Difference between revisions of "Chen Jong Sun"

Latest revision as of 14:51, 22 September 2006

Chen Jong Sun (Simplified Chinese: 陈正孙, Traditional Chinese: 陳正孫, Hanja: 진정손, Pinyin: Chén Zhèng Sūn, McCune-Reischauer Chin Chŏng Son) (born January 1st, 1919 - died September 11th 2006) also known as Chen Jung Sun and Chan Jing Suen (in Cantonese) was Chairman of the National Defense Commission of the People's Democratic Republican Worker's Party of Bai Lung, Supreme Commander of the Bai Lungese People's Army, and General Secretary of the Bai Lungese Workers' Party (a Communist party which has controlled the country since 1962). During his 44 years in power, he has gained worldwide notoriety due to the very harsh treatment towards Bai Lungese citizens. He was a strong advocate for the death penalty, corporal punishment and gender segregation. He was also pro-life, making abortion illegal without religious influence. He has also banned practically everything from protests to private enterprises although he relaxed most of these regulations to the latter during the last years of his tenure.

His affectionate titles include The Leader', Supreme Leader or "Great Eternal Leader"'. Recently, he bestowed the title of Eternal President of the People's Republic to himself.

Early Life

Chen Jong Sun is the centre of a very extensive personality cult within Bai Lungese society, in which Chen is widely praised and honoured as a hero and excellent statesman. As a result of this, many official facts regarding his early life have been inconsistant with outside sources.

Chen Jong Sun's biography states that he was born in Chen Shan (Chen Mountain) on the January 1st, 1919.

Some Dannistrian sources belive he is actually born in Pyongjing on December 27th, 1918, and that his "official" birth year was adjusted so that people are unable to celebrate New Years Day without Chen's interference. According to a Dannistrian biographer, Chen is actually born in Chen Tai Soon which is near Chen Shan. The eldest child of 6, he is born to a Korean mother (Kim Jhoo Sik) and a Chinese father (Chen Chao Aon). During his childhood, he was harshly treated by his abusive father and frequently beated him up for doing the smallest error. His father who is a heavy alcoholic, also beated his wife to the point of death. Chen's mother was a compassionate woman and always defending young Chen whenever he got punished for no reason. It is unknown where Chen got his education but some suggests he was flown to North Korea and attended the same schools as Kim Jong Il (Chen himself denies any knowledge of attending the same school). He got his first job at the age of 16, as a garbage collector, although his father objected to his smell and beated him up for that. 1 year later, Chen Chao Aon threatened Chen to quit as a garbage collector and start attending school again or get thrown out. He decided to chose the latter and left his home to go to the army. He never graduated from his school.

In 1937, he was sent over to China to fight in the Sino-Japanese war. He was given an honourable discharge in 1942 due to health problems. He returned to the village of Chen Tai Soon and went to his former home only to be greeted by his dad. Chao Aon was very suprised at the state of Chen and lambasted him about joining the army to fight "The filthy Japs", as he ranted on about Chen's mess, he pulled out a gun and shot him once in the chest and 11 times in the head with much shock from his mother. Neighbours complained about the noise and shortly after killing his dad, police arrived on the scene and arrested him. He was eventually found guilty of murder with a firearm and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was put in jail at the notorius Wai Zhang prison. Since his imprisonment, his mother who can't bear the aftermath of her husband's murderm slit her wrists at the same year. When neighbours complained about the smell, police busted into the house and found Kim Jhoo Sik in the bathroom with two cuts to her wrists. Police also noticed the corpses of Chen's 2 siblings, aged 1 and 3. They were reportedly poisoned by their mother before she slit her wrists. His parents are survived by Chen himself and 3 other siblings who later became party members for Chen.

Prisoner at Wai Zhang

After murdering his dad, little was heard about him during 1943-1958 with some sources even suggesting he died in 1952. Since the military junta took over in 1950, they burned all information on prisoners which might explain why there are false speculations regarding his death. According to one ex-criminal who lived in the same cell as Chen, he was very loud and boisterous and started talking about politics in general. Whenever he was told to shut up, he refused and insisted on continuing bantering on about political freedoms. The guards would beat him up for insubordination every day. It is widely rumoured that he was anally raped by prisoners somewhere between 1948-1951 (Chen denies any of this).

