Bai Lung
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| Motto : Strength, Unity, Honour! | |||||
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| Anthem: Anthem of the RoC | |||||
 Larger version: click here | |||||
| Capital | Sing Ren | ||||
| Largest city | Pyongjing (55,966,194) | ||||
| Spoken Languages | Cantonese Chinese, Mandarin Chinese and Korean de facto | ||||
| Government -Eternal President of People's Republic -President - Prime Minister - Chancellor - Governing party |
· Military Junta Xu Lin Wei Han Lin Li Ju-Bai People's Democratic Republic Workers Party of Bai Lung | ||||
| Establishment - as Monarchy - as Republic -as People's Republic -as Republic |
1820 1950 24th June 1962 21st Jan 2007 | ||||
| Area - Total - % water |
52,600 mi² 133,643.39 km² 10% | ||||
| Population - Total (2006) |
1,423,000,000 (1,937,000,000 with New Territories) | ||||
| GDP (FY2005/06) - Total (USD) - GDP/capita (USD) |
$34,552,399,392,000.00 $22,480.42 | ||||
| National animal English name |
龍 (Lōng) Dragon | ||||
| CHDI (2006) | N/A (Unranked) - NA | ||||
| Currency | 1 Bai Lungese Dollar ($) = 100 Bai Lungese Cent (¢) | ||||
| Time Zone | EPT-1 | ||||
| Internet TLD | none .bl reserved | ||||
| Calling Code | +6600 | ||||
The Republic of Bai Lung (Chinese: 白龍民國; Pinyin: Bái Lōng Mínguó, Pengyam Baak Lung Mangwok) formerly The People's Republic of Bai Lung (Chinese: 白龙人民共和国; Pinyin: Bái Lōng Rénmín Gònghéguó) also known as Bai Lung is a country in The East Pacific. Colloquially, it is known as Gao Gao meaning "Big, Big" and is referred to the size of the island by the locals. It is an island nation in the south western nation of the East Pacific, located 800 miles east of Dannistaan.
The country became notorius in the international media for it's oppressive regime by banning practically everything and this policy is still carried on to this day. Then leader, Chen Jong Sun, who ruled from 1962 right up to his death in 2006, was considered by many as the epitome of a ruthless dictator. Previously, Bai Lung had been ruled under a military junta from 1950 to 1962 using similar policies to that of Chen. In January 21st 2007, the Bai Lungese army seized control of key government buildings and tv stations shortly after Xu Lin Wei took power. The government is now a military junta headed by several Generals.
A Bai Lung resident is referred as a Bai Lungese.
Contents
History
Previously an independent nation before 1820 mostly inhabited by animals notably fridge owls and a local Aboriginal group. The island, then called Tuk Ma (pronounced Took-Mah), was invaded by the Koreans and was made part of Korean empire. It was ruled under the king's tenure for the next 20 years, who re-named it Hana Hanguk ("One Korea") and ordered the mass culling of the fridge owls and virtually every Aborigines. The island was since then unheard of right up to 1840, when the island was rediscovered by a Chinese merchant ship stopping by to gather supplies for the crew. Accidently, the crew bumped into a few angry natives and ended up beheading much of the crew. When the Chinese King heard news of barbaric activities, he ordered an army to head over to the obscure island and ordered an attack. It was eventually taken by the Chinese in 1845 but not before a very long and bloody battle between the Chinese and Koreans using huge number of cavalry and chopping one anothers heads off. In all, around 4,500,000 lives were lost in 5 years. A king was declared leader.
Many of the previous residents felt very upset by their new "neighbours" and anti-Chinese sentiment was highly prevalent, despite the fact many Koreans descended from Chinese origins. Discriminations takes in the forms of intimidation, systematic intimidation with the aim of kicking out ethnic Chinese. Lynching the Chinese is also common as well as general harassment and burning their houses. Eventually, the tensions gotten reached it's nadir, a long riot lasted 3 months. It was one of the most bloodiest riots since the invasion. By the end of the riot, just over 4,000 lives were lost just to claim a piece territory. Eventually, many Koreans were fed up of this bloody battle between and decided to move back to Korea. It was a victory for the Chinese although many Korean decided to stay and integrate with the Chinese. This is why the vast majority of Bai Lungese have Chinese surname yet have Korean given names at the same time. In 1847, the island was declared as Bai Lung meaning White Dragon in Mandarin Chinese.
