Guangdong: Difference between revisions

State of Guangdong 廣東省, Guǎngdōng Shěng'
	Flag of Guangdong TAG = GNG
Politics
Capital	Kōshu
Ruling Party	Kanton Minseifu
Head of State	Suzuki Teiichi
Diplomacy
Sphere	Co-Prosperity Sphere
Foreign Alignment	Corporate Dependency
Economy
GDP	$21.21B
Credit Rating	Good
Market Type	Corporate Oligopoly

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Revision as of 20:20, 19 June 2024

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Guangdong, officially the State of Guangdong, is a country located in southern China, occupying the majority of Guangdong province. A Corporate Dependency of the Empire of Japan, Guangdong borders the Republic of China to the north and east, the South China Sea to the south and the Guangxi Clique to the west. Created by the Kanton Protocols of 1950, the country lacks a national identity and is a playground for the corporate interests of corporations of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. At the start of 1962 it is lead by Chief Executive Suzuki Teiichi.

In-Game Description

Carved out of the Republic of China as a concession to the Zaibatsu at the end of the Greater East Asian War, the State of Guangdong is an experiment in corporate colonialism, an unnatural entity existing between its Chinese roots and its Japanese suzerain. Despite its independence, Guangdong is far beneath Japan, China, or even Manchukuo in status - its Chief Executive playing second fiddle to the rest of the Co-Prosperity Sphere, even as the Four Companies of Guangdong greedily exploit Guangdong's land and people for their own benefit.

Guangdong is a country without a nation: a society bound together by wire transfers, banknotes, and share certificates. In the glittering Three Pearls of Guangdong - Honkon, Makao, and Kōshu - the Four Companies and the Chief Executive indulge in boardroom politics as the Japanese expatriates lord over the Cantonese-Japanese Zhujin, who struggle for recognition as second-class citizens. Beneath them all, the Chinese are herded from their ancestral towns into the electronics sweatshops on the Pearl River, a people displaced inside their own homeland. And as Asia awakens, few ask: will Guangdong survive the storm to come?

Country Overview

Carved out from the Republic of China as an independent state by Japanese fiat in the Kanton Protocols of 1950, the State of Guangdong is an experiment unlike any other in history: an artificial nation dedicated solely to corporate colonialism. Where the Empire of Japan's other conquests in Asia - even its most artificial child, the Empire of Manchuria - pay lip service to the Co-Prosperity Sphere's vision of Pan-Asianism, Guangdong stands alone in its devotion to the yen under the whim of its Four Companies - Sony, Matsushita Electric, Fujitsu, and Yasuda. Through a combination of neglect from Tokyo and the reckless ambition of its tycoons, Guangdong has become a place in the Sphere where pretenses fall away in favor of naked greed and the pursuit of profit. But all is not well inside the world's only bastion of unchecked capitalism.

The native Chinese population toils endlessly in the factories of the Three Pearls of Guangdong - Kōshu (Guangzhou), Honkon (Hong Kong), and Makao (Macau) - while receiving none of the benefits accruing to the Japanese industrialists and expatriates that oversee their corporate exclave. Between them, the Zhujin - educated professionals and businessmen, fluent in Japanese but local to Guangdong - both serve and benefit from Guangdong's economic order, a middle class decried as collaborators by the Chinese and seen as useful proxies by the Japanese expatriates. Crime and corruption are widespread, with the Triads and Yakuza vying for control over the web of vice that sprawls across Guangdong's underground, in defiance of an undermanned Guangdong Police Force and an uncaring Kenpeitai garrison. In Guangdong, crime is less an aberration than simply another means of doing business, a reciprocal relationship of favors done and debts owed.

Internationally, Guangdong is afforded the trappings of a country and little else. China - holding fast to its pride - refuses to accord Guangdong's representatives the equal treatment they deserve, while Japan's attention has long since drifted away from its unnatural tributary. Manchukuo - the original pan-Asian experiment - remains the crown jewel of the Sphere, equally condescending towards China's poverty and Guangdong's corporate upstarts alike. Guangdong is a country without a nation, in either spirit or in form. And as Chief Executive Suzuki Teiichi begins his uneasy mission to bring Guangdong and its corporations back into Japan's dominion, the people and tycoons of Guangdong wait, and yearn for a future, a nation, that could yet be theirs.

