PROGRAMMING NOTE: I have for the past week or so been dealing with what I think is a flareup of carpal tunnel syndrome. Consequently I am trying to keep typing to a minimum. I've been dictating as much as possible, but that is an imperfect solution. Basically if the newsletters for the next few days seem briefer than usual, that is the reason why.
TODAY IN HISTORY
October 16, 690: Chinese Empress Dowager Wu Zeitan removes her son, Tang Dynasty Emperor Ruizong, from the throne and assumes power in her own right as Empress Regnant under the name Wu Zhao. The first and only woman to rule the Chinese Empire openly, Wu’s reign—regarded as an interregnum within the Tang period—saw a significant expansion of imperial territory and Wu made several lasting reforms to the Chinese state, including opening up the imperial civil service examination to members of the lower classes. She was ousted in a coup in 705 after falling gravely ill and the Tang Dynasty regained control.
October 16, 1934: The Chinese Red Army begins the “Long March,” a series of maneuvers that would, over the next year and over some 9000 kilometers, see Mao Zedong’s forces evade the Kuomintang army of Chiang Kai-shek. Though the Red Army lost a substantial portion of its forces, the Long March preserved the Chinese Communist Party and enabled Mao’s rise to undisputed leadership within it, in addition to being a massive symbolic success.
October 16, 1964: The Chinese government successfully tests its first nuclear warhead in an operation known as “Project 596” in the Xinjiang region’s Tarim Basin. The test was the result of nearly a decade of work begun in the wake of Chinese clashes with the US in Korea and the Taiwan Strait and made the People’s Republic the world’s fifth nuclear weapons state. It was something of a surprise to US analysts, who knew China was pursuing a nuke but discounted its chances of success after the Soviet Union stopped supporting the project in 1959.
MIDDLE EAST
LEBANON
Donald Trump announced back in July that he intends to restart direct air travel between the United States and Lebanon. However, despite signing an order last month to get that process going things seem to have hit a snag. Reuters reported on Friday that the United Nations Civil Aviation Organization has found what it called “shortcomings” at Beirut International Airport that will likely prevent US regulators from approving those direct flights. Among the problems, the airport’s safety certification has apparently expired and it lacks an adequate emergency plan for the type of larger aircraft that would be used for long-haul flights to and from the US. Lebanese official say they are working to address the issues.
