LILI WANG CHINESE HERALD
On arriving in New Zealand
“I arrived here 26 years ago as a young international student with a big suitcase. I didn’t know anybody. I was a bank person, having graduated from a very famous university in China with a degree in finance… I initially worked in restaurants and other odd jobs until I got my master’s degree in banking. As soon as I graduated I got a job at ASB because I spoke both English and Chinese. Back then, migrants were just starting to come to New Zealand, but there weren’t many businesses that hired Chinese-speaking staff. I remember working in the St Lukes branch and people from all over Auckland came there, because they knew there was someone who would help them… I worked really hard, from eight to eight. In the evenings, everyone else was gone, and the cleaners would arrive.”
On starting her own business
“I got to a stage where I thought about whether I wanted to