Chen's life remained idle until the worst prison riots in Bai Lungese history occured in 21st March 1958. It was initally a protest when a prisoner started arguing with a guard who brutally beated him a month earlier. Many of the prisoners objected to this and called brutality. Much of the prisoners went on a hunger strike until the prison guard issues an apology. The peaceful protest was supposedly peaceful when rumours circulated around when the same prisoner (who was beaten earlier) was slit in the wrist by a guard. Tensions increased to a point where one prisoner threw his dish at a guard and everyone followed suit by throwing their food at the guards. At first, the riots involved throwing improvised objects until one person obtained a pistol from one of the guards (apparently he was knocked out) and fired at the crowed. This provoked a violent response from the crowd who also armed themselves too (most of them grabbed assault rifles). The most bloody riots in Bai Lungese history costed 195 lives and $15 million in damages. The riots resulted in many portions of the prison damaged and many escapees including Chen.

Early Political Career

After escaping from Wai Zhang, he decided to change his name to Li Nian Sing and form a party named The People's Democratic Republican Workers Party of Bai Lung. At first, a few people thought this was a joke but he managed to add subliminal messaging to many doorsteps. Eventually, the party which consisted of around a few people shot right up to 5000 members by the end of 1958. He campaigned for Communism (in the forms of Juche and Stalism) and to oust the military junta (who censored nearly everthing).

In 1959, he planned a staged protest in Choktak in an attempt to oust the Nationalist junta with words alone. He once said: "My party won't be the only one who'll knock down your walls, it's going to the public crawling around it and nibbling it everyday!" it has since become a clichéd phrase used by many politicians. The protest became a success but a 5000 strong troops arrived and opened fire at anyone. Since he rallied around the Choktak, a further 10,000 joined the party to become one of the fastest growing parties of Bai Lung. Around the same year, he threw a molotov cocktail at the junta Head Quarters as a warning that he'll come into power soon. He was never caught red-handed.

In 1960 as tensions increase between a disllusional public and the military, Chen lead his party to T'ai Lin to spread the message of Communism. The military junta retaliated by sending a 4000 strong units to stop Chen's party from spreading "his filth" to other places of Bai Lung. Small scale riots occurred nationwide and at the same time, the junta ordered everyone to go home. It became obvious that the public refused to listen to them and planned a hunger strike until a new government is formed. The prostests came to an abrupt end when the Generals exposed his real name (Chen gave up the alias name of Li Nian Sing shortly afterwards) and ordered the execution of Chen Jong Sun. They stated that anyone who gave information on his whereabouts will be given 500,000 Wonmen (the currency of Bai Lung used during the military junta) pronounced Wang-Min. The death warrant was dropped due to growing pressure from the US.

The next 2 years involved Chen hiding underground as he makes his final move: an attempt to overthrow by a coup d'état. His plans are to overthrow the government via a coup and take over. Initally, he had difficulty in trying to find a way to overthrow the government but many of his friends managed to take photos of key locationswhich he can use to attack the Central People's Committee later. In 5th May 1962, he challenged the military by insisting an election should be held on 20th June and if his party wins, then the military junta must step down. To much of everyone's surprise, the Generals reluctantly accepted the proposal. On 20th June, people were given the chance to vote for the first time in 12 years, millions of Bai Lungese queued up to vote for a new government. On 21st June, it was a landslide victory for the People's Democratic Republican Workers Party of Bai Lung as they claim 95% of votes. Chen asked the military junta to step down but they refused to do so and were in the process of voiding it.

