Difference between revisions of "Halandra"

Latest revision as of 23:48, 13 July 2006

The Federal Republic of Halandra or Halandra (Halandrian: Halanðessi Lossema, is a developed democratic country and a member-state of the Honor Guard. Halandra is known for its strong tradition of military and diplomatic neutrality, official policies of multilingualism, and high population density.

Halandra is comprised of a single major island divided into 10 prefectures, with the majority of the population residing on the densely-populated coastal plains of the western coast.

People and Culture

See Article: Culture of Halandra

Demographics

Halandra's population is one of the most homogenous in the region, with most of the population comprised of the Halandrian indigenous group. The exact origins of the Halandrian people are unknown, although it's been suggested that the current Halandrian population are the descendents of aboriginal migrants from the mainland of the Honor Guard's primary landmass.

There are significant immigrant communities in Halandra, mostly from Asia and the Middle-East.

Holidays and customs

The following is a list of the major statutory holidays in Halandra.

• 01 January - New Year's Day
• 17 July - National Day (also currently the Royal Birthday)
• 01 May - Labour Day
• 21 August - Constitution Day
• 01 June - National Environment Day
• 25 December - Christmas Day
• 31 December - New Year's Eve

Suffrage

Universal suffrage (voting, drinking, smoking) is 18 years of age.

Religion

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms provides for 'the free exercise of religion and decrees a total seperation between affairs of government and religion.' (Article 2, paragraph 1), meaning that the government may not institutionalise or endorse religious belief and practise.

71.4% of Halandra's population define themselves as being of one religious belief or another, with the majority defining themselves as 'Christian.' The largest denominations in Halandra are the Anglican Church of Halandra and the Lutheran Church of Halandra. There are smaller numbers of Hindu, Buddhist, and Shinto practitioners.

Language

The official language of Halandra is Halandrian, although English is the second-most widely spoken language on the island.

Education

Pre-Primary

Age of students: 3-5 years
Pre-primary education is not mandatory but free within the public scheme and highly encouraged. Pre-primary education acclimates young students for social interaction in primary school, begins laying the foundations for multilingualism, and works to cultivate cognitive skills in preparation for the long academic career that lies ahead.

Primary education

Age of students: 5-13 years
Primary education focuses on the basics of fundamental mathematical skills, literacy in both of Halandra's national languages, national and world history, the sciences, and physical education. By the time a student graduates from primary education, he or she will be fully fluent and literate in both English and Halandrian, understand basic principles of elementary physics and biology, and have an understanding of national and world histories and cultures.

Secondary education

Age of students: 13-18 years

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A high school in Valerius.

Secondary education is mandatory in Halandra for all children ages 13 through 18. The academic curriculum is known for its rigourousness but wide-ranging nature and numerous options of study.

Students in the public education system may choose from different disciplinary units: Arts and Humanities, Engineering, Health Sciences, Social Sciences, and Physical Sciences. Typically, students will choose a disciplinary unit by the start of their second year of education. This allows students to study subjects which engage their personal preferences while still preparing them to be productive members of society regardless of their field of study. All students are required to take the GME, the university entrance exam.

In spite of the difficulty of Halandra's educational curriculum, the graduation rate is 99%.

Post-secondary or tertiary education

Age of students: minimum 18 years
Halandra is home to twenty-seven institutions of higher learning, the most prestigious of which are the University of Valerius and the Southern Halandra University. All universities in Halandra are accredited by the National Education Bureau to ensure high quality.

Universities in Halandra are completely free to high school graduates who fulfil entry requirements.

Sports

Major sport leagues in Halandra

• National League Football (football)
• The Federation Circuit (cricket)
• The Halandra Rugby Association (rugby)
• National Tae Kwon Do League (tae-kwon do)

Other Information

Individual sports that are popular in Halandra include Tae-Kwon Do, boxing, and shooting. Valerius Prefecture has one of the world's highest per capita numbers of martial arts schools and in a survey conducted in the Aeronafon City ward of Valerius, it was found that one in five hold a black-belt from an accredited school, earning Halandra's capital city the informal title of "most dangerous city to be a purse-snatcher."

Stereotypes of Halandrians

Though difficult to generalise, especially in a multicultural society, Halandra's society has led to beliefs among outsiders that Halandrians are meticulous conformists. In spite of this view of societal conservatism, Halandra has continued to be a global pioneer in social welfare, women's rights, gay rights, and social freedom.

Halandrians are loathe to accept the stereotype foisted upon them by the international community. Usually, Halandrians will attribute this image to the strong professional ethic that runs through Halandrian society. An attempt to counter this view and show the openness and fun-loving nature of Halandrians has been the "Go Halandra!" campaign that has aimed to increase international tourism.

Politics and government

House of Representatives

Halandra is divided into Representative Boroughs (voting districts), with one representative allocated for each. Elections are operated on the basis of single-member district plurality ("first past the post" or winner-take-all).