Because of the discovery of many valuable materials found on the island, the Bai Lungese King is reluctant to accept the existence of the island in order to "avoid any troubles from outsiders". During the 1st and 2nd world wars, many army forces from different countries occupied the island ranging from Americans to Japanese. The Americans gave the Bai Lungese supplies and the Japanese took the supplies and shot some of the residents in order to clear space and set up camp. A high ranking officer was sent there to monitor the movements of all the Bai Lungese people and often bosses if they even look at him in the wrong way.
Bai Lung was ruined by the constant occupation by the different army forces, many people were killed and much of the buildings were destroyed as a result of the bombings by the Japanese. It was in 1946, Chen Chui Sik, a reformist, managed to win the heart of many Bai Lungese by holding the 1st ever elections and won by a landslide. He formed his first government, managed to get the troubles over between Chinese and Korean residents and reformed much of the country. His party, the Bai Lungese National Party was very popular in the 1st 2 years, showing a lot of promise to the public. 1949 was a disasterous year for the National party, when Mao's Communist Party of China establish the People's Republic of China. Mao ZeDong decided to take control of Bai Lung and renamed it as the People's Republic of Bai Lung much to the Bai Lungese's chagrin.
In 15th March 1950, a militia group (named "Hanguk Zhonguo Liberation Front ") made an attempt to overthrow Mao's representative for Bai Lung. A long bloody battle followed lasting 8 months with frequent shellings and shooting. The militia group finally suceeded on 16th November 1950 and installed a military junta for the next 12 years.
The military junta came to end in 1962 when the Chairman of People's Democratic Republican Worker's Party of Bai Lung, Chen Jong Sun won a land slide victory claiming 95% of votes. The military junta refused to step down and made an attempt to void it. The paramilitary group prevented them from voiding the victory and a very bloody battle followed lasting only 3 days, the paramilitary group killed all of the generals leaving many of the soldiers confused. When the WPBL focused their attention towards the soldiers, they were simply given 2 choices: be executed or join the party for better privilages. Many of the soldiers chose the latter for better treatment, however, many did not get the treatment they deserved and instead, were sent to Jong Il island.
In 21st Jan 2007, the Bai Lungese army, headed by Generals Li Jie and Kim Chan-Song took over control of several key government buildings and tv stations in the former capital Pyongjing 4 months after Chen's successor Xu Lin Wei took power. Later on that day, the armed forces and police force declared that they had taken control of Pyongjing. They also announced that the city of Sing Ren is to be capital of Bai Lung. The junta declared martial law, abrogated Chen's constitution and suspended the Central People's Bank. Although much of Chen's policies are retained under the junta's regime, they have started to replaced other features imposed by Chen such as the removal of the nation animal and currency (puma and dollar respectively). As of January 2007, Xu Lin Wei's fate is yet to be known.
Politics of Bai Lung
Main Article: Politics of Bai Lung
Before the 2007 coup, Bai Lung's government has been dominated by the People's Democratic Republican Workers Party of Bai Lung from 1962 to 2007 when the previous military junta had been overthrown by the paramilitary group. It's ideology is mixture of both Korean and Russsian. The People's Worker Party continue to uphold the ideologies of Juche (pronounced Joo-Cheh) and Stalinism. Bai Lung is dominated by a party bureaucracy that claims to represent the will of the people. The PDRWP blended mentions of Marxism-Leninism in the North Korean constitution with Juche seemlessly. Critics of the PDRWP deny that it is a communist state but a fascist state under a new name. Minor political parties used to exist, but they are often purged by the PDRWP and no longer pose any threats and only exist in exile. Unlike their North Korean cousins, which their extact power of the country is unclear, it is very clear in Bai Lung who's goverment has complete grasp of the nation and many critics of the country have coined the term of "Power Hungry Capital of the World".
