The news of Emperor Hirohito's illness has caused continued discussion in the R.O.C. media over the degree of his responsibility for World War Ⅱ. Whatever the conclusion, we must admit that Japan, like the other aggressor nation of the war, Germany, not only recovered rapidly from the rubble of war's end but has long been a major power in the world's economy. Yet at a time when other countries are doing their best to learn about Japan and understand it, many people in the R.O.C. are concerned about "cultural aggression" from this economic superpower.
Why? Do we have too much information about Japan, or too little? Is our understanding too shallow, or all too profound? This issue's cover story tries to unravel the tangled love-hate relationship between the two countries.
During the past year since Taiwan residents were permitted to return to the mainland to visit their relatives, the government's policy toward mainland China has gradually quickened in pace, and the views of returning visitors have changed from emotional agitation to rational reflection. On his trip to the mainland, architecture scholar Wang Chen-hua perused what is left of historic buildings on the mainland to find the spiritual structure of traditional culture. Besides the article on "A Village with Chinese Character," we offer two short pieces in Chinese about visits to mainland relatives in the Potpourri section.
