@PoptartProdigy, here's that China omake I was talking about earlier!
Found at FreeOpenSourceInfo.org:
The Sun Rises: Politics of the Republic of China
Before discussing the current political dynamics of the Second Republic of China, it is vital to give some background as to politics in the late-PRC period and Second Warlord Period. During The Collapse, an expansionist faction of the CPC grew to dominate the party, implementing an aggressive foreign policy designed to offset the party's collapsing legitimacy in the wake of the economic crisis that formed a major part of the Collapse.
At the time of the Shanghai Crisis, there were two other major factions within the CPC, the Reformists and the Conservative-Maoists. The Reformists sought to increase the popularity of the CPC by granting increased freedoms to the populace and slowly democratizing under the control of the Communist Party, their largest supporters being students, urban academics, and industrialists. In contrast the Conservative Maoists argued that the collapse of the CPC's legitimacy and China's economy was due to economic and cultural liberalization, their chosen solution was to return to a stricter form of Maoism, albeit one with a tinge of social conservatism. Their base was mostly rural, but also included some of those who lost their livelihoods in the collapse.
In 2042, the Expansionists faced an immense crisis. The Cascadian Republic, a social-democratic republic which had been supported by the PRC since its secession from the disintegrating remnants of the United States and Canada, came under protracted military assault from both a resurgent Imperial Japan and Victoria. Both of which were aided not-so-secretly by the Russian Empire. Chinese leadership reacted quickly, ordering the deployment of a brigade of the PLAAF Airborne Corps, and dispatched a relief force as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the PLAN, pressed into a mission quite different than it was intended for, proved unable to pierce the IJN blockade despite several attempts and a large but inconclusive naval battle, and as a result the PRC's leadership could only watch helplessly as the Japanese and their Victorian auxiliaries crushed the Cascadian forces and scattered the 7th Airborne Brigade. Then, at the apex of the crisis, a boat filled with high explosives detonated in Shanghai, with all evidence pointing to a Japanese intelligence operation. The Chinese government, absolutely furious at the blatant provocations of the Japanese government, mobilized forces to attack Japan, beginning with nuclear strikes on key military targets, only for Russia to threaten the deployment of nuclear weapons against China if they made a move against Japan. Ultimately unwilling to risk annihilation for the sake of Cascadia and their pride, the Expansionists backed down.
To say that this decision was politically disastrous would be an understatement, simply put, the Expansionist faction's support evaporated overnight, leaving a gaping power vacuum and a furious public, who began to launch protests demanding resignation of the government. Amidst the chaos, a clique of Conservative-Maoists took the opportunity to seize control of the apparatus of state, only for loyalist military officers to stage a counter-coup, plunging the capitol into open warfare between different units of the PLA and competing militias. Yet even as they engaged in open warfare, both Expansionists and Conservative-Maoists launched mass purges of Reformists and Reformist sympathizers, who fled en masse from the fratricidal violence consuming North China alongside a slew of less politically motivated refugees. Central governmental authority had soon collapsed entirely, and local provincial leaders took the chance to consolidate power and create their own personal fiefdoms, ushering in a new era of warlordism.
Guangdong's provincial governor had previously gained a reputation for tolerance and, as the country disintegrated, desperate Reformists and their allies in the Chinese political scene flocked to Guangdong, accumulating in large numbers. As the chaos dragged on and the governor did nothing to intervene, content to rule Guangdong while China burned around him, popular unrest began to simmer, heavily bolstered by the Reformist refugees, and especially prominent in patriotic sailors of the PLAN's South Sea Fleet. Reformist politicians formed the United People's Party of China (UPPC), and in 2045 the UPPC managed to overthrow the provincial government with the backing of most of Guangdong's military and declared the creation of the Provisional Revolutionary National Government of China (PRNGC).
Upon assessing the situation, the PRNGC quickly came to the conclusion that the forces under their command were wholly insufficient to reunify China on their own, and the vast majority of warlords were hostile or too far away to matter. As such, the UPPC leadership reached out to the KMT-led government of the Republic of China, otherwise known as Taiwan. This was a calculated gamble, but it paid off in spades. Although talks led to numerous concessions to Taiwanese autonomy and self-government, KMT officials were ultimately optimistic that their time to return to the mainland had finally come, even if the KMT would not be at the head of this effort, and so Taiwanese military and economic aid began to flow into Guangdong. The ROCA, although miniscule compared to the might of the PLA and equipped with outdated equipment, was well trained, and numerous enough to pose a major threat to any warlord state. One year after overthrowing the Guangdong government, the PRNGC officially launched the Second Northern Expedition, beginning a decade long military and diplomatic campaign to reunite China.
As much as the UPPC leadership would have liked to avoid making concessions to warlords and anti-democratic states, the reality of trying to unite China forced the UPPC to reach out to groups like the Beijing Government and offer political concessions to entice them to comply with unification. This has directly led to the existence of the CPC(M) as a prominent player in present day Chinese politics, as well as other much less prominent CPC splinter groups.
