Reinterpreting the Sino–Japanese War: 1939–1940, peasant mobilisation,and the road to the PRC

The War of Resistance to Japan (1937–1945) has long been recognised as the most important stage in the Chinese Communist Party's rise to power in 1949. Particularly in its North China base areas, the Chinese Communist Party is said to have pursued moderate, inclusive, and mobilisatory tactics during the war years to build a movement for national salvation from the bottom up, which eventually led to the establishment of the People's Republic of China. The evidence from the heart of the Taihang Base Area suggests the possibility of another contrasting history, masked by current interpretations, in which 1939–1940 was a crucial turning point in that process. Starting in September 1939, and for the following six months, there is evidence of more explicitly revolutionary endeavour. The Chinese Communist Party seized power locally from its allies and destroyed the opposition; it engaged in violent land reform and wealth redistribution; and it attempted to proletarianise itself. Understanding the causes of these phenomena and their consequences in one of the most important front-line base areas provides new perspectives on both the course of the war with Japan and the Chinese Communist Party's eventual success.     

Literary Feature Reviews

Negritude and after: changing perspectives in French‐language African fiction

The Black Cloth: A Collection of African Folktales. Bernard Binlin Dadie. Translated from the French by Karen C Hatch. Amherst, Massachusetts: The University of Massachusetts Press. 1987. 140pp.np . hb

Black Docker. Sembene Ousmane. Translated from the French by Ros Schwartz. London: Heinemann Educational Books. 1987. 120pp. £3.95pb

Tribaliks: Contemporary Congolese Stories. Henri Lopes. Translated from the French by Andrea Leskes. London: Heinemann Educational Books. 1987. 86pp. £3.95pb

The Laughing Cry: An African Cock and BuU Story. Henri Lopes. Translated from the French by Gerald Moore. London: Readers International. 1987. 260pp. £4.95pb

Chinese literature in renaissance

Mulberry and Peach: Two Women of China. Hualing Nieh. London: Women's Press. 1986. 197 pp. £3.95pb

One Half of the Sky: Selection from Contemporary Women Writers of China. Edited and translated from the Chinese by R A Roberts and Angela Knox London: William Heinemann. 1987. 143 pp. £11.95hb

Leaden Wings. Zhang Jie. Translated from the Chinese by Gladys Yang London: Virago Press. 1987. 180 pp. £3.95pb

Waves. Bei Dao. Edited by Bonnie S McDougall. Translated from the Chinese by Bonnie S McDougall and Susette Ternent Cooke. London: William Heinemann. 1987. 234 pp. £11.95hb     

Japan's Research Whaling Is Not Unlawful and Does Not Violate CITES Trade Rules

This article is a critique of two reports of “independent legal experts” sponsored by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW); the “Paris Panel” and the “London Panel.” The article shows that the Paris Panel's conclusion that Japan's research whaling in the Antarctic is unlawful and an abuse of rights under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) is based on misuse of evidence and failure to properly interpret Article VIII of the Convention and the legal status of recommendatory non-binding resolutions. It also shows that the London Panel's conclusion that the import of humpback whales from Japan's research program in the Antarctic and sei whales from its research program in the North Pacific are a violation of trade rules under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora is based on incorrect interpretation of that Convention's trade rules. It is concluded that the two independent legal experts panel reports are, from a legal perspective, seriously flawed, rendering their conclusions invalid and relegating the reports to the status of IFAW propaganda.     

Controlling Immigration through Language and Country Knowledge Requirements

This article examines why some states in Western Europe have adopted integration-from-abroad requirements, which include tests and language courses administered as a condition for immigration. After considering the significance and empirical differences of pre-entry integration programmes, it argues that mandatory language and country knowledge training from abroad primarily represent a deliberate and increasingly effective instrument for immigration control – specifically family unification and formation. The article first roots the political opportunity for pre-entry integration in supranational EU Directives on Family Reunification and Status of Third Country Nationals. Second, it looks at the Dutch Civic Integration from Abroad exam as a crucial case to show how mode of preparation, exempt categories, and policy language link the immigration test to migration control objectives. It concludes that this new instrument in immigration policy-making reveals strategic thinking by policy-makers to use positive, politically acceptable language of integration and inclusion to achieve potentially objectionable and discriminatory outcomes of exclusion.     

PARENT PSYCHOEDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS AND REDUCING THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF INTERPARENTAL CONFLICT FOLLOWING DIVORCE

This article reviews psychoeducational programs to reduce interparental conflict in divorcing families and the negative impact of conflict on children. The authors initially identify factors shown in the basic psychosocial research literature to be related to the effects of interparental conflict on children. They then review the content of programs currently being delivered and evaluate the evidence from well-controlled studies concerning their effectiveness. Finally, the article considers directions for future program development and evaluation.     

Evaluating psychological expertise on questions of social fact

The empirical evidence summarized in the APA amicus brief inPrice Waterhouse v. Hopkins was initially presented at trial, subject to quality control measures contained in the Federal Rules of Evidence and an opportunity for cross-examination. This evidence was incorporated into the adjudicative facts determined by the trial judge. These unique circumstances rendered the APA brief more akin to a guild brief than to a typical APA science translation orBrandeis brief. As such, the brief was effective. However, the debate about the brief highlights shortcomings in the existing system for evaluating social science facts presented for the first time by a friend of the court. Recommendations are made to take into account the consensus of experts in the field and adverse findings when presenting empirical evidence for the first time in an appeal brief.     

Listening and Hearing

In today’s polarized milieu doublethink is refined to “sayisms,” talking points, soundbites, bullet points, and bumper stickers, announcing a stance but not necessarily seeking a response beyond approval (like) or disparagement (unfriend). Conversations become stilted, guarded, or polemical. Often they simply cease. News media seek followers rather than listeners, and content in the educational sphere is increasingly displaced by the modeling of attitudes to be mimicked. Free speech is often transmogrified into silencing -- and violence that can be fatal. The rhetoric of ever expanding rights-claims, hallmarks of a progressive faith? displaces efforts toward the kind of mutual accommodation needed in any healthy community. This article is a plea for less grandstanding and more listening, even to the voices of religious traditions, which have long served, and continue to serve, as a kind of communal conscience, being repositories of the highest values and deepest concerns of the majority of mankind.