The Cuban influencer and dancer Cozy Em recounted how she and a group of friends managed to escape from an abusive contract in China, where their employers were holding their passports.
In a video posted on Instagram while preparing fried rice, the young woman explained that this was her first contract in China and she decided to confront her employers because she was continuously mistreated.
"I escaped from my first contract in China, because besides scamming us, they treated us like puppets," says the young woman at the beginning of the story, which lasts a little over two minutes and has generated hundreds of reactions in the Cuban community on social media.
According to their testimony, the conflict began when the employers—in a recently opened Chinese theme park—attempted to force them to wear coats outside of working hours, claiming it was part of an advertising activity or an internal regulation.
She claims that she read the contract "a thousand times" and proved that there was no legal basis for that demand. The response from the bosses was blunt: "Because yes, because the boss said so, and that's that," threatening with fines for absence and denying them the bus to the park if they did not comply.
The group went to the park on their own the next day to avoid the absence, but the bosses sent them back upon seeing them without their coats.
They then went to the Cuban embassy in China, where they also found no solution. "There, we really couldn't resolve anything. They told us to try to recover our passports because it was illegal," he recalls.
They attempted to retrieve the documents by lying to the employers, telling them that they would return to Cuba, but they refused to hand them over until the moment of the flight.
With the help of a Chinese citizen who needed dancers for her own business, the group grew to six people by adding four trusted friends. Together, they went to immigration, where they were informed that the only way out was to approach the police.
At the police station, the scene was bewildering: "The police chief and our superiors were pals. They were rolling with laughter as if nothing had happened," he recounts.
It was a direct question that changed the course: "Officer, is it legal here in China to retain people's passports?" The officer had no choice but to instruct the employers to return the documents.
The retention of passports from foreign workers is a illegal practice in China according to the Entry and Exit Law and the regulations of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, although it is a documented pattern that affects many Cubans traveling to the country under labor contracts.
In 2024 and 2025, similar cases were reported involving Cuban hairstylists, models, and artists.
I lost my salary from the previous month, but I gained my freedom, summarizes the protagonist, who left with the Chinese citizen who supported them to another city.
In the comments, several followers acknowledged the situation. "Anyone who has been in China and hasn't escaped a contract doesn't know what life is," wrote one.
Another person pointed out, "That is the big answer that all Chinese companies fear: 'withholding passports is illegal'."
A third person asked how they managed to leave without being charged, "because many times they threaten that you have to pay a lot of money if you decide to leave."
The young woman concluded her account with a warning for those considering accepting similar contracts: "Sadly, even people from your own land can sell you paradise and take you to a bad place for just 3 pesos."
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