Comparing social indices in this way reveals an interesting phenomenon: regarding those things such as nutrition and education, which are aspects of traditional Chinese culture, the ROC has nearly caught up with developed countries; but in respect to originally foreign concepts such as social welfare, western medical technology, population growth, and pollution control, the ROC still lags far behind.
比較我國和已開發國家的社會指標，可以發現一個現象，就是具有「傳統性」的項目，像營養、教育，我們在經濟能力改善後，都不致於和已開發國家差得太遠；然而在西式醫療設備、社會福利、人口增加率、空氣品質…… 等「外來性」的項目，我們則遠遠落後。