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If you already have a specific person in mind, the best thing to do once you’ve got your approximation (25-50/hr) and if you think the higher is still a good ROI, is to talk with them. Define clearly what you’re expecting as a deliverable, and let her give her opinions on whether she can deliver – once you’re both clear on what is expected, then you can realistically talk about the cash. In most cases, you really get what you pay for, but it’s up to you to vet whether she’s up to the challenge and can really deliver…and if she _does_ deliver, whether whatever you decide on is still enough of a value for you to go ahead with the agreement. Some students work free for ‘internship’ style opportunities, but you also don’t usually get what you need from the arrangement. Maybe you could even talk about a sort of lower base-line and performance based bonus if she performs to or greater than expected. It’s more western style, but might work in your case.
He said his nose was broken ‘on the inside’. It only bled a little, but he claims to have the ‘injury report’ and apparently he can’t get a job now because of the disability *sigh*. He said they turned him down as a security guard at bank of china due to this – I believe they turned him down, but probably because he cried when he got popped in the nose, not because he had some internal nose injury.
RE: “gigantic”, well, I’m 185 and he seemed a little taller than me – definitely fatter, so maybe not 220 due to low density..maybe 200? Either way, yah.
RE: extortion – in this case it’s not extortion from the chump, it’s extortion from the police. I’ll explain in more details once it’s resolved in a story π A few days ago I changed my MSN tag to “First-hand experience with extortion in China changes one’s perspective on the ‘Heavenly Kingdom’.”
It was through the window too. I was on the edge of ripping him out through the window, but he didn’t fit. π
εΎε , it translates via google into “blending”, but essentially means bribery.
As ridiculous as the whole thing is, it’s made me rethink in some sense how I deal with situations, I think. At this point it has little to do with money or even prison, it has all to do with the potential implications a ‘criminal conviction’ may have on my future visas. If I can’t get a visa, I’ll be fine back home – but it leaves me with massive headaches and lost investment here – 8+ years, apartment, vehicle, my little kitties, lots of issues..that’s the sad part.
Charlie, I’ll gladly write up a post with everything I learn during this process, and if one of my friends can swing something I’ll make sure to be clear on what works and what doesn’t.
The other guy is about 188~ cm and maybe 220 lbs, says he’s an ex soldier looking for a job, drives an alto, and cried like a bitch right away……. I also stopped right away, as soon as I heard him shouting apologies. I agree with the momento above: lesson learned, next time run not walk away. π
If only money could solve the problem.
I’m not opposed to ‘the dark route’. I’m not being given the option at the moment.
The police won’t allow me or my current lawyer contact info for the other guy, and say repeatedly the guys father refuses negotiation. They hold all the cards apparently. Now, it’llbe passed to prosecutors office to sort out whether he can get a conviction, and I need a criminal defense lawyer with connections there who can tell me who needs some lubrication. *sigh*
Hit by a car in the afternoon…he drove away. I saw him stop in traffic 50m away, ran like Usain, and through his open window proceeded to prevent him from getting away.
End of the story is he had a little bit of a bloody nose, and I was charged with criminal assault. His offense was considered ‘civil accident’, mine was considered ‘criminal’, thus criminal defense lawyer required. Police give me a strong impression a large amount of bribery is required – PSB first question in the official ‘unofficial’ investigation report was ‘how much money do you make’ – and China has a 90% conviction of cases presented to prosecutors (done), so…yeah.
Usually this is sorted out via negotiation. PSB/Police won’t give any contact details on either side, so it’s not really possible. Middle-men equals extortion, welcome to the heavenly kingdom.
Amusing site. The content is poorly written, amusing considering it’s trying to attract English ‘teachers’. I like some of it though, like the link to “Chengdu Girls” youtube video…. very funny. I feel really bad for any poor foreigners tricked into this kind of situation….scams always expected when anything is looked for in bulk like this – unless it’s, like, a garbage bag full of hookers, that’d be legit.
I suggest ordering a YAMAHA 3D sound bar off Taobao. I have one of these:
http://usa.yamaha.com/product_archive/audio-visual/yas-71_black__u/?mode=model
It sounds great. It’s more than is needed to make your neighbors angry π and the quality is definitely good. Now, they have a bunch of different newer models without the sub – I’ve compared some at the start of Oct but don’t remember exactly which ones I was looking at, I suggest going through the product list here:
http://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio-visual/hometheater-systems/digital-sound-projector/
then just searching the models available via TaoBao and their pricing. Just remember to look at how many people have commented/bought the product to make sure that you’re not going to end up with something fake etc…I’ve never had a problem with high rated/purchased products & sellers at all, just have to be cautious I suppose.