Chen had no choice but to use his troops to fight in the most bloodiest battles since the military junta took over in 1950. The battle commenced in the late nights of 22nd June at the Pyongjing Central People's Committee building where the Generals are located. Intially, a few shots were fired, then a large scale battle started. Chen's group had attacked from all directions killing 200 troops in the first hour. By around 12.30 AM, many troops defending the CPC building tried to retreat but ended up getting shot by Chen's paramilitary group. Chen's group was significantly fewer than the 100,000 strong troops in Pyongjing but they had the advantage of using guerilla warfare and had better knowledge of their whereabouts.

By 23rd June, the uprising against the military junta had spreaded nation wide. It reached a nadir of riots. Many people went on a hunger strike, chained themselves to railways and street lamps, smashed the windows of local military posts and looted military supplies. High ranking authorities from the local areas had little control over the situations as most troops are located in the capital. Some rioters used this chance to free prisoners and break into other houses and loot anything. Back in Pyonging, Chen and his group continued fight against the military. At this point, the Generals sent in backup considing of tanks and APC's. Tanks did not prove to very effective, in fact, Chen's group threw molotov cocktails at the tanks to drive out the operators.

By 24th June, the riots are starting to decrease when the junta finally gained control once again. Chen and his 5000 strong group reached the CPC HQ and stormed into the lobby with massive gunfight. It lasted only 15 minutes and Chen's group managed to dispatch most of the guards with the remaining surrendering immediately. They were lined up against a wall and executed much to Chen's likeliness. The Generals were all hiding in the meeting room (it would later become Chen's throne) later found themselves kneeling down in front of Chen. He proposed to the generals that if he takes control of the whole country, he will give them a painless death. They refused. Chen had no choice but order his troops to slit their throats and shoot them in the stomachs (the popular story was that Chen shot them all in the head). Decapitating all the general's head and displaying them in public, he declared that he is the new leader of Bai Lung and promised to reform the country.

"The Leader"

Since over throwing the Junta and taking over as leader in 1962, he had promised many reforms such as the removal of the statues errected by the Nationalists and replacing the currency Wonmen to Da Dendrite. He also claimed to promise bringing democratic reforms to the country and allow people to vote every few years. It was a new era for the Bai Lungese as they were given more freedoms than before, or at least that's what they were thinking for the next 6 months. Suddenly, Chen's attitude to freedom of speech had changed radically and he began introducing harsh reforms such as the banning of public protests, the establishment of private enterprises and compulsory military services at the age of 18 (unofficially, children as young as 12 are known to be conscripted into the armed forces). At first, the public were shocked to hear an anarchist turned reformist is putting such harsh treatment towards his people, but it became clear that Chen is using his position to make laws as he sees fit. In August 1963, when a group of disaffected people (who later became members of the Nationalists) tried to assasinate Chen by placing a bomb underneath his car and detonating it. The plan was thwarted when they detonated the bomb prematurely and the perpetrators were eventually caught and executed. It is also noted that he made drastic changes to the constitution from 1962-1967. A few anarchists tried to enter the Central Committee building and vandalising the place. Again, the plan was thwarted by guards and the culprits were found and executed.

In 1964, he announced in the constitution that the place would be divided in 8 provinces: Chen Gang, Chen Jong Sun, Chongkim, Dokwai, LiuXu, TaiJin, Tien Shan and Xuan Lung. The laws was enforced by the end of year. He also relocated the capital from Sing Ren (the Junta's most favourite place and to this day, it is where the Nationalist congregate) to Pyongjing. Again, this lead to a lot of criticisms from many outsiders especially the Nationalists. In 1965, he made further ammendments to the constitution by giving him the right to send any Bai Lungese to North Korea and perform farm work. He also allowed the deforestation to mine for uranium. He renamed the Central Committee to the Central People's Bank, a name that confuses many citizens.

In the 1966 amendment, he stated that anyone who speaks against him in any form (from protests to subliminal messaging) will be sent to the Central's People's Bank and charged by Chen himself although dissidents were charged 4 years before he made the 1966 amendment. In the 1967 amendment, he stated that any serious dissidents will be executed. Although executions are often done by firing squad although Chen also has the choice of hanging the offender or cutting the limbs of the dissidents and leaving them to bleed. Previously, people who spoke out against him were given life sentences. According a report commissioned by the Dannistriaan Foreign Secretary, over 29 million people were executed during the years 1963-2006 averaging approx 674,418 executions annually.

