"Intellectuals knew more of what was going on," contends Lin Heng-tao. They could guess from the newspaper reports and from what their Japanese friends were telling them that all-out war between China and Japan was inevitable. Though they were naturally deeply distressed, there was nothing they could do to affect the big picture.
「知識份子知道的較多」，林衡道指出，他們從報紙看到、日本友人聽來節節升高的戰情中猜測，中日勢必一戰，心中雖然惶恐，但對大局顯然是無能為力的。