"Nevertheless, at the time many archives were still secret and material available for research was extremely limited," Fix recalls. Added to this were continued government misgivings. His professors and fellow students counseling him to give up the idea resolved him to adopt an "outflanking" strategy and study Taiwanese society of the 1930s and 40s.
「不過，當時台灣許多檔案還未解密，可以參考的資料非常受限，」費德廉回憶，再加上政治顧忌未除，師長和同學紛紛勸他打消念頭，也讓他決定採取「迂迴」策略，轉而研究 30-40 年代台灣社會的活動。