Nominally, the Premier is the head of government, but the real power lies towards Xu Lin Wei, Previously, Chen Jong Sun used to hold power right to his death in 2006. He was the head of the People's Democratic Republican Workers Party and military, a position now held by the former. Chen holds several official titles, most importantly Great Leader of the Republican Worker Party and Chairman of the National Defense Commission and Supreme Commander of the Bai Lungese Army. Within the country, he is often known by the affectionate titles of The Leader, Supreme Leader and most recently, Great Eternal Leader.
Bai Lung's constitution is amended no fewer than 20 times in 1962-1967, 1975, 1980, 1982-1984, 1993, 1998, 2004, 2005 and 2006. The most notable amendment was in 2005 when Chen Jong Sun bestowed the title Eternal President of the People's Republic to himself. The government is supposedly lead by Prime Minister and the Cabinet but in practice 98% of power goes to Chen, 1.5% goes to the Prime Minster and 0.5% goes to Chancellor of the Exchequer. The current PM is Han Lin (Roh Jhoo Sing was reported missing) and the current Chancellor is Li Ju Bai (The previous Chancellor Kim Lai Biu is reported missing). Every 1-3 years (often 1.5 years), Chen "purges" both the Premier and the Chancellor on the basis they might overthrow him and reform the government and are replaced by hard liners. The top policy making body, the Central People's Bank (CPB) headed by the President is responsible for enacting the laws and nominating other committee members. It is a very selective procedure and those who don't have the right looks and temperment are not chosen. Up until his death, all applications are viewed by Chen himself and he will reject and accept applicants as he sees fit. All applications are vetoed by a panel of Joint Chief of Staff of the PRBL.
Unlike in North Korea, which has a parliament which elects 687 members every 5 years, Chen outlawed any Members of Parliament along with the Parliament itself, fearing they may overthrow him and replace the government for a more liberal one. This ban continues to be enforced under his successor. On the trivial side. the last proper election was held in 1970, when Chen announced it will only be held every 15 years. The latest one, held in 2000, 100% of the votes went to Chen, a change from the 1985 elections were 99.6% voted for him. Many of the minor parties which accounted for the 0.4% share had been diminished afterwards by Chen's military and now live in exile.
Foreign Relations of Bai Lung
Except for the multiple invasion during the 2 world wars, Bai Lung has very little concerns with the outside world except for 4 countries, China, Dannistaan, North Korea and the United States. China and North Korea have been allies since the end of the second world war and have since established embassies in each others places as a polite gesture. Both countries frequently delivers food supplies to Bai Lung in exchange for some of the people to the countryside to perform farm labour. Because of this, Bai Lung has excellent relations with both countries and the economy has since been very strong.
Previously, the relationship between the Bai Lungese and Dannistrians has been very poor from 1975-2000, all because of a dispute between Dannistaan and Bai Lung over control of an island located 350 miles east of Bai Lung. (See Territorial Disputes) During this period, there was ethnic and political tensions. Sanctions were imposed on each other and 2 small scale conflicts occured on Jong Il until the 1994 ceasefire. Since 2000, many of the sanctions were lifted and Dannistrians are permitted to live in Bai Lung. In 2007, the relationship between the two is starting to weaken again as the aforementioned junta controls Bai Lung again.
Relationships between the U.S. and Bai Lung have been in severe decline since 2000. Previously there were good relations between the two but since Bush was sworn in, political tensions has increased and almost all American ex-pats are severely discriminated.
Territorial Disputes
Bai Lung has an ongoing feud with Dannistaan over the ownership of a small island to the east of Bai Lung. The island is called Jong Il Shan by the locals, but the Dannistrians call it Lord Howard Island. The Bai Lungese occupy the western half, whilst the Dannistrans hold the eastern half. As a result of the territorial claims, there have been 2 small scale conflicts over the island involving the two powers. Only ten casulties resulted from these conflicts, however, and all of these casulties were as the result of accidents, not combat. Daily border skirmishes were common in the past but the establishment of a Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), filled with land mines, has worked well in preventing further skirmish. All military personnel must cross a bridge in order to gain access to the half of the island controlled by the foreign power to which they do not claim allegiance. The island has large deposits of gold and other valuable minerals found cheifly beneath the rocky terrain. The dispute results from a lack of recognition of who originally colonized the island. The Bai Lungese claim that they arrived in the area first. However, the Dannistrians claim the island was conquered by the British, who gave the island to Dannistaan when they were granted independence. Neither side was willing to budge, and both dispatched troops to take the territory, ultimately splitting it down the middle. As of 2005, the UN is continuing to attempt to mediate the situaton, and was successful in getting both sides to agree to a ceasefire ratified in 5th March 1994.
