Pubdate: Wed, 06 Sep 2006
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA)
Copyright: 2006 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc
Contact:  http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/340
Author: Robert Moran, Inquirer Staff Writer

FOR TAKEOUT OPERATORS, DREAMS UNDAUNTED BY DANGER

Chinese takeouts risk danger to provide a better life.

His eyes glistening with tears, Zhong Hui Wang, 20,  stood before a
brick furnace Sunday tossing folded  pieces of gold and silver paper
into the fire,  promising wealth to his father in the afterlife.

Nearby, Zong Xiang Wang's body rested in a dark cherry  casket,
partially covered in a reddish-pink blanket he  once shared with his
wife of two decades, Yun Ying Yao,  42. The inclusion of a cherished
possession is a burial  custom from his native Fujian province in
southeastern  China.

The elder Wang came to the United States in 1993  seeking the promise
of a better life for himself and  his family. As with many Chinese
immigrants in  Philadelphia, he wound up selling take-out food in a
crime-ridden section of the city.

It's a dangerous business the Chinese learn not to  enjoy. But often
with little grasp of English and no  other marketable skills, they see
no other way to make  money and save for that better life.

Wang, 44, who lived with his family in Feltonville,  died Aug. 25 at
Temple University Hospital, 14 days  after he was shot during a
late-afternoon robbery  behind his China Taste takeout at Fifth and
Lehigh in  North Philadelphia.

He had been robbed before, and he explained to his  sons, Zhong Hui
and Zhong Jie Wang, 16, how they should  respond. " 'If people rob
you, give them the money.  Nothing will happen to you,' he always tell
me," Zhong  Hui recalled. "This time, after the robbery, they shot
him." Police reported no arrest in the case.

Some residents and police have criticized Chinese  takeouts and other
stores that stay open late in rough  neighborhoods for being magnets
for drug activity and  other crimes.

Police Officer Jeff Smith, who conducts tactical  patrols in North
Philadelphia, called them a "total  nuisance. They give the drug
dealers a reason to hang  on the corner."

But owners say that if their takeouts weren't open,  drug dealing and
other crimes would still afflict these  neighborhoods. Also, the
owners say they are threatened  by drug dealers and have trouble
getting police help.

Ten owners of Chinese takeouts have been murdered in  Philadelphia in
the last five years, said Yingzhang  Lin, vice president of the
Greater Philadelphia Chinese  Restaurant Association.

In recent months, "several owners come to me, they want  to buy guns,"
Lin said.

Lin was not sure that was wise. But after Wang's  slaying, Lin said,
"I change my mind."

A hard start

Wang's cousin Jimmy Chang, 47, came to the United  States in 1979 to
help his father start the Ding Ho  takeout at 2828 Lehigh Ave.

His father had been in United States since the 1940s  and decided to
open his own place in Philadelphia. He  borrowed most of the money
from family and friends to  buy the building and start the business.

That's how it works, Chang explained. Each family  member or friend
will contribute $1,000, some as much  as $5,000, to the aspiring
entrepreneur. Most borrow  the money from people already established
here.

Still, it is rarely enough to buy a nice restaurant, so  they invest
in the least expensive areas of the city.  And that means working and
living in neighborhoods  plagued by drugs and gun violence. "We don't
have no  choice," Chang said.

When Chang worked at Ding Ho, he was robbed on the  street, his car
was stolen, his delivery guy was  robbed. After six years, he moved on
to the  restaurant-supply business. Today, he is out of the  business.
He owns rental properties in Philadelphia and  in New Jersey, where he
lives in Moorestown with his  family.

He has been lucky, but many others struggle. Some don't  have enough
family or friends to borrow from, so they  remain cooks or take
menial-labor jobs.

When people in China want to come here to start a  business, they have
no idea they might be working in a  takeout behind bulletproof
windows, Chang said.

"Most people don't know," he said. "They think it easy  to achieve
American dream."

A shattering end

Christopher Reyes, 15, often stopped by China Taste to  buy ice cream
when he visited his grandparents on Fifth  Street. He remembered Wang
as "a nice guy, but you  can't have a conversation with him because he
barely  knows English."

On Aug. 11, Reyes had just bought some ice cream from  Wang. His uncle
then left to get some for himself.  Before his uncle returned, Reyes
heard a gunshot.

His uncle was safe, but Wang was lying behind the  takeout with a
bullet wound in his upper body. Color  was draining from his face,
Reyes said.

"My uncle took off his T-shirt and wrapped it around  the wound to put
pressure on the wound," Reyes said.  Wang lost consciousness, and
Reyes' aunt slapped him in  the face to try to bring him back.

"Chino! Wake up! Wake up!" his aunt said, using the  Spanish word for
Chinese.

After several hours of surgery at Temple, Wang was  stabilized. He
could not speak because a tube had been  inserted down his throat, but
he was responsive.

"My mom told my dad to move his feet. He does," Zhong  Hui
said.

But Wang's condition deteriorated. He got a lung  infection, and his
liver began to fail. Before dawn on  Aug. 25, he died.

A mournful farewell

With his blanket to take with him, Wang's casket was  closed yesterday
morning at the Choi Funeral Home in  Chinatown.

Moments earlier, two aides to Councilwoman Donna Reed  Miller offered
words of condolence. The gesture was  appreciated because some Chinese
American leaders had  expressed anger that no city leaders had spoken
out  about the death or visited the victim's family.

Rain fell on the early afternoon burial at Sunset  Memorial Park in
Feasterville. Mourners placed  containers of dumplings, noodles and
rice at the foot  of Wang's grave - food for his travel to the afterlife.

A feng shui master held a string over the grave to  ensure the casket
was aligned properly.

Wang's widow and sons have received pledges of several  thousand
dollars from family and friends to help pay  for the funeral.

On the wet grass, those same relatives and friends  burned the last of
the gold and silver paper.

In life, Wang sold egg rolls and chicken wings, but his  spirit would
enjoy prosperity.
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MAP posted-by: Derek