My boss, or as she likes to say ‘my Chinese Mother’ has just announced that there will be no Hon Bao this year, the first time in 10 years. If she were really my mother I’d tell her she was a stingy money grabbing bitch! No money for the teachers, whilst her son gets a brand new Mercedes for his birthday. When I think of all the extra shit I have put up with just for this damn hon bao I could spit teeth. Like working on 3 weekends to prepare for the Christmas festivities. Shit.
Whats the chinese for 'Give me Hon Bao or you can shove your smile up your arse"?
Some days Taiwan seems like a haven from the west, on others, like today, it just feels like I’ve been fucked in the arse.
Anyone got any Hon Bao they want to spread my way?
Roll with it, it’s all swings and round-abouts, she wins today and you win tomorrow. Perhaps, unless of course she really is a money hungry greedy stingy bitch. 
The son getting a Benz has nothing to do with business. My wife wears expensive clothes but that is bought with “my” money and not company money. I’d be really pissed if my staff complained about that.
On the other hand, I am sick of hearing about stingy pricks of Taiwanese bosses who give locals hongbao and forget all about the foreign staff. That is a real shaft up the ass. Esp. if you have been promised one.
Your boss should be properly rewarded for her parsimonious ingratitude by a mass exodus of her employees. Then she might start to get a glimmer of understanding about the wsdom of spreading her gains around more fairly not only to keep her staff happy and productive but even to keep them at all.
And if none of that fails, pour sugar in that car’s gas tank.
A lot of employers, like the GIO, won’t pay CNY bonuses because their line of reasoning is that foreigners already make so much more money than their colleagues. Cheap sons of bitches.
[quote=“Flicka”]And if none of that fails, pour sugar in that car’s gas tank.
A lot of employers, like the GIO, won’t pay CNY bonuses because their line of reasoning is that foreigners already make so much more money than their colleagues. Cheap sons of bitches.[/quote]
Aint that the truth. 
This is for teachers only…
Is anyone out there getting a Chinese New Year bonus?
Please post details…bushiban? kindy? full time? part time?
thanks!
I’ll go first. I work at a Bushiban full-time and wont be getting a bonus 
She isnt going to give hongbao to anyone this year, Taiwanese or foreign staff. Thanks for the wisdom Bassman. The son however works at the school, i.e. he uses the computer to write his masters degree work. So she must give him a shed load of salary to afford that. I am still making payments on my scooter. (Not a mercedes!)
It all leads to staff dissatisfaction. I feel bad for my colleagues as well as for myself.
I choose to teach sub-standard English for the next 6 months in return. Lets see how she views that business decision.
Time for a new job…?
my boss farms me out to a car factory. a major car factory. the chinese english teacher (my co-teacher) got 10 months pay for her hong bao. i got nada. sadly, our regular pay is the same. see if i am their santa in their stupid ass show (for free) next year.
at the bushiban, which does not give me a health card and sends me also out to teach in kindergartens i got a hongbao from my boss of now three years. inside? coupons for lunch at the little coffeeshop.
do ya think i am getting a message?
Chinese staff at schools usually get a hongbao while foreign teachers usually don’t. Not fair, perhaps. But the salary scale isn’t fair either (in the NSTs favor). If you want the same as local staff then you should ask your boss to treat you the same…but I would be careful what you wish for.
[quote=“skeptic yank”]at the buxiban, which does not give me a health card
[/quote]
That’s illegal, and dangerous for you if you’re ever in any sort of accident or get sick. Stand up for your rights. It’s only a measly…what, 400, 800 or something a month? Definitely less than a 1000 NT. Tell your boss you’ll pay half of it yourself if he won’t budge. Or better yet find another job.
And no - I haven’t gotten a hongbao in the three years I’ve been working here.
thank you. the latter, very much. in japan.
pour my life out for 550 an hour after three years? coupons for hongbao? no health card?
enough. aloha, adios and arrivaderci.
happy chinese new year.
I was told my first year here that as Chinese New Year isn’t a western holiday, they don’t give Hong Bao to westerners. Then a couple years ago, a different school gave me a lottery ticket, of which they kept a record, as a Hong Bao. Didn’t win of course. If I had, I’m sure the school would have had their cut. I can’t even get my husband to give me a Hong Bao! That’s not the tradition anyway, but sure would be nice to included once in my life!
If not a red envelope how about a Christmas bonus?
Just quit and on the way out tell her she’s a cheap ________________________ you fill it in.
I’ve worked at maybe 6 schools and never once got a hongbao or Christmas/New Year bonus (Ok I did once get 200NT which is actually worse than nothing).
Brian
Awwwwwww, you’re going to teach American English then 
Becareful, that stuff has a habit of latching on and it’s hard to get rid of.
Seriously, look at all the other stuff you get. Higher salary, better treatment, help looking for a place, a listening ear, … ringing any bells?
When “rich tea and sympathy” was making you crazy didn’t she help out? Yes / No.
DB, has a valid point, a point that my wife (a Taiwanese) doesn’t see, but that is how they rationalise it. It makes you feel like crap and even more cut out than normal.
So you’re saying that those who get paid more shouldn’t get hongbaos. So maybe in say a factory, the workers shoudl get hongbaos, but not the accounts people, engineers etc?
Foreigners don’t get hongbaos becuase they’re foreign. That’s it.
Brian
No, what I am saying is a Chinese teacher making 300NT an hour (and doing more BS) and is given 7 days off a year is not the same as an NST who is getting paid 600NT per hour and gets to go to Thailand whenever he/she gets the itch.
Ahhh, if that were only the case DB.