The two Irish women who are currently being detained in China may not have known they were breaking the law. It is a regular occurrence for police to raid language schools and detain the foreign teachers, and normally schools are fined 10,000 yuan (€1,300) per illegal foreign worker. A large number of English-language teachers are employed by third-party agencies that earn commission on the teachers. They often register the teachers on business or tourist visas rather than work visas, which foreigners require to legally earn money in China. Many foreign teachers do not know they are breaking the law.

Source: The Irish Times May 11, 2018 06:00 UTC