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.