Bai Lungians or Bai Lungese?
Bai Lungian is an old term used by the western world during the late 19th and early 20th Centuries but has since been dated and now deemed offensive. It is a common racial slur used by the Dannistrians as an obscure reference to Jong Il/Lord Howard island (Bai Chinky/White Chinamen/Barel) are also an alternative slur). Bai Lungese is the current term used by the western world. Chinese is a less offense term but is somewhat derogatory as the name suggest that many came from China solely. Bai Lungese refer themselves as Bai hànzú (白汉族) or Bai Lung Ren (白龙人). The latter is the most common usage, to keep it in line with their Chinese counterpart i.e Zhōngguó Ren (中国人).
Administrative Regions
The People's Republic of Bai Lung has 4 islands which consists of 8 administrative regions (省) and two Municipalities (直辖市) directly governed by the PRBL. The main island of Bai Lung is Mao which constitutes 95% of the population, leaving 5% living in the smaller islands. Mao is a predominately urban area while Deng, Hu and Jong Il are predominately rural areas. There has been a lot of controversy regarding the ownership of the 4th island since Bai Lung and Dannistaan has "co-ownership" of the island since 1975. Army forces from both sides have since occuppied the island. See Territorial Disputes.
The following are a list of administrative divisions of areas under the control of the People's Republic of China.
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Provinces（省）
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Islands (海岛)
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Geography
The area size of Mao is 51,600 mi² (133,643.39 km²), 90% of the total area is land with the remaining 10% consisting of water. Deng and Hu are 500 mi² (1295 km²) each with 50/50 land and water. The New Territories (called The Mainland) is 232,200.02 mi² (601395.3 km²)
Although an island, it is mostly dominated by flatlands with lots of buildings and swarmed with vehicles. It is located in the South West area of The East Pacific. 80 miles west of Mao island (the main island of Bai Lung) are the two smaller islands, Deng and Hu both which are 160 miles apart from each other; and on the east is Jong Il island located 350 miles from Mao island. The New Territories is 5000 miles North of Mao island. On Mao island, there are large patches of rain forest found on the north with a medium sized mountain called Chen Shan and on the south are large areas of raw materials. In the west, east and central parts used to consist of large patches of rain forests and rocky grassland but were cut down and replaced by roads and new buildings.
The country is noted for having one of the worst pollution in the world. As a result of the appalling statistics, evironmental groups have expressed grave concern on how environmentally friendly the country is. Outraged by the statistics, Chen ordered many of the groups to be arrested by his military group. As of 2007, protests in any form have been banned altogether even under Xu's regime. (See Human Rights of Bai Lung)
Chen Shan
Chen Shan is a mountain found in the northeast of Bai Lung. It is medium-large sized mountain which is rocky. The highest is point is 3150 metres. Previously, the peak of the mountain was pointy until Chen ordered the clearence. Many of the right hand side of the mountain is destroyed, the peak of the mountain lies a very large crates which now acts as a natural lake that provides much of the water for the river which flows south east. The lake Initially, it caused huge floods to many cities, Chen authorised the building of dams to divert the river south east. When looking at Bai Lung from below, the shape of the mountain and the direction of the river remsemble a man crying. Chen Shan means Chen's Mountain in Mandarin and is a reference to the Leader and the power he possesses. Popular to contrary, it is not a tourist hot spot and is frequently guarded by Chen's military.
Climate
Despite the dangerous levels of sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide, climate is similar to Dannistaan. Generally, it is humid and warm during spring and summer followed by very cold and wet winters. It has been known to snow in November and very warm in March. Typhoons are very common during the hottest summers and this can cause huge disruption to the transport network. Snow also causes the same problems during the early days of November. The hottest month is July with average high of 33ºc and an average low of 21ºc. The coldest month is January with an average high of -3ºc and an average low of -10ºc. Bai Lung averages around 6,000 mm of rainfall a year.