Politics

National Spirits

See also: Guangdong National Spirits

National Spirit	In-Game Description	Effects
Between Two Worlds	As a nominally independent state serving as a de facto economic appendage of Japan, Guangdong is a geopolitical accident - and its people and government suffer from an identity crisis as a result. With a majority Chinese population ruled by a small class of Japanese expatriates, and a small (but growing) group of Cantonese-Japanese residents after over a decade of colonial rule, the people of Guangdong have little attachment to Guangdong as a political concept - but neither are they keen to bow to the will of Nanjing or Tokyo. Guangdong is caught between two worlds, born of two cultures and accepted by neither. Only time will tell what Guangdong becomes, even as China and Japan go their separate ways.	Stability: -20.00% War Support: -20.00% Daily Political Power Gain: -0.10 Cannot train units, disband units, or edit unit templates.
Culture of Corruption - The Finest Money Can Buy	A historic inclination towards small - some might say meager - government, massive volumes of financial transactions, and loose oversight have all contributed to turn Guangdong's government into a breeding ground for corruption and graft. The temptation to accept 'tea money' is a universal one, and makes the business of government far more difficult to conduct as extra effort and funding is needed to make sure directives are processed.	Monthly Corruption Gain: +0.90% Impact on Real GDP: -0.25% Republic of China Opinion Cap: -5.00%
Pervasive Kenpeitai Networks	Ever since Guangdong's establishment, the Kenpeitai have played an outsize role in providing security and intelligence services - often eclipsing Guangdong's small and underfunded local police. Many locals view the Guangdong Police Force as little more than the glorified auxiliaries to the Japanese military garrison and its intelligence apparatus, enforcers of a clear ethnic hierarchy in Guangdong that pervades nearly all aspects of life.	Chinese/Zhujin Government Support Cap: -20.00% Republic of China Opinion Cap: -30.00% Police State Control Cap: -60.00%
Fiscal Health - Sound	"The Chief Executive's doing a damn good job keeping Guangdong's money under control I daresay; most impressive work. Nowhere else I'd want to put my money in than Guangdong." This is the kind of praise that comes out of the average investor's mouth when he is asked about the fiscal health of Guangdong. Our fiscal situation is sound. Debt levels are contained, the budget is balanced, and things are generally going well.	Inflation Rate: -0.250% Political Power Gain: +15.00% Credit Rating: 8.00

Parties and Factions


Name	Ideology	Leaders
Guangdong Civil Administration Kanton Minseifu	Corporate Statism	Suzuki Teiichi
Legislative Council - Business Faction Rippoukai - Zaikaiha	Corporatocracy	Matsuzawa Takuji Matsushita Masaharu Ibuka Masaru
Legislative Council - Civic Faction Rippoukai - Minseiha	Corporate Paternalism	Morita Akio Li Ka-Shing
Legislative Council - Central Committee Rippoukai - Chuou Iinkai	Corporate Statism	Ibuka Masaru Following passage of The Guangdong Future Act
Legislative Council - Manchuria Faction Rippoukai - Manshūha	Reform Bureaucracy	Komai Kenichirō
IJA - Martial Law The Imperial Japanese Army - Martial Law	Ultramilitarism	Nagano Shigeto

Mechanics

In-Game descriptions of individual mechanics, further information can be found in the respective subpages.

The Legislative Council

Main article: Legislative Council

Inside Guangdong's state of corporations, something resembling a democratic Parliament akin to the ones in Japan and Britain exist. Though these seats are not elected, rather they comprise 100 of the most important businessmen in Guangdong. These businessmen are the ones who vote on the ordinances of Guangdong, which dictate policy and the future direction of Guangdong. The businessmen flock to where it is most profitable to be, and their votes and loyalty are traded as currency by the different presidents of the main companies of Guangdong, or are in some cases bought away to change the dynamics of the Council.

The Chief Executive proposes the ordinances of the Legislative Council, and should 50 seats support the ordinance, it will go into effect. The businessmen are not bound loyally to a corporation however. For the ordinances of Guangdong, the usual voting period for it is 30 Days, though exceptions can occur in special cases. An ordinance usually does not survive without changes and might need amendments which will be proposed by other parties to seek out more than 5 amendments. Whenever a bill's vote had been concluded, it will be archived in the ordinance history, and will stay there to document the history of Guangdong's Legislative Council.

Suzuki's Succession

Main article: Suzuki's Succession

The Next Chief Executive

With Suzuki's disappearance and Yasuda's collapse into ignominy, Matsuzawa Takuji has become Chief Executive - a poisoned chalice thrust upon him by the three remaining Tycoons of Guangdong. They - Morita Akio, Ibuka Masaru, and Matsushita Masaharu - know that when the dust settles, they are most likely to be chosen to fill the vacant Chief Executive's seat, and that the race to succeed Matsuzawa has already begun. With each filling a role in Matsuzawa's Executive Council, the decisions Matsuzawa makes will be critical in deciding who gets the all-important nomination by the Legislative Council...

