A cross-culture communicator

Chen Xiaochun

Erna Chou, director of the business operations for Mentor Media, a supply chain company in the Futian Free Trade Zone, has been working in Shenzhen for over 10 years now. Apart from her daily job, she has volunteered as the Indonesian contact for the SMI (Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia) community in Shenzhen.

Indonesia joined the SMI community two years ago. “In the beginning, there was only the Singaporean community organized by the Singapore Chamber of Commerce and supported by the Singapore Consulate General in Guangzhou. Later Malaysia joined in too. On one occasion two years ago, I proposed that Indonesia should also be brought in and the idea was well received,” said Chou.

She works with the Indonesian Consulate General in Guangzhou to spread important information to the Indonesian community and helps newly arrived Indonesians get used to life here.

“For example, I worked with the Indonesian consulate to inform all Indonesians in southern China of Typhoon Nida, telling them to stay safe and take necessary measures if they needed to go out,” said Chou.

“Chou has been assisting the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in Guangzhou in many ways, especially by liaising with the rest of the Indonesian community in Shenzhen. For the SMI networking event held once a year, she actively gathers all the Indonesian citizens in Shenzhen to attend,” Herbhayu Noerlambang, the socio-cultural consul, told the Shenzhen Daily.

Even people from other countries appreciate her work. “I want to thank Erna for sharing this seminar information with me. Without her sharing, none of us would know about it,” said Shirley Ng, a Singaporean, after attending an Indonesian investment promotion meeting.

According to Erna, there are about 60 Indonesians in Shenzhen. A number of them are trading electronic goods from southern China like Shenzhen and its surrounding areas to Indonesia and other parts of the world.

Chou and her family are Indonesians but her father’s family originally was from Chaozhou in Guangdong Province while her mother’s was from Fujian Province. “I am Indonesian-Chinese. My family is still Chinese in origin and belief. So we know the basics, like Chinese culture and norms.”

After she left Indonesia, Chou continued her studies in Singapore and Hong Kong, eventually acquiring a master’s degree. That’s how she got the job with Mentor Media, which was then a Singapore-listed company. Later on, Mentor Media opened a Shenzhen branch. Chou has been assigned and stationed in China ever since.

Part of the company’s business consists in supply chain management, doing printing and packaging for electronic goods. “Shenzhen is the right place for this because all the electronics are produced around this area — Huaqiangbei, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Foshan, all the factories in Bao’an and electronic [and IT] companies like Foxconn, Huawei and Tencent. They are all here,” said Chou.

When asked about her experience working here for the past 10 years, Chou said that sometimes some Chinese workers in factories just want to do things fast without following the process strictly. “Sometimes they skip some steps in between. But customers are very strict. They find out when they visit the factories. This kind of mistake makes us lose face in front of our customers,” Chou said.

Having lived and worked in Shenzhen for over a decade, Chou has witnessed how the city has changed. She is quite satisfied with all the improvements Shenzhen has made. “Now the shopping and entertainment in Shenzhen are comparable to that in Hong Kong. Service, weather, transportation, safety and security, everything is great!”

However, there is still room for improvement. “Shenzhen has developed pretty fast and now more and more people have cars. Parking space has become a problem. There are not enough public hospitals meeting international standards compared to public hospitals in Hong Kong, Thailand or Singapore. The airport in Hong Kong is also better because there are more choices for international flights,” added Chou.