Human Rights in Bai Lung
Main Article: Human Rights in Bai Lung
The country is well noted for it's lack of human rights and has the worst human and civil rights in the developed country according to a survey done by Power, a local Dannistaan magazine. Reports by various human rights organistion and foreign governments frequently accuse the government (specifically Chen Jong Sun) of failing to protect the human rights of the Bai Lungese. Chen is often accused of severely restricting nearly all freedoms, including freedom of speech and freedom of movement, both within the country and abroad. Capital and corporal punishments are very common with no opposition. Those who refuse to work, forgetting to pray Chen or not addressing him as Sir or The Leader are often whipped and occaissionally executed. Most crimes such as murder, rape and theft are punishable by hanging or firing squad. Political activists are routinely executed. The exception to this is drug possession and dealing in which the offender is often injected with heroin forcibly until death or if the drug is cannibis, the offender is hung. No trials are held, instead the accused is put before Chen and personally sentences each individual. On the trivial side, Chen refuses to use lethal injections on the basis that they are considered to be American gimmickry.
As a result of almost no human rights, many of Chen's notorius laws often go very far including censoring many advertisements, newspapers and pornography (See Laws of Bai Lung). All forms of media have to be checked by the goverment and approved. Foods are severly rationed and usually residents are denied weekly allowences if the worker looks at the officials in the wrong way. They are either gun butted by soldiers or shot.
Bai Lung had recieved a lot of media coverage (and gained notoriety) when a human rights actvist went under-cover as an aid worker discovered a concentration camp near the capital of Pyongjing. The building was supposedly a food packing factory but found a secret floor trap which housed more than 2000 people. It is unknown how many more of these camps are there in Bai Lung numerous reports suggest as much as 500 camps with 10% found in the capital. They house at least 300,000 people in total including children of so-called "God's unwanted", many protesters and even families of up to 5 generations. Children are forced to clean the machinery, men operated the machinery via brute force and women sewed clothing for export purposes. Nobody is paid in any amount and those who object are often executed on the spot and replaced with more obedient workers. According to a UN survey, nearly everyone works up to 18 hours a day with 5 hours sleep including children. Wages are the lowest in the world; men are paid 75 XD (or 0.75 DD) per hour, children (a child is defined as someone who is between the ages of 2-21 years old) are paid 25 XD (or 0.25 DD) per hour and increase gradually as they get older. Women are paid the least amount of money at a typical wage 15 XD (or 0.15 DD) per hour and in many cases, they are not paid at all.
The activist, Alex Johnston Ford managed to tape enough evidence of the atrocious conditions before guards arrived, he was given several medals for his bravery. The video footage was shown as a documentary film and was critically acclaimed, earning several awards around the world. When the footage gained notoriety regarding the treatment of many Bai Lungese, the UN made several attempts to place sanctions against the government but there was no discernible effect since many of the foods go to Chen directly. In addition, Chen denies any cruelty towards his people and insisted it was the Americans trying to "Hollywoodising" his country. Lack of human rights also means Chen could see fit by sending many of his people to his 2 allied countries, China and North Korea (especially the latter) to perform farm labour in exchange for food supplies.
As of 2006, Political Freedoms have been sinced relaxed slightly due to growing pressure from the United States. The World Food Program gave Bai Lung $2.5 million in emergency aid in 2005, an increase of 60% from last years $1.5 million. By comparison, the defence budget is $2.17 trillion.
Economy
Until recently, Bai Lung used to be one of the most restrictive free trades in the world. Chen frequently refers Private Enterprises as a "form of terrorism that have the potential to overthrow the government". All Private Enterprises used to be illegal and all companies are nationalised and approved by Chen himself. Coporations are monitored by the local governor who is appointed by Chen. He/she has the right to shut down corporations if they cause a huge problem to the economy or are liable to Chen (details are unknown by his definition of "liable"). His harsh policies on Private Enterprises have since been dropped although Chen still has the rights to shut down any company which breaches the Code of Conduct. Because all corporations are now Privitised, the overall economy is thriving, thanks to Chen's reforms. Citizens pay a flat 70% income tax which can vary unpredictably. All citizens are required to pay the same amount regardless of their income and those who refuse to pay or have insufficient funds are usually sent to concentration camps until they pay the full amount.