Finally, in 2058, a mere 16 years after the collapse of central governance of China, the second Republic of China was declared, and nation-wide elections were held for a constitutional convention. Almost as soon as the convention began, the UPPC, bound together mostly by a shared dream of a unified and democratic China, shattered into pieces, and even as delegates were hammering out a constitution that worked for everyone, new political parties and alliances were rapidly forming and just as quickly disintegrating. These years of frenetic political maneuvering, continuing even after the 2059 ratification of the constitution and subsequent election, would eventually be called the Thousand Party Period by ROC textbooks, during which the National Assembly was largely unable to pass legislation, though a UPPC-remnant compromise cabinet was able to continue promulgating foreign policy. 2063 put an end to this state of affairs, and Chinese politics assumed the character which persists to this day.
As the Republic of China is a parliamentary democracy, Chinese politics is dominated by the National Assembly. The legislature is elected on the basis of proportional representation (mixed-member proportional representation in the case of Taiwan and Hong Kong) in elections held every four years. The National Assembly is at present dominated by four major parties:
- The Progressive Party of China:
- A center-left party that formed out of the center of the UPPC, they uphold the principles of dirigisme and social welfare which dominate the Republic's economic consensus, but also argue for social progressivism and a foreign policy involving the aggressive promotion of democracy in Asia and beyond. The Progressives currently dominate the National Assembly in the Pink-Green Coalition with the Socialist Party of China, and are the largest single party in the entire National Assembly.
- The Socialist Party of China:
- The junior partner in the ruling coalition, the Socialists formed from the defunct left-wing of the UPPC. They occupy the space from left to far left, promoting expansion of the welfare state to include guaranteed housing and food, the implementation of a mechanism by which failing companies can be sold to their workers, increased environmental protections, and aggressive social progressivism. Their foreign policy stance is anti-fascist in nature, arguing for China to aid movements with everything from diplomatic support to direct military aid.
- The Kuomintang:
- The largest opposition party, the Kuomintang's hundreds of years of history make it by far the oldest party in China. It occupies the center-right of Chinese politics, supports highly interventionist economic policies as well as social conservatism. Yet it is relatively dovish on foreign policy for Chinese politics, seeking to avoid direct confrontation with Russia, Japan, and India while encouraging diplomatic ties with friendly countries.
- The Communist Party of China (Maoist)
- Paradoxically for a self-proclaimed communist party, the CPC(M) occupies the far-right of Chinese politics, for they are fundamentally reactionary in character. Formed from disgruntled remnants of the Conservative-Maoist faction of the CPC, they seek to re-institute the dictatorship, launch campaigns against "degeneracy", return to a planned economy, and institute total self-reliance. All other political parties oppose them, and their share in elections has been slowly declining since 2063, but the nature of the political concessions needed to unify China have ensured that it will still be a decade more before they cease to be a major force in Chinese politics.
Despite their numerous differences, these parties are united in one thing: the conviction that the Republic shall not allow any more submission or humiliations to either Japan or Russia, to the point where even suggesting the opening of trade to Japan will draw the ire of the Big Four and their supporters down upon you.
There are another three minor parties within the National Assembly which have some trait which merits mentioning:
- The Party for Chinese Democracy:
- Formed from the right-wing of the UPPC, they go against the consensus in arguing for policies economic liberalism and cuts to welfare, as well as limited social progressivism and increased federalism. Their main voterbase are well-off and educated urban voters.
- The Democratic Progressive Party:
- This Taiwanese Nationalist party spent nearly 20 years in opposition, as the KMT racked up electoral success after electoral success, but has achieved a majority in the most recent Legislative Yuan elections in Taiwan, and is now seeking to hold a Taiwanese independence referendum. They are otherwise quite similar to the Progressive Party, except for a more liberal economic stance.
- The Tibetan Independence Front
- Tibetan nationalist party currently in negotiations with the government over Tibet's status, they are a broad tent-party with little in common aside from a desire for Tibetan independence. Their seats in the National Assembly are currently vacant, as they refuse to sit in the Assembly.
As the Bear's grip over the world loosens, the Dragon continues to rise once more from its slumber. Yet China is surrounded by enemies and lacking in friends, for Europe continues to shun them out of fear of Russia and perhaps a bit of fear of what a resurgent China could mean. To make matters worse, Chinese intelligence has brought word of a disturbance in the shattered remnants of the United States, and the leadership of the Republic has suddenly been made acutely aware of how little they know about America beyond the West Coast. If some warlord has finally managed to begin consolidating power and seeking to restore the American Empire, if Japan seeks to once more crush the possibility of Chinese hegemony, if India decides that now is the time to settle the score, then China must be ready for them.
A/N: If someone more knowledgeable about present-day China wants to critique this, then by all means go ahead, I am definitely no expert.