Yasuda's Auction

...And what becomes of Yasuda itself? Its mighty empire laid low by the economic crisis that bears its name, Yasuda's remaining assets are to be slated to be auctioned off to repay its creditors. For Guangdong's government, the auction will serve as a valuable source of income from commission alone; for the tycoons, it is an unprecedented opportunity to pick clean the carcass of their rival for a bargain. Whether at a fair parice or not, someone will walk away with the lion's share of Yasuda's business empire - and with it, the loyalty of Yasuda's abandoned men in the Legislative Council.

Regions of Guangdong

Main article: Regions of Guangdong

Between the Chinese Mainland and the South China Sea lies Guangdong, an artificial state with an artificial culture and identity. In this hot pot of Chinese and Japanese culture lies the three main ethnic groups, the Chinese, the Zhujin, and the Japanese, who in each state have their own approval of our government. Each of these ethnic groups represent steps in the Cantonese societal ladder, and their support or lack thereof can make or break the finances and stability of the State of Guangdong.

Though it might not seem like in the midst of the bustling cities of the Three Pearls, Guangdong is a major refuge as well for the outcasts and criminals of Japanese and Chinese society, the Chinese Triads and the Japanese Yakuza. Our own Police force is not enough to stop these forces from overrunning our nation and turning it into an opium den, but the ones who help us police these groups are as ferocious and corrupt, if not more so. The Japanese Kenpeitai, who hold ht people obedient through violence and force. The amount a group controls each state and potentially the majority of Guangdong's regions will have major effects on the different demographics support for Guangdong, Chinese and Japanese support for our government and how corrupt or not our society will be.

Three Evils of Guangdong

Main article: Three Evils of Guangdong

Even if the Chief Executive sits atop the food chain in Guangdong, there are three things that conspire to throw a wrench in their plan. Two that are outside the Chief Executive's direct control - and one that suffuses everything in Guangdong, formless but undeniably present.

The Empire of Japan - the backer of Guangdong's security and its greatest investor - has expectations that must be met, lest a Chief Executive suffer their disapproval and open himself to attack by jealous peers. And the Republic of China has never had a very high opinion of Guangdong - the 'state' carved out of its southern province - and certainly knows how to make life difficult, both for the Companies and the Chief Executive, if it is so inclined.

And beyond it all, corruption seeps into every crack and crevasse, lock up the gears of government with vice and apathy. Even if some would say such is fate of a nation that worships the yen beyond anything else, nobody enjoys having to deal with corruption - rotting away at souls, cheapening work, and crimping profits.

The Product Cycle

Main article: The Product Cycle

If one were to see the companies of Guangdong as fierce warriors vying for each other's heads, then the annual Product Launch would be their dueling ground; their prized electronics, sharp-edged katanas to land the fatal blow.

The path to woo the Legislative Council with state-of-the-art products is fraught with intricacies. For the successful launch of each and every product two factors are indispensable: quality control and advertising. Product Quality anchors the trust of investors in our endeavors, while sufficient advertisement accumulates consumer interest from targeted as well as potential markets.

It is through a steady stream of successful launches that Guangdong shall maintain its financial prestige, and contribute our part to the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere's global power projection, both soft and hard. But even if product manufacturing lies dormant technology does not - for our brightest engineers and researchers across the Three Pearls shall toil day in and day out for the constant perfection of our releases and the optimization of state apparatus.

A Product Cycle typically lasts 100 days, after which our creation will be put to the test in the murky waters of capital, depending on how well both the quality and the popularity is. Release a product of immense quality and popularity, and watch the political clout of its parent company skyrocket; release an inferior product, however, and everything might come crashing down...

The Product Testing Research Group

Main article: The Product Testing Research Group

The Chief Executive has a vision, one where Guangdong is a forerunner in the field of modern military arms development.

In order to gather the much needed testing information for producing a greater, and more profitable product, different objectives here must be completed by the Product Testing Research Group's field division whilst deployed in conflicts to aid the Co-Prosperity Sphere.

The more of these objectives are completed when the crisis ends, or the team withdraws, the higher quality a final product we will receive, and we will yield a larger profit margin from selling our plans.

We are also able to manufacture additional test-equipment should too much of it be lost in combat, though this will cost both time and money.