A representative serves a two year term of office, with no restriction upon the number of terms that one may serve. The minimum age to qualify as a candidate for a representativeship is 20 years of age and the candidate must hold Halandrian citizenship.

House of Councillors

Each prefecture may elect three councillors to serve in the House of Councillors (upper house) of Parliament. Councillors serve terms of 5 years, and may serve an unlimited number of terms.

Administrative Subdivisions

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Parliament.

Halandra is divided into 10 prefectures.

• Akusmerra
• Karismea
• Korusalsane
• Korusana
• Hulrea
• Maimaesmea
• Uroalsane
• Valerius
• Semsrea
• Talhosmea

Major Cities

• Horegan
• Kasvari
• Rensmiasavi
• Valerius

Justice and law

Halandra has an independent judicial branch, with the High Court as its highest judicial body. The high court consists of an eleven member board, appointed by the Prime Minister with the approval of the upper house of Parliament. High Court decisions are the only legal decisions that have a binding precidents in legal challenges.

The two lower tiers of courts are at the prefectural and ward (city) level, and these courts operate on a jury-based decision system for criminal offences.

Capital punishment is prohibited for all offences, though mild corporal punishment is now and has been common in prefectural legal systems, though this varies by location. The use of mild corporal punishment at the prefectual level was upheld by the High Court decision Yamamoto v. City of Aeronafon.

Economy

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Battery Point business district in Valerius.

Economic diversity and business-friendly government policies have helped Halandra weather periods of global economic instability, with healthy agricultural and mining sectors underpinned by one of the most developed banking and international financial service industries on the planet.

In the mid 1960s, the government of Halandra undertook a comprehensive plan to shift the nation's economy from agriculture to heavy manufacturing and knowledge-based industries. This programme, known as Halandra 94, sought to modernise infrastructure, education, and create an economy that would raise the quality of life for all of Halandra's citizens to a level of parity with that of the world's richest countries. This policy proved highly effective.

Economic inequality is remarkably low, with the richest Halandrians earning only three times more than the average citizen.

Transportation

Halandra has a highly developed transportation network consisting of rail, road, air, and sea-based passenger and freight services. The federal government has historically poured a significant amount of the annual budgets of the past fifty-plus years into transportation infrastructure spending in various attempts to boost regional economies and lower unemployment. As a result, Halandra has one of the most comprehensive transportation systems for a nation of its size and population.

The National Motorway Act of 1951 put into motion the large-scale construction of multilane superhighways, but by the 1970s, an environmentalist backlash to the encroachment of motorways and accompanying suburban sprawl led to a decision by the federal government to supplement highways with rail and air transport. As a result, motorways are limited to point-to-point routes between major cities. Halandra's motorways are known for their extremely high speed limits.

There are major airports in each of the largest cities of Halandra, facilitating an extensive domestic airway network. Valerius Hari Vasaleru International Airport is the major international point of entry for overseas flights and the hub for Halandra's airlines.

Due to explicit government policies against motorway expansion, the most popular form of transportation in Halandra is passenger rail. Halandra Rail is the nation's major service and infrastructure operator, with a defacto monopoly on intercity rail services. Halandra Rail's funding comes primarily through the federal government. Halandra Rail operates the high-speed Intercity bullet train, which can achieve an average operating speed of 320 km/h (200 mph) between stations.

Freight Rail

Halandra has 10'250 km. of freight rail, linking all population and production centres.

Communications

Halandra has a highly developed communications network. There are many television viewing options and literally hundreds of FM and AM radio stations from which to choose. Halandrians enjoy one of the largest, most competitive and most advanced phone and internet infrastructures ever developed.

Telecommunications

100% of households in cities with over 25'000 inhabitants are wired for high-speed internet, and the city of Valerius has blanket wireless internet access that can be tapped into by any wireless device for free.

TelHalandra, IHC, and NCCHalandra are the largest telecommunications firms in Halandra, together making up 60% of market share. These numbers tend to fluctuate year by year with competition.

Major media outlets (TV, radio, print)

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Rth logo

Television

There are three national broadcasters.

• RTH is the state broadcaster, financed through license fees. RTH exercises a strict policy of impartiality as the state broadcaster. RTH1, RTH2, RTH3, and RTH24 provide general news and entertainment, educational programming and documentaries, regional programming, and 24 hour streaming news respectively. Most of RTH1's pre-recorded programmes are presented in Halandrian, with English simulcasts on cable.
• 5 Network is the biggest private network and biggest competitor to RTH, with regional affiliates in every prefecture. It is generally regarded as being left-leaning, though the Halandrian public generally regards it as a credible source of news and information.
• HBS (channel 6) is a general news and entertainment network with regional affiliates across the country, highly regarded for its television dramas.

