Wednesday, December 2, 1998

"Finally he has come back to the place he loved," said Yook Chew Tong, a 72-year-old retiree who arranged shipment of the remains of his father, mother, stepmother, two brothers and a sister-in-law.
      Such transfers can sever the families' remaining emotional and physical ties to the old country, while symbolizing that America is now home.
      Don Nakanishi, director of UCLA's Asian American Studies Center, described the transfers as "a very clear sign of an intent to really sink one's roots down here in America. No question about that."
      Some then say they have little reason to visit their native country again.
      Henry Kwong, manager of Universal Chung Wah Funeral Directors, with offices in Alhambra and Los Angeles' Chinatown, agreed. "They feel they will be settling in the United States, and they don't think they will be going back anymore," he said.