摘要
This chapter examines Taiwan’s impact on Chinese people through cross-strait social interaction by assessing which of the elements of Taiwanese society have touched and made the most impact on Chinese people, particularly scholars and students visiting Taiwan. It questions the conventional belief that it is Taiwanese democracy or economic success that makes the greatest impression on Chinese visitors. Instead, what has left an indelible mark on their minds relates to the social relationships and interactions in everyday life in Taiwan. Chinese visitors were deeply touched by the more traditional “Chineseness” they encountered in Taiwanese society which they felt was missing from their home society. They were moved by Taiwan’s everyday display of hospitality, civility among strangers, the nurturing of traditional culture, and the vitality of civil society. It is this kind of feeling of a “dream home” away from home that naturally moved Chinese visitors in Taiwan.