In 2007, the military junta lifted the restrictions on Private Enterprises completely.
Under Chen's and Xu's regimes, the local currency is Da Dendrite with the smaller denominations called Xiao Dendrite. 1 Da Dentrite (DD for short) is worth $1.36. Dendrite notes come in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000. Dendrite coins come in 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50 Xiao Dentrites (Initials: XD). High value coins comes in denominations of 1, 2 and 5 Dendrites.
Under the junta's regime (1950-1962), the curreny was the Wangmin (Wong Min). The 2007 junta uses the Dollar as a currency ($) with cents (¢) as smaller denominations. Dollar notes come in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 only. Dendrite coins come in 1, 2, 5, 10, 25 and 50 Xiao Dentrites (Initials: XD). High value coins comes in denominations of 1 and 2 Dendrites only.
Bai Lung is also rich in minerals and rare materials which is extracted from the mines and sold to various countries like Dannistaan.
Species
Bai Lung is free of drop-rats thanks to the pervasive use of rat poison and constant clearence. However, like many parts of the East Pacific, it is home to 2 million fridge owls. They are mostly found in densly packed urban areas where many people have fridges in their homes. The structure of most flats are poorly made giving fridge owls the perfect opportunity to inhabit fridges quietly. Since owl free fridges are unheard of, locals phone pest control to lure out the pests. 50 people die each year from trying to remove them by their own. It is illegal to own a fridge owl and possession will result in 5 years in a concentration camp (Chen exempts himself from this law and keeps several of them).
Another pest in Bai Lung is the fire mosquito. They are basically fire ants with the wings of a mosquito the stinging mechanism of a bee. All fire mosquitoes carry the protozoan disease, malaria and this is a major health threat worldwide. They have 2 mechanisms; stings and bites. The stinger located on the bottom of the fire mosquitoes, is not poisonous but can cause painful stings if the person moves. This is used as a deterent if they wish to suck blood or if they are just irritated by movement. When they first bite a human, it transfers anti-coagulants and an irritating saliva containing concentrated maitic acid. Bites are much less painful than stings as the procedure is done quickly. When one is bitten, there is a large red mark where the bite was. Many of the Bai Lungese often head to the hospital in hopes for a cure. Unfortunately, the hospital only issues via waiting list with the most important people first. The population of fire mosquitoes are being control but with great difficultly. Many insect repellent which proved to be effective are now useless because of DNA traits the mosquitoes inherited which makes them immune to current repellent. Subsequent offsprings have inherited the same trait from their parents.
The national animal is the puma (previously dragon under Chen's regime). It is on the brink of extinction due to the constant uranium mining.
Society
Demographics
The last census held in 1993 estimated around 18 million people in Bai Lung. The 1998 constitution banned any forms of census meaning that population count is difficult to determine but estimate guesses suggest that Bai Lung has a population of 80 million. 90% of this population live in the urban areas. Literacy is 20.75% as of February 2006 despite the mandatory education system which require all citizens to graduate before 18. After that, military service is compulsory for nearly all males (except females who are taught culinary classes for 5 years although some males take them unofficialy) and tour of duty lasts for approx 5 years.
Bai Lung has one of the most biracially populated places in the world with around 85% of residents being of Chinese and Korean descent with many of the residents bear a mixture of Chinese and Korean names (Chen Jong Sun is a notable example). Depending on whether the maid or is Korean or Chinese, they tend to adopt the surname of their husbands and give their offsprings Korean or Chinese given names. Some couples give their children English forenames as well a Bai Lungese names although Chen is considering amending the constitution to outlaw couples giving English forenames to their children in fears that they might not speak their mother's tongue.
The majority of the population are Chinese-Koreans with the remaining percentage being pure blooded Chinese and Koreans. There is a minute population of Americans who are only temporary residents, the majority being aid workers. Other residents include Dannistrians (majority are aid workers), Australians, Canadians, Indonesians and British. Australians and British can migrate to Bai Lung with relatively few objections while nearly all Dannistrians are denied entry by contrast right up to 2000. Since then, the rules have been relaxed and nearly all Americans are denied entry.
