In Southeast Asia, for example, she says, Chinese have continued to come and go, and the umbilical cord with China has remained unbroken. The old Chinese method of keeping accounts are still used in some places, and the older generation still hopes to return to their hometowns someday.
因此，僻處世界一隅的大溪地華人社會，保存傳統風俗習慣的程度比其他地方的華人社會低。童元昭舉東南亞為例，因為當地一直有華人出出入入，與中國的臍帶未斷，有些地方甚至仍保持中國舊有的記帳方式，老一輩仍想要落葉歸根。