Hsu Hsueh-chi says that the Academia Sinica chose to make an oral history because not everyone is capable of writing a book, but it is still valuable to have a record of their experiences. The people interviewed were key players in certain historical incidents, and these transcripts can be of great help to historians studying the Republican era in China.
中研院近史所研究員許雪姬表示，近史所當年所以做口述歷史，是因為口述者並非每個人都可以寫書，而他們的經歷又的確有價值，是某個事件的主導者，處於關鍵地位，對研究歷史的幫助很大。