"In the student union shop they have everything, but I don't have a penny in my pocket. [The young hero] Zhuge Silang or the Demon Gang--just who stole that magic sword?" Singer Silvia Chang's tune "Adolescence" echoes in our ears, and the memory of scuffling with our childhood playmates for the latest edition of the comic Zhuge Silang floats to the surface of our minds. This issue's cover story, "Welcome to Comic Book Paradise" takes us into a kingdom where dreams come true. Starting in the Hall of Nostalgia, where Zhuge Silang and Zhenping wage a great battle against the Demon Gang, we pay a visit to a multitude of popular cartoon characters. We look once again at the hilarity of Brother Ah San and the Woman from the Countryside, the humor of the Old Confucian, the endless wonderful tricks of Little Din Don, the explorations by the daughter of the Nile, the wonders of Black Jack and the "social justice" he administers, the heroic spirit of Superman, the coolness of Slamdunk's Sakura...
In this universe created by cartoonists, many impossibilities become possible, and things beyond our expectation become reality. Here, we can let our imaginations gallop about in limitless space, traveling with comic-book protagonists through all manner of adventures and accomplishing all kinds of feats. Few are the children who don't love comic books, because on those days when we're not free to do as we please, the characters in comics often go out on a journey in our place and give us satisfaction. This seems to explain why in this industrialized society whose pace is ever quickening, in which people are ever more isolated from each other, more and more adults enjoy reading comics, letting themselves leap free of the confines of reality and grasp ahold of the innocent joys of youth.
For most people, reality may not be perfect, but it's still passable. But for the Siamese twins Chung-jen and Chung-yi, a host of torments profound beyond their comprehension follow at their heels. The twins, whose successful surgical separation became part of the collective memory of the people of Taiwan, are now 19 years old, yet physical limitations restrict their movement. Chung-jen may be visited at any minute by the pain of kidney stones. Chung-yi must have his intestines cleaned out every week. These kids ought to be at the height of their powers, yet their fixed arena of livelihood consists of school and hospital. Such a simple fact manifests their unspoken suffering and helplessness.
The physical discomfort might be easily forgotten by the two youngsters when they are not under immediate distress, but how about the trauma in their hearts? Why have their flesh-and-bone parents turned their backs on them? Knowing the future they would be confronted with, why did National Taiwan University hospital go through with the operation--"why did they have to let us live?" Chung-jen is about to graduate from high school; Chung-yi will do so in a bit over a year. Should they continue their studies or look for jobs? What kind of job opportunities can they have? Both of them have maladies which must still be treated by major operations. What are the risks? How much money will it cost? Of the NT$7 million in donations they received when they were separated, only one-third is left, whereas at most one-third of their lives has been lived.... Faced with endless questions, anxieties and risks that might cost their lives, the two youngsters only have each other to cheer themselves up. "If one of us cannot go on and departs first, the other must bravely live on." When we read these words, our eyes were moistened with tears. However, besides feeling sympathetic, what else can we do for them?
Current president of National Taiwan University Chen Wei-chao was a member of the medical team that separated the twins. He says, "The survival of the twins is the result of the care and concern provide d by society." Twenty years ago, our not-so-affluent society expressed its sympathy with actions, and enabled the two-year-old Siamese twins to live on through highly sophisticated surgery, growing up to be the two bright youths of today. Can the society that prides itself on economic accomplishments exert its collective power to help them over their many future hurdles?
Collective power saved Chung-jen and Chung-yi in their hour of need. The mobilization of social power can go beyond the boundaries of nations. Recently, the crew of the "Rainbow Warrior" risked their lives in the South Pacific by breaking into France's nuclear testing grounds. Thus they raised concern around the globe. Europeans, Americans and Japanese all launched demonstrations. France has become the target of anger from all directions. Although we don't know whether Greenpeace will be able to achieve their goal, their spirit of being willing and daring to challenge the powerful is admirable. They can have more than three million donors because they heed this spirit.
Recently, in a short article about Greenpeace, well-known Taiwan cultural commentator Nanfang Shuo particularly mentioned that this organization was different from a lot of other international environmental groups. Its main targets are Western countries or powerful corporations. Many other groups usually only take aim at Asian and African countries. When this happens too often, it's difficult not to question the justice of such attacks. Of course, it's also necessary to reflect upon ourselves: Are Eastern countries really so far behind Western countries with regard to environmental issues? Our special articles on bear gall and the Pelly Amendment address the most fundamental aspects of this issue.
Such conflicts have happened over and over since the East and West began contact. Of course, many differences originated from being distantly separated from each other and different value settings. Therefore, communication is more important than ever. We should introduce more about the history of cultural interchange. Luckily, history itself is storytelling and is always interesting to read. In this issue, we have saved "Tales of the Tea Clippers" as the grand finale. We would like to take our readers back to the seas of China two hundred years ago for a glimpse of the valiant British tea clippers, how they began, how they faded away, and the bonds they forged between China and Britain in that era. We hope you enjoy our "journey to the past."