If you’re out by QingCheng Mountain one of my favorite places is right at the base of the front mountain – at the Howard Johnson hotel there… they’ve got an awesome hot spring in the evenings. The problem is the BBQ is only *sometimes* there. It used to be 100%, but I was there a couple weeks ago and they said occasionally they don’t open it up due to lack of business.
The best thing about this hot spring is the many small pools where you can essentially get a very cool outdoor evening fresh air hot spring with your own little group or couple, it’s rarely so busy that people go to pools where other people are already at – and each pool is lushly surrounded with nice trees/rock/scenery… chill place.
I think your brackets are a little off. It may depend on some variable factors, but I think the higher end spectrum is a little different than I think my company finance told me – so I’d be questioning the rest, but I also think it’s published publicly π What I can help with is this:
China has double-tax policies with many countries, including the US & Canada. You do need to file in your home country, but you won’t pay “double” taxes in both..so you need your tax statements from China to show what you earned overseas in your home country. It also depends how long you’re overseas for and your residency status etc – best to get a tax person back home to help you with the details. But yes, you do need to file π You may even get some tax credits/etc depending on income and status.
“4800” standard deducations, I think you mean non-taxable income, this come from your company or another source? I think it varies on what city you’re in and some other things, but you should check with your employer and then double-check with a 3rd party or internet source to make sure they’re not lying…either way, it’s in that vicinity.
Update:
Thanks Vincent & Ben for good information/ideas, both of which helped make this quicker.
Here’s some informative notes on how this worked:.
With HSBC Premier accounts (must have minimum assets in account, including stocks/cash/etc) it costs only $8.50 flat for any amount of money to transfer from Canada to China. From China to Canada the cost varies, but it’s not too bad.
Setting up HSBC accounts in both Canada and China works, but doesn’t really have much difference than if you’re using any bank to any other bank. You can open a dual-currency account in China, accept the money transfer to that account in foreign currency, and then work on the exchange to your RMB account. This exchange is restricted to $50k USD per person per annum, unless as Ben said, you can provide evidence as to why you’re exchanging a larger amount. Banks can provide a specific list of requirements, and may require slightly different documentation depending on what your reason is. Providing this documentation allows a quick and easy exchange of whatever said amount is to your RMB account.
Note: You can’t open dual-currency accounts overseas, ie my idea of exchanging into RMB on Canada side then wiring the full amount in RMB was impossible, since RMB isn’t an int’l floated currency.
Extra notes: If you routinely do bank transfers overseas to someone else, you can open a joint-account overseas (with a bank that’s on both sides, like HSBC) and access it here. This lets you do a deposit on this side with no wiring or transfer fee. Problem is you have to be there in person to open up ‘joint’ on that account.
RE “I always though a WOFE required a very expensive outlay, like a couple hundred thousand– and wouldn’t be suited for a restaurant. That would be an interesting case– how to go about starting a small restaurant in Chengdu.”
For a foreigner to get a business license / start a WOFE there are capital requirements, some people do little loans to meet the requirements just to get the paperwork..some ways around that. The capital requirement may differ depending what your WOFE is classified as doing as well. When I was looking last, it was 700k or so. If you have a chinese national as a partner and register in their name, it’s a small fraction of that.
That being said, if you don’t have a couple hundred K RMB and you’re dumping what you have in a restaurant/cafe in Chengdu, it’s a pretty erm……. risky plan, at best..especially if you’ve not done it before.
On the way back from Qingcheng hotsprings on Sunday, I saw a new Walmart open in the west, thought I’d see if they had any import product for sale.
Ended up finding out they sell meat, and surprisingly they had some very nice lamb leg chops, here is a photo of the chops and how they ended up… note: the sauce is a strawberry (yes, it’s good :D) mushroom gravy reduction that the chop was glazed in after being seasoned>roasted..it looks like a ton of sauce, but I actually like it on the veg and only dumped it on the chop to maintain the nice veg colours π all done in 1 skillet/toaster in about 20min. Note, while these were nice chops, you need to dig around to get the good cuts. Nothin sparks one’s pride like digging around for meat at WALMART.
While I don’t understand how it all relates to a cat-gun, I’d like to add that the underlying message is true. That being said, when I’m interested in keeping my girl’s mouth busy, it’s not my first thought to stuff it with [food]. π
I usually use TaoBao, limit it to Chengdu searched (for whatever specific item I want), then contact the seller and find where they’re at. You get a local purchase and from an actual shop – usually the ‘non retail’ shops where you gotta go up in a building (sometimes right next to computer square), and get it directly from them.
This way you get the best price, no negotiation needed, and have an actual shop to take it to if something happens.