Since Xu Lin Wei took power in 2006, Mandarin Chinese and Korean have been designated as De Facto languages. Due to the increasing number of ex-pats, English is now being taught more at schools and it is spoken by tour guides and translators. Bilingual signs are found in virtually all provinces, trilingual sign are found only in the Chen Jong Sun province.
As of 2007, approximately 95.9% of the entire population are bilingual while 4.1% speak one of the de facto languages.
Despite famine problems, an average male is 6ft 1 inches where a female is 5 ft 9 inch.
Culture
Unsuprisingly, society within Bai Lung is very solitary thanks to Chen's pervasive use of censorship and police. This is further exacerbated by the remote location of the island in which Chen uses to great advantage. On setting foot on the island, it has a similar feel to China since many of the cities are very densly packed like their Chinese and Korean relatives and at the same time it feels as if you have gone back in time as many are still living in in 19th century based conditions. See Shanghai on wikipedia.com.
Apart from the frequent sites of erected mobile phone masts, almost all modern technology is outlawed by Chen himself (he publically declared himself as a technophobe). Anyone who possesses technology not approved by Chen are usually fined of up to 5000 Da Drendrites per item. Failure to pay the fines result in instant imprisonment of up to 3 years.
Bai Lungese medicine is an odd mixture of traditional Chinese and Korean medicines and this has been used for over a century. Like their Chinese counterparts, many medicines are made from animal products (examples include skins from bears, dragons and tigers) and are therefore not suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Much of the Bai Lungese cuisine are a mixture of Chinese and Korean. Examples of Bai Lungese cuisine include stir fried udon with squid, squid dumplings and a dessert called "ko-chai" consisting of a hard biscuit with a piece of paper inside with words of wisdom (it actually contains subliminal messaging). There are no vegetarian or vegan versions of these dishes as these practices baffle many of the residents.
In general, the Bai Lungese are known to be very loud and boisterous which may unsettle some visitors. This is normal for them to talk loud even if they are happy, however they tend to get offended if the tourist backs off or speak very quietly. Those with predominately Chinese origin talk loudly and those with a predominately Korean background are quieter. Speaking very quietly implies that you are keeping secrets attracting nothing but curiosity from the locals who ask a wide range of questions like "Where are you from?" or "Why are you being so shy? Are you trying to speak against The Leader?". The Bai Lungese prefer to speak out loud to hear one another (and possibly to avoid angering Chen). They also tend to walk very quickly as well, averaging 1.8 metres/second (this is notably faster than Osakan residents who walk at 1.6 metres/second on average). Vistors have noticed that they are bumped into frequently and shouted at for being too slow.
Religion
There is no state religion due to Chen's and the junta's harsh reforms on religious groups.
Because of this, 99% of Bai Lungese have delcared themselves as atheist. The largest religion in Bai Lung is Buddhism and even then many followers of the faith are closely supervised by their local governors and at anytime he/she may shut down their premises until further notice. There are also a small number of Christianity predominately Prostestant. Like with followers of Buddhism, they are also closely supervised by a local governor. Churches are frequently close because the governor suspects them as terrorist hotspots but are later re-opened with apologies.
Chen himself expects all citizens to pray to a large painting of Mao Zedong everyday at 12.00 PM for 2 minutes. Pictures of him are found in nearly all places of Bai Lung including the 2 smaller islands, Deng and Hu. According to ex-Prime Minister Wang Wook Xiong (before he was executed by Chen's militia for exposing the information to a tabloid newspaper), he said in an interview that when Chen does travel abroad, he always brings a painting of Mao with him and prays for 5 minutes before he is knocked out with sedatives. Wang also stated that the doctor who sedates him is never to be seen presumably executed by Xu Lin Wei, Chen's right hand man, General of the Marine Corps and current President.
Currently, the junta does not expect anyone to pay to a picture and expects all citizens to continue work after 12PM.
Sports
Main article: Sports of Bai Lung
