I just started with Great Wall through a direct contract; no agency. So far nothing like it has been described on pprune, although I think the poster there had an ulterior motive. I did my CAAC medical with some SQ guy's who were there on secondment and they were all quite happy.
There were a few hoops for sure, and I'd be happy to answer any questions you guy's have regarding the process for the contract (yes it is in English)/licence/medical/english test/ATPL written etc.
PM me any time.