Please boycott Nanjing Normal University (NNU), for its modern slavery-like system for postdoctoral fellows!

Who am I?

My name is Li Xiang(李想)，a postdoctoral fellow of mathematics in Nanjing Normal University (Chinese：南京师范大学，located at Nanjing, Jiangsu, China), and also, a debt slave.

I got my PhD degree in 2017, and went to Nanjing Normal University for my first job——postdoctoral fellow. Since I was young and not experienced in law, I signed the contract. But this contract turns out to be a complete modern slavery system!

This has no relation what department of NNU you are working for; the contracts for postdoctoral are given by the human resource office of the univerisity, as a format contract.

The modern slavery-like system of NNU

The contract contains 2-years' monthly salary.
They need you to publish 2 SCI papers in first author, and indicate NNU as author's institution. This is my situation. Others may have different tasks.
If you did not complete the task of publishing papers, you cannot leave for other jobs, since they will not transfer your Dang'an (档案，https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_records_in_China), and you cannot start your new work for any public institutions, even for a primary school.
If you did not finish the task of publishing papers in 2 years, and you want to leave for a new job, you have to either "return all salary NNU have given you" to rescue your Dang'an, or you have to work for them for free until you finish your paper publishing task.
Since the salary is quite low (~$700/mo for me, maybe more for later people), barely for a living in Nanjing, most people cannot have any money to return. They created a situation that people cannot leave and have to work for free.

Evidences

The scan of contract is given below, and the modern slavery article is highlighted:

Article 5 Those who leave the station shall refund their wages and allowances during their stay to the school .
（Chinese：退站者应向学校退还在站期间工资、津贴等。）

I will also provide other evidences if needed.

This system breaks laws of labor in China

Labour Law of the People's Republic of China http://english.court.gov.cn/2015-08/17/content_21624023.htm

Article 50 Wages shall be paid monthly to labourers themselves in the form of cash. The wages to be paid to labourers shall not be embezzled nor the payment thereof delayed without justification.

Labor Contract Law of the People's Republic of China

http://english.court.gov.cn/2015-08/17/content_21623832.htm

Article 22 If an employing unit provides special funding for a worker’s training and gives him professional technical training, it may conclude an agreement with the worker specifying the term of service.
If the worker breaches the agreement on the term of service, he shall pay a penalty to the employing unit as agreed upon. The sum of the penalty may not exceed the training expenses paid by the employing unit. The penalty that the employing unit requires the worker to pay may not exceed the portion of the training expenses allocable to the unperformed portion of the term of service.
Where the employing unit and the worker reach an agreement on the term of service, the raise in the worker’s remuneration according to the regular wage adjustment mechanism during the term of service shall not be adversely affected.
Article 23 An employing unit and a worker may have such terms stipulated in the labor contract as keeping business secrets of the employing unit and keeping confidential the matters relating to its intellectual property rights.
With regard to a worker who has a confidentiality obligation, the employing unit may have stipulated in the labor contract or confidentiality agreement competition restriction and payment of financial compensation to him on a monthly basis during the term of the competition restriction after the labor contract is revoked or terminated. If the worker breaches the stipulation on competition restriction, he shall pay penalty to the employing unit as agreed upon.
Article 25 With the exception of the circumstances specified in Articles 22 and 23 of this Law, an employing unit shall not enter into an agreement with a worker on payment of penalty by the worker for breach of contract.
Article 84 Where an employing unit, in violation of the provisions of this Law, detains a worker’s resident identity card or other certificates, the administrative department of labor shall order it to return the same to the worker within a time limit and impose on it a penalty in accordance with the provisions of relevant laws.
Where an employing unit, in violation of the provisions of this Law, collect money or things of value from the workers in the name of guaranty or in other names, the administrative department of labor shall order it to return the same to the workers within a time limit and impose on it a fine at the rate of not less than 500 yuan but not more than 2,000 yuan for each person from whom it has collected money or things of value; if harm is done to the workers, it shall be liable for compensation.
Where an employing unit detains a worker’s personal file or other articles when the worker has his labor contract revoked or terminated in accordance with law, it shall be penalized in accordance with the provisions in the preceding paragraph.

What am I doing?

At the begining, I try to write papers. But that does not work. In fact, I am busy doing part-time jobs for a living, and nearly no time for writing papers, and I'm in depression, for I'm feeding the monsters that are destroying me.

Now, I will sue NNU at the local labor court. Also, I will try to get attention of you all.

Discussion in Zhihu

https://www.zhihu.com/question/426261008

This topic already gains attention in Chinese social medias, such as Zhihu (知乎).

In this link, I found that some other schools in China also has a similar postdoc-slavery system, such as Southeast University (东南大学， SEU) and Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics（南京航空航天大学，NUAA）.

What should you do?

Boycott NNU in anyway, such as stop cooperate with NNU in academics.

Spread this message to social medias!

Please try to target the school itself, not the postdoctoral fellows, students, or Chinese race, which are innocent.

I beg for your help!

I need your power, to rescue me, and to end modern slavery in NNU and rescue social justice!