Radio

Halandra's free-press policies guarantee the public the right to an open media establishment free from editorial regulation and limits on content. The radio airwaves are no exception. As a result, there are hundreds of radio stations across Halandra to cater to every musical, philosophical and lifestyle choice. Competition for listenership is fierce, and stations engage in occasionally outlandish tactics to gain ratings. In one famous incident, the morning show DJs for the Valerius-based station X100 broadcast the entire programme nude from a satellite truck at Centennial Park South and Kuriyama Road, the most heavily trafficked shopping and pedestrian street in Halandra.

The most popular news radio station is Radio One, operated by RTH.

Print media

Like the rest of the media establishment in Halandra, the print media landscape is varied and lively. The largest national paper is Koruhalanðes Notesin, the oldest paper in the country. Widely considered to be the newspaper of record in Halandra.

Other major broadsheets:

• Valerius Morning Post (English)
• Erva Reportesin

Internet TLD/suffix

Halandra's internet suffix is .co.hl.

Military

The Armed Forces of are comprised of the Navy, Air Force, Army, and the elite SOF.

• The army numbers approximately 350'000 active-duty personel and a further 120'000 young men and women fulfilling required reserve service.

• The navy consists of 43 frigates, 32 countermeasure vessels, seven submarines, 31 fast patrol boats, 11 auxilary vessels, 17 patrol aircraft, and 35 helicopters. The navy's major bases are Colijnsdorp, South Ainsley Bay,

• The air force consists of 17 strike fighters, 3 AWACS planes, and 3 reconnaisance aircraft.

History Overview

Climate and Terrain

Halandra can be divided into three distinct areas. The windward side and western coast of the island (the prefectures of Valerius, Barlavento, and Windward) is a low-lying coastal plain. This region is the most heavily populated.

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The windward coast in Barlavento Prefecture.

The central areas (the prefectures of the North and South Highlands and The Lake District) of the country are made up of rolling hills interspersed with redwood forests. The Lake District, as its name suggests, is made up of many lakes, the largest of which is Lake Hurin Central Halandra National Park. Much of the Lake District remains remote and undeveloped.

The south of the country is the most varied. The prefectures of Den Bosch, Leeward, Mistral, and Cape August make up this region. The terrain ranges from mountainous in the north of the territory, to fertile, undulating grasslands in the far South.

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Highlands in the South. Nature conservation is a popular sentiment amongst Halandrians.

The climate in Halandra is temperate, with mild foggy summers, a rainy season lasting from November to March, and a brief sunny springtime from March to June. The North, generally speaking, gets the least sunshine while the South gets the most.

The Environment

Current Issues

The most contentious issue being debated is urban sprawl and land-use policies. Due to the ever-increasing population density and the pressure this is placing on urban infrastructures, developers and certain interest groups have been pressuring the government to relax land-use laws to allow urban expansion beyond the current boundaries. The idea of filling in parts of the expansive Bay of Terranova for has been raised, so that the greenbelt might be preserved, but this too has come under scrutiny and criticism. The current red-green coalition has shown no signs of compromise on land-use and greenbelts or of changing the policies of former PM Park Soon-Won, and it is generally believed that the previous policies of "upward-not-outward" growth will continue for the foreseeable future.

Public opinion polls generally side with the environmentalists when it comes to land-use and urban expansion. In a poll released by the independent Civic Policy Institute, 93% of those polled believed that preserving the greenbelt and Halandra's natural landscape was "a matter of ethical responsibility" and 92% of respondents said they supported "maintaining the current laws that restrict Halandra's urban sprawl"

Energy Policy

Halandra's energy policy revolves around the use of renewable sources of fuel and energy-generation such as wind, solar, natural gas, biomass, and the use of other organic and inorganic refuses.

The exhaust created in the burning of natural gas and refuse is captured and converted into solid matter, which is broken down into its base elements and used in the fabrication of other materials.

Energy by Source (percentage)

• 38% - Natural Gas
• 31% - Wind
• 28% - Solar
• 11% - Hydrogen fuel-cell.

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Wind farm in Windward prefecture. Wind power has been making inroads in northern Halandra as a popular renewable energy source.

In a bid to completely eliminate dependence upon foreign energy sources, Halandra has been in the process of phasing out natural gas and constructing new wind farms, solar generator facilities, and hydrogen fuel cell plants. The project, known as Independent Halandra 2010. As the plan suggests, the plan involves phasing out both polluted and imported energy sources by 2010.

Automobiles

A part of Independence Halandra 2010 is the elimination of fossil fuel burning private automobiles. 80% of vehicles on Halandra's roads are already powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Commercial vehicle fleets such as delivery vans are 71% converted to non-fossil fuel energy sources.

Rail

All passenger and freight rail in Halandra is electrified and thus already produce zero emissions.

Trivia

• Halandrians drive on the left side of the road.
• There are more speakers of Zeelandse in the city of Sophia than in Zeeland, a special area in which Halandesduits is the only language of government and education.
• The average life expectancy of a Halandrian man is 78 years and 81 for women.