Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1980

Publication Title

American Universities Field Staff Reports

Department

Geisel School of Medicine

Abstract

China today is in the midst of a peaceful revolution that is dramatically changing the very nature of that vast country. Since the death of Chairman Mao and the political demise of the *Gang of Four," there has occurred a major re-emphasis on change and Western technology. To achieve their political goals the new regime, under Chairman Hua Kwo-Fenj, has emphasized "four modernizations": science, industry, national defense, and agriculture. Health and medicine are seen as a part of the scientific arena. The planned changes in this sector will plunge China into a Western form of technology that will certainly have long-term consequences for the much acclaimed paramedical barefoot doctor system. Health modernization, the Chinese acknowledge, will open dangerous possibilities of unmanageable costs and human inequities. The question of what technology is truly appropriate is the central health question in China today.

Original Citation

Miller, Norman N., and James C. Strickler. “China’s Revolution in Health.” American Universities Field Staff Reports 3 (1980): 1–24.

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