Summer seems to have been especially short in Taiwan this year. At the end of July, before Typhoon Herb gave us a class in the power of nature, the whole island was bathed in seasonal rains. While the rains dampened the heat, they also raised water levels and softened hillsides, making Herb all that much more devastating-the worst natural disaster in three decades.

Just as people in Taiwan were being bothered by worries over storms and public safety, there was also trouble down under where it is the middle of winter-New Zealand. In recent years, New Zealand has been one of the favorite spots for Chinese to emigrate to. Many Taiwanese have moved there because of political worries or for their children's educations. However, not only are Asians immigrants racially different, they have also been looked at askance because they are generally wealthier than native- born Kiwis; and they are all the more the object of attacks because they generally do not speak English sufficiently well to fit in right away. Thus our deputy editor-in-chief and a photographer went to New Zealand to check up on this disturbing situation. They interviewed the Minister of Immigration and also the leading opposition figure who opposes Asian immigration outright. Our cover story this month provides detailed reportage and analysis.

Do you remember last December Sinorama carried a review of Yin Ping's book Running Away to New Zealand: A Mother's Experiment in Education? While applauding the author's courage and wisdom, and being glad that her children were happy in their new environment, there was also an underlying sadness to that story. How many people are still suffocating in the existing educational structure in Taiwan? Why is it that today, when we have growing democracy, wealth, and social pluralization, children still cannot escape from the trap of "examination hell," "grades," "fast-track schools," and "red-carpeted futures"?

Yet, even as many parents "run away" these days, what problems arise when they don't meet the prerequisites that Yin Ping advises in her book-being able to drive and speak English well? And what happens when some parents even send their children overseas without any adults along? Even if everything seems to be OK, what will happen if local political and economic conditions change, so that immigrants become "unwelcome newcomers"?

New Zealand is large and sparsely populated, and seems much like a paradise. I remember when I went to Auckland ten years ago, life was relaxed and orderly, prices were low, and there were lovely boutiques all over the city. Outside the cities was an endless expanse of meadows and trees. I felt only that God had made a beautiful place at the tip of the world, and that New Zealanders were very lucky.

But later New Zealand's economy began to slide, and the government could do very little to stop it. Like Australia, New Zealand adopted a pan-Asian policy, opening the door to Asian immigration with the hope that Asians would bring their capital and talents to promote local industry. This was also just the time that the Asian dragons were seeing rapid gains in personal incomes and, at the same time, growing unease about conditions. Thus "running away to New Zealand" became both feasible and desirable for many people.

But as the number of immigrants-with their obviously different appearances, languages, and customs-grew, a powder-keg situation developed. And now some have zeroed in on them, making them scapegoats for social and economic problems. The problem is no longer one of individuals adjusting to a new society, nor is it a debate that can be settled simply by an appeal to reason. Many immigrants now feel ill-at- ease in their new homes as they see stories in the media about, for example, the rising popularity in the polls of the anti-immigra- tion New Zealand First Party, or the refusal of an Auckland primary school to accept any more Asian immigrants. Most worrisome is what might happen if the New Zealand First Party wins the October election. Will new policies be to the disadvantage of Asian immigrants? Some people are even thinking of returning to Taiwan in that event.

Most recent immigrants to Australia and New Zealand have gone in order to give their children a better living environment than they can find or create at home. Yet, tragically, they often find this unattainable in their new homes, too. Last year, one mother who had never even been out of Taiwan before went to New Zealand because of her kids' educations. But the 16-year-old has yet to adapt, and both children complain that many students only talk in class and it's very hard to concentrate. And in school the lines between Kiwis and Asians is clearly drawn, and some kids often make derogatory comments against the Asian kids. Thus parents are again in a difficult position, for this, too, does not seem a healthy environment for children to grow up in.

Naturally we hope that these are isolated cases. And looking at this month's cover story, we can see that many far-sighted people in New Zealand are making efforts to improve things. I am confident that New Zealanders will not permit a racial tragedy to occur in the "Godzone."

Yet, from another angle, the reactions of the residents of countries popular for Asian emigration are also understandable: "Why don't you stay in your own homes, why come to ours?" We cannot help but also ask ourselves, "Why do people leave here, and even split their families, to seek their ideal in a foreign country? When will we finally give our children a reasonable environment in which to grow?" The educational reform plan is due out soon, giving us hope. Real change will require everyone's participation-including parents, educators, creators of culture, and the business community. Let's each of us do our own part, so that parents will no longer have to painfully wonder: "Where can my children make a home?" Let's make our land one in which children will be happy to set down roots!