This situation feels like it was a bad poker game. Dong Fang was paying was playing the big bluff using false information and misleading statements and hoped nobody would call. The problem is, that the only money on the table was the students.

The school thought they could get away with this by making two very big assumption:

The first is that foreigners are generally stupid, most Chinese understand this to be true. After all, foreigners don't speak Chinese, have little information as to Chinese law and regulations, don't know China and are like small children, clueless and helpless. This makes us easy targets for the bluff.

The second assumption is, the foreign students would act like Chinese and quietly accept this huge increase in tuition because "things are different in China." By using "the government made us do it" we were expected to quietly comply.

What next? Someone at Dong Fang has lost face. I wonder what the reaction will be. As it is clear that not all schools are going to go along with this tuition increase, Dong Fang can either fold or continue the bluff.

I have been a student at Dong Fang for one year but now I am really disappointed in the way the school is run and the lack of respect shown for students and teachers. My guess is that the teachers, had this bluff worked, would have gotten nothing out of the double tuition windfall. I think Marx wrote something about the greedy capitalist exploiting the worker to make huge profits.

Again, I say this was not a smart business move.

What we need to do is to share the names of the schools that have not joined the double tuition action. We should each consider, based on how we feel about getting screwed, changing schools.

In 2002, in Zhuhai, they were selling small girl's shirts with "F**K" on the front. By small I mean kids 7 to 10 years old. For a couple of weeks they were pretty common before the word got out. We then saw them with the F**K appliqué scraped off but with no doubt as to what letters were gone.

When my son was doing his undergrad at Tufts, the Asian students sold hachimakis that said "hole in my head." Altho I couldn't read it, suspected something as he gave me one and stood there grinning with a camera in his hand.

After talking to several Chinese associated with language schools and teaching Chinese, I am beginning to see a picture immerge.

My school confirms the pending 8,000 yuan per semester price. But enough was said to give me the idea it was not a regulation, nor was it an order. I got the idea they were throwing this against the wall to see if it would stick.

I told them that an increase of, in my case, 105% was not acceptable. I said this move was a stupid business move. I also said that this school will close. I said I would not pay it and I would go to another school or move to another city.

While I was being given the tiresome "China has a lot of people...," and "China works differently..." crap, a phone call was being made. Here is some new information:

A meeting was held with the "government" and schools from 20 cities. Yes, not 20 schools but schools from 20 cities. This it seems to me to be bigger than Kunming and bigger than Yunnan. Or is it?

Other things were said which gave the idea this is a trial balloon. If the stupid foreigners fall for this everyone will be doing great. Great except the teachers who will not get any increases and may be out of work.

I think this is a price fixing plot.

Some idiot(s) with an arithmetic skill level ending at the 2 times table sees a huge windfall. Double revenue and hold costs constant. Nice. Oh, the key assumption is stupid foreign students will agree, have no alternatives, and will just pay.

If the demand for Chinese classes is inelastic it is a bonanza!

Note: I said I would change schools or move to another city. After the phone call the "20 cities" gambit was played. Duh. Guess there is no place to go. Yeah right.

I was also told if one school does not raise tuition to 8,000 it is likely other schools would not.

My suggestion is to struggle against this unjustified, unwarranted, excessive increase. Express your dissatisfaction and explain your alternatives. I am sure if a school lost all its students, or most of them, it might reconsider the magnitude of the increase. Dong Fang appears to be taking the lead.

I am not interested in organizing a resistance. I am not interested in any effort to present a united front. I do think that each of us, as individuals, need to assess the impact and alternatives this situation presents.

A 100% increase in tuition is not a smart business move.

I learned to love Mexican food in East LA. I guess that is pretty much Tex-Mex. You will not get Tex-Mex at Cacao.

The food was good but not what I expected.

Wow! I hope thi8s isn't a 'fake school' story.

For an 18 week, 10 class hours per week, the cost is more than 40 yuan per hour. If there are 6 students then school will be getting more than 240 yuan per class hour. Most teachers are getting 25-35 per hour. Pretty substantial margins.

Sounds great for school owners but I suspect the number of students will drop and the teachers needed will also go down. Smart move by the international city's government.

Has anyone actually paid 8000 for a semester?