Voice of Will: China gets weird

2005-11-12 - 12:04 a.m.
Here is why I haven't written in the last month

There was an attempted purge of the non christian teachers over the last three weeks, and I was on the list. (yes you read that right)

I was informed in the 3rd week of October that there had been complaints about my behavior, and I was told to stop lying to the new teachers, stop giving new teachers bad information and gossip about other teachers, stop being a negative influcence in peter hall. Now this warning was in chinglish from the head of ICED (our overseers) at a bbq on a saturday. When I asked for information I was given the earlier blanket statement. But no specific information on which I was to "stop." Ok.

Now to understand the power structure here, just stick your finger in a light socket, because you will never understand it because we don't. But we do have an "advisory comittee" that is made up of certain heavy christian teachers, heads of certain departments of foreign teachers, and several busy body's who have had jobs made for them to give a power block a vote. They appear to have Star chamber meetings, everything is in secret, and when you ask questions you are not answered, or you get cryptic answers.

To top that off, the pressure and tension have been mounting considerably over the last three weeks.
so I go to the comittee members I "trust" and ask them for specific information about the complaints, and I get ZERO for answers. just "Your name has come up in our meetings" but no answers to what I am supposed to have done. So instead of "stopping" I let the misfits know what is happening. They are outraged.

so last week I was told that I needed to appear at the 7th floor confrence room for a meeting with ICED. Ok. I asked a friend (and current american bar attorney) to accompany me to the meeting as a witness. We get there and I'm told, "you will have to reschedule your meeting with President Lee at some later time because he is busy right now." Now President Lee is the president of the school. WTF? Why would the president of the school want a meeting with me? So I ask, and the ICED rep (the same one from before) tells me there have been numerous complaints and I am here to answer for my behavior. I ask for information so I can defend myself and I get told, "these are private complaints, I cannot give them to you." WTF????? If they were private why am I going in front of president lee? I tell her (actually my attorney friend because I'm sooooo pissed off) that we will meet with them when I have written charges so I can defend myself.

when I get home I find out there was a meeting right before mine. a new teacher who is very open about his sexuality, who is black, and large has been asked to resign because of his stance on homosexual issues.
Now I'm worried. But I decide to sleep on it, and see what time brings. Next morning one of my best friends here is forcibly resigned (he has a sense of humor like mine, and is anti zealot (but he is christian) and pro homosexual. he was scheduled to meet after me.

Now you do the math. the person who meets before me asked to resign, the person after me forcibly resigned. Hmmmm??? So I freak out. Crissy freaks out (much better position because of her position with Fort Hays as a professor) and writes to Fort Hays stating that we are being targeted, and this pervasive attitude is creating a hostile living and working environment. within an hour there is a reply to her email. Will is not on the list to be fired. Please calm down. the liason in Fort hays called the owner of the school to demand information.

so while this is going on, I have a friend who brought me a list of the advisory commitee meeting notes. When I asked him where he got them he said he "found them." I was hoping he didn't hack into the computer system, so I asked the head computer tech if this could be done. I ask the computer tech guy if this is passowrd protected, and he says no. this is an open system so people can go into files. Ok. I go and look at the printouts that have been brought to me and notice states complaints against me since sept 16. These complaints were from the same members who I "trust." I love getting f*d in the back without even being told about it.

So I get to find out how important I am by my friends who stand up. my attorney friend is here because she was asked to be here by someone who is giving MILLIONS of dollars to the owner of the school for business. She has seen ALL of this stuff happen.

The owner of the school shows up yesterday and we have an emergency staff meeting. He tells us that there are problems, the head of ICED will be removed, thre will be sweeping changes to the advisory comittee, and to try to let the past lie.

Now, I am not saying that I brought down some "zealots" who were using the head of ICED (who is new and doesn't know better). But I was the bait who brought these people out of their hiding so they could get nailed.
My punishment (yes there is tit for tat, I bring down the administration so I got to pay) is a to get a written warning and a notice to STOP. But my attorney friend is here to write the policy about discipline so i'm not too worryed. (oh yea we also got an apology)

Will