Miracle on the Pearl River

Main article: Miracle on the Pearl River

The State of Guangdong was carved out of the Republic of China with one express purpose in mind: Using Japanese engineering supremacy to create wealth benefitting both the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere and investors back in Tokyo. The thousands of investors who each day analyse Guangdong's economic performance from the comfort of the Tokyo Stock Exchange however, demand returns on investment.

Each year, Guangdong's economic performance in form of pure GDP will be evaluated, to see if economic growth has reached the goal set the year prior. The State derives much of its legitimacy from these evaluations, therefore they maintain great relevancy for the composition of the Legislative Council, Japanese Approval, and the demographics of Guangdong. The eventual goal is for Guangdong to overtake Japan's favorite subject headquartered in Hsinking, where the grand larger economy than the objective is managing a Empire of Manchuria.

However, while growth and raw economic output remains paramount, maintaining a balanced sheet is tantamount to upholding investor trust. Should our debt-to-GDP spiral upwards, our credit rating would take a hit, Japan would be growing more displeased, our (unrecognized string “politcalpower” for Template:Icon)political capital would be reduced, and trust in Guangdong's markets would decrease, leading to an increase in inflation. Therefore, keeping our spending and debt in control is of great importance for maintaining the Miracle on the Pearl River.

The Guangdong Riots

Main article: The Guangdong Riots

Two decades of oppression. Boiling ethnic tensions. A society built on exploitation of the weak. These are the things the Rioters have been facing in the State of Guangdong, and what they are demanding to end.

In their attempt to destroy the Pan-Asian Corporate Experiment, the Chinese have organized under the Committee of Chinese Labor, while the Zhujin stand under the Guangdong Federation of Tradesmen. The severity of their actions depend on strength and radicalism, where if these two spiral out of control, who knows what will happen to the State?

If the Chief Executive is to save Guangdong, he must subjugate these two groups, either by force or by negotiation. To do either, the State must take sufficient measures to curb the groups' strength and radicalism. Yet time is a limited resource, as the LegCo grows ever more desperate and irrational, and the Japanese grow ever more frustrated, as long as the streets of Guangdong are ablaze.

Country Paths

In-Game descriptions of individual paths, further information can be found in the respective subpages.

Matsushita

Main article: The Ascendant Heir

The Legislative Council has voted to elect Matsushita Masaharu of Matsushita Electric as the new Chief Executive of Guangdong. Representing a middle ground between Guangdong's reformists and corporate hardliners, Matsushita promises and administration guided by tempered reform and economic expansion. However, Matsushita is neither an engineer nor a salesman, making him something of an outsider among Guangdong's ruling class. Whether this will prove his undoing, or rather the greatest opportunity to prove himself yet, remains to be seen.

Sony

Main article: The Gadgeteer of Guangdong

The Legislative Council has voted to elect Morita Akio of Sony Corporation as the new Chief Executive of Guangdong. A voice of reform on the Pearl Delta, Morita is a champion of Guandong's Cantonese-Japanese Zhujin class, and will seek to improve the status of the state's native population. However, Morita's new administration is not without its opponents, especially from Guangdong's Japanese elite and corporate hardliners, embodied by Morita's former business partner Ibuka Masaru.

Fujitsu

Main article: The Silicon Visionary

The Legislative Council has voted to elect Ibuka Masaru of Fujitsu Limited as the new Chief Executive of Guangdong. A brilliant engineer and key figure among Guandong's corporate hardliners. Ibuka seeks to build a meritocratic, technocratic state, free to pursue technological innovation free of restraint. This digitized vision of the future, however, does not include much regard for Guangdong's native population, and Ibuka's opposition to reform is sure to draw ire, especially from his former business partner Morita Akio. But Ibuka is no stranger to emnity, and Guangdong will bend to his will, one way or another. For the Pearl Delta is but a canvas, and Ibuka Masaru hold the brush.

Hitachi

Main article: Hail Hitachi

One singular night. In the space of six hours, the course of South Chinese history has been changed forever. What months of preparation, planning and deals has culminated in, Komai has executed in one, final masterstroke. The Big Four Corporations in Guangdong lie shattered, their leaders in limbo of what their place in Komai's new order shall be, and Hitachi rules as its maestro, its leader, its God.

Chaos has descended upon Guangdong, with many refusing to accept the hostile takeover. Riots have spread like wildfire, and with brutality not seen since Japan's subjugation of Asia, have been quashed in their entirety. While Manchuria may celebrate. China may weep and Japan shall look on in a muted silence, the question of what Komai's Guangdong shall truly look like forms. Nobody is quite sure, but one thing is for certain.

Those who will not bow to Komai, will be hanged by him.