The elimination of the western presence in China : the communist victory and its aftermath

When the Chinese Communists came to power during 1949, they were faced with a diminished but still substantial Western presence in their country, the representatives and symbols of a century of imperialist activity in China. The present study analyses the process whereby, in the four years following their victories in the major cities, they effectively eliminated that remaining presence from China. It takes issue with those analysts who see the question basically in an immediate foreign policy context. They argue that there were two distinct phases in the Communists' treatment of the Western presence - a period of moderation followed by one of far more extreme measures - and that the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, and more particularly China's entry into the war four months later, marked a decisive turning point or watershed in their policies and actions. This study argues that the Communists' treatment of the remaining Western presence was determined by more basic, long-term factors: their strong anti-imperialism (both as successors to a century of reaction against imperialism in China and as ideological adherents to the Leninist theory of imperialism) and their firm commitment to establishing a socialist society. The combination of these two factors precluded any future role for the existing Western presence in China. The Communists' decision to permit Westerners to remain temporarily in China and even to continue their activities was prompted, not by a policy of moderation, but by pragmatism in the interests of avoiding economic and social disruption during the immediate takeover and transitional 'New Democracy' periods. Having decided not to expel the Western presence outright, the Communists astutely utilized it for their own material and political purposes, in particular to help establish and consolidate their authority. At the same time, the Communist authorities - from the earliest months of their rule - exerted strong economic, psychological and at times physical pressures on the Western presence. Pressures on individual interest groups varied according to their involvement with past imperialism, the degree of their incompatibility with socialism, and particularly their immediate usefulness or otherwise to the authorities. While Western economic and educational establishments were generally When the Chinese Communists came to power during 1949, they were faced with a diminished but still substantial Western presence in their country, the representatives and symbols of a century of imperialist activity in China. The present study analyses the process whereby, in the four years following their victories in the major cities, they effectively eliminated that remaining presence from China. It takes issue with those analysts who see the question basically in an immediate foreign policy context. They argue that there were two distinct phases in the Communists' treatment of the Western presence - a period of moderation followed by one of far more extreme measures - and that the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, and more particularly China's entry into the war four months later, marked a decisive turning point or watershed in their policies and actions. This study argues that the Communists' treatment of the remaining Western presence was determined by more basic, long-term factors: their strong anti-imperialism (both as successors to a century of reaction against imperialism in China and as ideological adherents to the Leninist theory of imperialism) and their firm commitment to establishing a socialist society. The combination of these two factors precluded any future role for the existing Western presence in China. The Communists' decision to permit Westerners to remain temporarily in China and even to continue their activities was prompted, not by a policy of moderation, but by pragmatism in the interests of avoiding economic and social disruption during the immediate takeover and transitional 'New Democracy' periods. Having decided not to expel the Western presence outright, the Communists astutely utilized it for their own material and political purposes, in particular to help establish and consolidate their authority. At the same time, the Communist authorities - from the earliest months of their rule - exerted strong economic, psychological and at times physical pressures on the Western presence. Pressures on individual interest groups varied according to their involvement with past imperialism, the degree of their incompatibility with socialism, and particularly their immediate usefulness or otherwise to the authorities. While Western economic and educational establishments were generally subjected to less severe pressures than were missionaries, in particular Catholics, the pressures exerted on all groups were directed towards their eventual eradication from China. The Communists' actions during the Korean War period, while admittedly of increased intensity, largely represented the continuation and the culmination of earlier pressures. Indeed, the ideological intensity of the period gave the Chinese Government, which had consistently proclaimed an official policy of protecting foreign nationals, a 'legal' pretext to bring to completion its underlying aim of eliminating the Western presence from China

Australian reactions to German persecution of the Jews and refugee immigration, 1933-1947

This study is concerned with two related issues: Australian reactions to the German persecution of the Jews and to the resulting refugee problem, in particular the immigration of refugees into Australia

Development and initial validation of the Influences on Patient Safety Behaviours Questionnaire

YesBackground: Understanding the factors that make it more or less likely that healthcare practitioners (HCPs) will perform certain patient safety behaviors is important in developing effective intervention strategies. A questionnaire to identify determinants of HCP patient safety behaviors does not currently exist. This study reports the development and initial validation of the Influences on Patient Safety Behaviors Questionnaire (IPSBQ) based on the Theoretical Domains Framework. Methods: Two hundred and thirty-three HCPs from three acute National Health Service Hospital Trusts in the United Kingdom completed the 34-item measure focusing on one specific patient safety behavior (using pH as the first line method for checking the position of a nasogastric tube). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was undertaken to generate the model of best fit. Results: The final questionnaire consisted of 11 factors and 23 items, and CFA produced a reasonable fit: χ2 (175) = 345.7, p < 0.001; CMIN/DF = 1.98; GFI = 0.90 and RMSEA = 0.06, as well as adequate levels of discriminant validity, and internal consistency (r = 0.21 to 0.64). Conclusions: A reliable and valid theoretically underpinned measure of determinants of HCP patient safety behavior has been developed. The criterion validity of the measure is still unknown and further work is necessary to confirm the reliability and validity of this measure for other patient safety behaviors

Genetic contributors to risk of schizophrenia in the presence of a 22q11.2 deletion

Schizophrenia occurs in about one in four individuals with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS). The aim of this International Brain and Behavior 22q11.2DS Consortium (IBBC) study was to identify genetic factors that contribute to schizophrenia, in addition to the ~20-fold increased risk conveyed by the 22q11.2 deletion. Using whole-genome sequencing data from 519 unrelated individuals with 22q11.2DS, we conducted genome-wide comparisons of common and rare variants between those with schizophrenia and those with no psychotic disorder at age ≥25 years. Available microarray data enabled direct comparison of polygenic risk for schizophrenia between 22q11.2DS and independent population samples with no 22q11.2 deletion, with and without schizophrenia (total n = 35,182). Polygenic risk for schizophrenia within 22q11.2DS was significantly greater for those with schizophrenia (padj = 6.73 × 10−6). Novel reciprocal case–control comparisons between the 22q11.2DS and population-based cohorts showed that polygenic risk score was significantly greater in individuals with psychotic illness, regardless of the presence of the 22q11.2 deletion. Within the 22q11.2DS cohort, results of gene-set analyses showed some support for rare variants affecting synaptic genes. No common or rare variants within the 22q11.2 deletion region were significantly associated with schizophrenia. These findings suggest that in addition to the deletion conferring a greatly increased risk to schizophrenia, the risk is higher when the 22q11.2 deletion and common polygenic risk factors that contribute to schizophrenia in the general population are both present