This paper presents an analysis of wh-phrases in Chinese and Japanese, as they demonstrate both sharing properties and distinct behaviors.
We attempt to portrait their syntactic features under the current Labeling theory and offer a general account. On one hand, they do have a lot in common
in the sense of superficial representations, whereas they differ significantly with respect to interpretation and syntactic operation on the other. Specifically, they
are not only subject to different movement constrains, but also vary greatly in terms of methods of interpretation and the sensitivity to root-ness. In general, this paper argues that such different traits can be properly accounted for under
the labeling/feature valuation requirement. And if this proposal is defensible, the syntactic idiosyncrasies showcased in this paper can then be captured in a
way that accords to the Strong Minimalist Thesis, since both labeling and Agree can be reduced to Minimal Search, which is arguably a third-factor principle.