While the Japanese publishing industry might be a harbinger of things to come, Hao Ming-yi points out that the industry in Japan had passed through a number of stages and reached "middle age" before declining. In contrast to that scenario, the industry in Taiwan passed through a mere ten years of development before its sudden collapse, seeming more like a young person suffering ulcers after bouts of binge eating and drinking.
日本出版業就如一則「寓言」，然而郝明義指出，日本是經歷各種成長階段，才像中年人體能開始走下坡，台灣卻僅成長十年就跟著喊「大崩壞」，簡直是少年人暴飲暴食後的「胃潰瘍纏身」。