who went to China to teach English, but were held by the Chinese government after the agent, Owen Wang, who managed their travel arrangements, was arrested for fraud.
This follows after they completed a two-week orientation course at a university in Changchun. However, a few days into employment, their passports were confiscated as they weren’t allowed to work on student visas.
Read more here:
https://www.citizen.co.za/krugersdorp-news/357901/teachers-stuck-in-china-if-only-theyd-known-these-things/
According to one of the teachers, Ashley Visser, they were told by the agent that they are, in fact permitted to work with such visas. But after some research she came to the conclusion that the agent might be innocent.
“In all honesty, I believe that the situation occurred due to his lack of knowledge, rather than him wanting to scam a group of young South Africans,” she said.
The case file has now been sent from the Immigration Public Security Bureau to the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Kwang Wah College is primarily responsible. According to Ashley, three members (who are Deans) of the college will be sentenced because Owen had no real knowledge that his actions were illegal.
“It boils down to the Deans who told the agent that we don’t need working visas to work – and he believed them. If you look at the Chinese law in the Teaching Industry, some universities do have the authority to allow their foreign students to work. What this university never told Owen is that according to law, the work is limited to eight hours a week, and students are not allowed a full salary,” she said.
“He was under the impression that it was legal because the high authorities in the university permitted him to do this. I genuinely feel that the agent was just trying to create opportunities for us.”
Even though the agent’s lawyer can prove his innocence, the case is still pending with no court date set as of yet, Ashley explained. In the meantime, two South Africans are still being held by the Immigration Department in China. They were detained for a total of 37 days in June and July.
“They have no idea what’s going to happen next, nor do they know when they will be able to come back. Nothing is being communicated to them. At least the university provides them with three meals a day and accommodation while the investigation is still on going,” she said.
Having experienced a troublesome couple of months and morally supporting the two aspirant teachers who are still being held in China, she would like to warn others who are wanting to teach English in China.
“If you want to teach in China, you need to have a Teaching English as a Foreign Language certificate, any Bachelors degree, police clearance and medical check in order to obtain a working visa. There’s simply no way around it,” she said.
Also Read:
[WATCH] 35 of the 50 ‘teachers’ stranded in China are Krugersdorpers
She would also like to urge interested parties to be vigilant about recruiters.
“It was a South African recruiter who did a lot of the scamming. She claimed that everything she did for us was legal – but it wasn’t. She got us there under the radar and led us to believe that everything was legitimate. She does this on a large scale, and people need to be aware of it,” Ashley said.
“Once the South Africans get there, and find out that they have been illegally placed, they’re too scared to speak up because they’re scared of the consequences. So they just continue to live in fear in a foreign country.”
Ashley would now like to create a Facebook page for all those hoping to travel to China to teach English. The page will consist of tips, advice and the exposure of illegitimate recruiters and agents, among other things.
“Money and opportunity cause South Africans to look past the red flags. They should always do thorough homework before embarking on such adventures,” she concluded.
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