Refugee crisis and Japanese Red Army terror: headlines from 40 years ago
- A journey back through time to look at significant news and events reported by the South China Morning Post from this week in history
Vietnam’s deepening refugee crisis extending across the globe and the threat of the Japanese Red Army group looming over Hong Kong made headlines four decades ago this week.
June 10, 1979
● Hong Kong’s governor, Sir Murray MacLehose, would fly to Washington to attend what was believed to be another round of talks on the city’s worsening refugee problem. He was expected to seek help from American officials. Just a month before, 18,718 Vietnamese arrived, with only 499 resettled overseas. Up to June that year, Hong Kong saw an influx of more than 48,600 Vietnamese refugees.
June 11, 1979
● The world’s domino-toppling record was made as a 23-year-old English civil engineer visiting New York tipped over 169,713 domino pieces. It took almost 40 minutes for the feat to unfold, as bystanders cheered on. Michael Cairney spent much of the previous two weeks on his knees to set up his vast domino “empire” at the Mid-Hudson Civic Centre in Poughkeepsie, New York.