IRDER·SUICIDE • MIDDLE EAST PEACE TALIS STALL • DOUBLE EAGLE II CROSSES ATLANTIC • U.S. NORMALIZES RELATIONS WITH PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA oline to rise on top of a 15% price hike instituted by OPEC. Harding students, coming from 47 different states, Canada and Mexico, who drove to school were forced to budget their money a little more wisely in order to counterbalance the rising gasoline prices which were predicted to go as high as $1.00 a gallon before summer. Resumption of diplomatic relations between the United States and mainland China was a significant event late in 1978. Although this was done with the statement that the security of Taiwan would be main· tained, there was real concern in Congress and among citizens 'at large that the crack in the door had been made for the eventual takeover of Taiwan. Thousands of exchange students from China, especially in engineering and the sciences, were predictied for major U.S. universities in the fall of 1979. The urgent need of China for computers and heavy equipment was expected to help ease the "balance of trade" problems that had plagued the ad· ministration of President Jim· my Carter for several sue· cessive months. With the prospects of increased freedom of travel between the U.S. and China, some students at Har· ding began to consider the possibilities and the ways of evangelizing the estimated one billion people in China who might eventually be open to the gospel of Christ. The attack of Vietnam by Red China along a 450-mile front in mid·February focused world attention again on Southeast Asia. Grave concern was raised regarding what action Russia would take. China reported that it was honoring its commitment to Cambodia who had been attacked by Vietnamese forces, although border clashes had been escalating in response to Peking's claims that ethnic Chinese were being mistreated in Vietnam. Vietnam appealed to the United Nations for help and the U.S . State Department appealed to China, Vietnam and the Soviet Union urging restraint. As limited fighting spilled over into Thailand, the situation became a little more real in the minds of 1. BLOATED by the tropical sun, corpses cover the grounds of the People's Temple. 2. HEADS OF STATE Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin of Egypt and Israel embrace after announcing a "Framework for peace" has been agreed upon. President Jimmy Carter, host of the Camp David conference, applauds. 3. DRIFTING over the coast of France , the manned Double Eagle II reflects the sun after the first manned transatlantic balloon crossing. Harding students who had heard Parker Henderson, missionary to Thailand, speak on campus during the fall semester. The world was shocked in November by the mass murder-suicide of 914 members of the People's Temple cult in Jonestown, Guyana fanatically following orders of their leader to drink from a big pot of ade drink to which sodium cyanide had been added. Thirteen people from Arkansas died at Jonestown, making the whole event seem much more close to home. Ed Sanders, campus expert on cults, said the debacle ."did increase the IRDER·SUICIDE • MIDDLE EAST PEACE TALlIS STALL • DOUBLE EAGLE II CROSSES ATLANTIC: U.S. NORMALIZES RELATIONS WITH PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA World Scenes ~ 41
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