1970 saw the last year when a proper election was held until he publicly announced that elections are no longer to be held every 4 years and announced that it will be held every 15 years instead. This was met with opposition.

In 22nd March 1975, it proved to a nail in the coffin for Chen as he sent 100,000 troops to the island of Jong Il (or Lord Howard Island) with the intention to extract the raw materials and sell them to oversea companies. While they originally planned to take the entire island but a week later (according to some sources, the next day), the Dannistrian army arrived and already occupied the eastern half of the island. Relationships between the Bai Lungese and Dannistrians were at their worst during this period and eventually saw a cool down by the end of the 70's. To this day, the island remains in the hands of two countries. On 18th August of the same year, to coincide with the acquisition of the island, he announced that the new motto of Bai Lungese is to be "Two Countries, One System", signifying that despite having two pieces of land, the policies of Bai Lung remain the same regardless of how far the land is.

The 80's saw increasing support for the Nationalists and saw more attempted assasinations on Chen. Because of this, he employed Xu Lin Wei, initially as a dispensable bodyguard but would later become his right hand man and his best friend for 26 years. Previously, Chen helped his family when they were in trouble for being suspected of being dissidents. Since the rescue, his family secretly joined Chen's Communist Party which would become the Democratic People's Republic Worker's Party of Bai Lung in 1962. At first, Chen did not recognise him but about 2 years after he employed Xu, he checked his background and realised that he was the son of a family he saved back in the early 60's. The 80's saw an increasing interest of Privatisationso Chen decided to ban all private enterprises in his 1982 amendment. By the late 80's, it saw the rise of Chan Bai, who became the leader of the Nationalists and still holds this position to this day.

In the 90's, more assassination attempts were planned and the number of political dissidents rose to new levels. Chen's notoriety was placed on the political map and gained attention from the worldwide community. In 1998, he made some concessions to private enterprises by allowing them to set up business in designated areas. The same year saw a dramatic increase of GDP for the country due to Chen's economic reforms.

Chen's health began to worsen at the turn of the 21st century (see Decline). Opponents to Chen saw this as an opportunity and used his declining health as an excuse to protest outside his palace. Chants were used more frequently like "Chen, step down!" and the more commonly used "Down with Chen, Death to Chen!". An attempted coup took place in 2000 where Chen was placed under house arrest and the Generals instantly installed a miliary junta throughout Bai Lung. It was only 5 days later were a group of Chen's most elite soldiers stormed the palace and re-took the palace. Virtually all of the generals who participated in the coup were executed on the spot.

Assassination Attempts

Due to the harsh treatment towards his people, Chen was always the subject of assassination attempts throughout his tenure with the number of assassination attempts increasing every decade. The first attempted assassination was in August 1963 where a group of dissaffected people planted a bomb underneath his car and hope to detonate it when he enters it. The assassination attempt failed when one of them detonated the bombed too early and gave Chen mild burns to his face.

Some of the most notable ones include:

• In 16th May 1979, a Nationalist supporter tried to gun down Chen during a speech but shot his bodyguards instead.
• In 9th July 1983, a Nationalist supporter tried to kill Chen using a zip gun was shot by ISB.
• In 3rd December 1992, a group of Nationalists tried to burn down his palace by throwing molotovs at it.
• In 14th November 1995, a Nationalist tried to cut off Chen's life support machine while he suffered a stroke. The dissident was shot by ISB.
• In 1st April 1999, the notorious "chips incident" took place. While Chen was celebrating the opening of the Deng Xiao Ping University, a man approached him armed with a Mauser C96 and a potato fitted onto the barrel which acts as an improvised silencer. What made the event really notorious is when he fired his gun in the air after being taken down by ISB and bits of potato landed on his blood.
• In 4th January 2003, another member of the Nationalist killed several of Chen's bodyguards and tried to suffocate Chen himself using a typewriter.