State Magazine February 2013 : Page 12
Not only did she prove her leadership ability, the embassy said, she did so in a male-dominated society. She noted that she was the first female warehouse supervisor. Early in her career, she worked in the maintenance shop, where “I started wearing casual clothing so the men would think that I am a team member. They had confidence in me.” She applies her formidable organizational skills outside of work, too. She said that in just one day on the phone she set up a complete medical clinic—finding a space, a doctor, other staff and supplies—for people who can’t afford to pay for medical consultations or medicines. “My main aim in life is to help people,” she said. BUREAU OF EAST ASIAN AND PACIFIC AFFAIRS Chen Er, Web content specialist at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, is the FSN of the Year for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. According to the embassy citation, he played “an indispensable role in the development of Embassy Beijing’s social media program.” The nomination noted that when Chen started working there in 2010 the embassy had a few social media sites with 10,000 followers. “Today,” it said, “Chen Er is directly responsible for two microblogs that have more than one million followers and two blogs and a video-sharing site with millions of page views.” He brought a wealth of experience to the job; he said he has been blogging since 2004 and worked as a Web and radio journalist. Chen said the key is to make the content interesting. He achieves that “by composing concise, thought-provoking tweets that seek audience engagement,” the nomination said. His tweet about Vice President Biden and Ambassador Locke’s visit to a noodle shop where they spent the equivalent of $10 on lunch went viral. It was retweeted 60,000 times and viewed by hundreds of million people, Chen said. He wasn’t surprised. “Chinese people like to compare Chinese and Americans,” he said, adding that a $10 lunch sets a good example for Chinese officials, who are known to spend thousands in public funds on elaborate banquets. When he is not tweeting, Chen monitors the Chinese blogosphere. The embassy noted that he provided illuminating reports on public sentiment toward Taiwan’s elections and the U.S. government role in assisting civil rights activist Chen Guangcheng. Chen sends out material on American culture, society and education to a key audience of mostly students and professionals between 20 and 50 years old. What motivates him, he said, is “helping Chinese to understand Americans” so there will be fewer misunderstanding in what he called the most important bilateral relationship in the world. BUREAU OF EUROPEAN AND EURASIAN AFFAIRS Zlatko Moratić, a security guard and member of the ambassador’s protective detail at the U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, is the FSN of the Year for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. He was cited for “selfless bravery in the face of danger during an attack against Embassy Sarajevo, and for constantly ensuring the safety of all embassy employees.” In October 2011, a gunman armed with a rifle and shouting anti-American slogans attacked the embassy during a busy workday, seriously injuring a Bosnian police officer, the post nomination said. Moratić was off duty in a nearby café. Chen Er Zlatko Morati´ c
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