Ohio River Report #449- Today is Wednesday, December 31, 2014, there are no days left in the year. 🌟 In 1879, in the first public demonstration of his incandescent lightbulb, American inventor Thomas Alva Edison lights up a street in Menlo Park, New Jersey. The Pennsylvania Railroad Company ran special trains to Menlo Park on the day of the demonstration in response to public enthusiasm over the event. 🌟 In 1972, Roberto Clemente, future Hall of Fame baseball player, is killed along with four others when the cargo plane in which he is traveling crashes off the coast of Puerto Rico. Clemente was on his way to deliver relief supplies to Nicaragua following a devastating earthquake there a week earlier. 🌟 In 1978, flags at both the American embassy in Taipei and the Taiwanese embassy in the United States are lowered for the last time as U.S. relations with Taiwan officially come to an end. On January 1, 1979 the United States officially recognized the government of the Peoples Republic of China in Beijing. The American decision to sever relations with Taiwan and grant recognition to the Peoples Republic of China was hotly resented by representatives of the Chinese Nationalist government. In a brief ceremony accompanying the lowering of the Taiwanese flag, a Chinese Nationalist official declared that the action did not mean that we are giving up our fight against communism. He strongly criticized American President Jimmy Carterfor cutting off ties with a loyal friend and ally of the United States in exchange for normalizing relations with our enemy, the Chinese Communist regime. American officials had little comment, except to assure those seeking visas and other services in Taiwan that the U.S. embassy would continue to help them until March 1, 1979. At that time, a nongovernmental office would take over those duties. It was a rather quiet end to nearly 30 years of American refusal to grant official recognition to the communist government of mainland China. The U.S. decision to maintain strong relations with the Nationalist government on Taiwan had been the main roadblock to diplomatic relations between America and the Peoples Republic of China. By the late 1970s, the desire for closer economic relations with communist China and the belief that diplomatic relations with the PRC might act as a buffer against Soviet aggression led U.S. officials to view continued relations with Taiwan as counterproductive. President Carters decision to sever relations with Taiwan removed that obstacle. One of the oldest and most antagonistic relationships of the Cold War seemed to be thawing. The time is 6:34 AM our temperature right now is 19° with an expected high of 27° today. Winds are registering in at 5-7 mph from the W. Humidity is 76% with visibility of 6 miles and a barometer reading of 30.47. The flu report for Ohio shows widespread activity and West Virginia is now regional. As we say goodbye to 2014, I would like to wish everyone a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year! -with Roy Clouston
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 11:49:10 +0000
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