B. Western imperialists
Driven out of the "treaty ports" by the new Chinese republic refers to the period following the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912. The "treaty ports" were the ports in China that had been forcibly opened to foreign trade by Western imperialist powers, including the British Empire. However, with the rise of the new Chinese republic, there were efforts to regain control over these ports and assert Chinese sovereignty, resulting in the Western imperialists being driven out.
