not.. its not... r u working in china?..  or working for some foreign company and just here for business purposes (working for that company?)..

nope cannot work... 

dont listen to those schools who say its safe and dont worrie...

next thing you know you wont get paid and have 3 days paid for vacation in a nice chinese jail and sent to thailand 

To work in China, even for free (no salary), you must have a work visa, with the required FEC, work permit and residence permit.

With an "F" business visa you can not legally work in China, or get paid in China.

Now, if you work for a company abroad, who sets shop in China, and sends you here to represent them or train local workers, and get paid abroad (back home), then you can come here with an "F" visa.  But to me it is ridiculous to take a chance, since there is the same effort to get an F visa as it is to get a work visa, and they cost the same, good for one year also.

Thank you very much for answering this question.

Basically my ex-company have threatened me with lawyers and government people to be involved if I don't pay them an 'unreasonable' amount of money because I broke my contract.

I did break the contract because I don't want to work with them any longer so I know that I am in the wrong, but I had some very good reasons for doing so.

So this is looming over my head but I wondered what would really come of it. 

I know I am in the wrong so I will compensate them accordingly but the fee they are demanding is just ridiculous. 

Before you pay them anything back for "compensation" for breaking the contract for whatever reason, if your former employer got you the F visa, or hired and paid you knowing you had an F visa and not a work visa, under Chinese law they are as guilty as you could be, and subject most probably to a fine.  I do know one case in which the fine was 100,000 Rmb, and lost the license to hire foreigners.  You may use that as a bargaining tool to avoid any compensation.