Tetchuan

The Armed Republic of Tetchuan

National Flag
National motto: A vision for the future.
Official languages	English (de facto)
Capital	Ballston
Largest city	San Juan
Government  - President  - Vice President	Armed Republic Kremlin Castro George Fernando
UN Status
Nation Code	ART
Area  - Total  - % water	4,818,695 sq. miles
Population	3.1 Billion (June 2007 Est.)
GDP (PPP)  - Total  - Per capita	$108.3 trillion (June 2007 Est.) $34,636.68
Establishment	March 10, 1910
Constitution  - Ratified  - Effective	September 14th, 1910 August 9th, 1910
Major Religions	Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Islam
Currency	Republic Credit (Ω)
Currency Code	ART
Internet TLD	.art .tet .bst
Calling Code	189
Time zone	PCTC +1/0
HDI	0.984 - very high
National anthem	"Oh Thy Glory"
National animal	Tiger

The Armed Republic of Tetchuan (shortened as Tetchuan) is a country in the region of Happy Place, currently serving as Secretary of Finance for the region, and on August 1st will assume the role of President of the region. It's government mainly focuses on Law and Order and Defense, with a large portion of the budget going towards education and healthcare. The current president is Kremlin Castro, elected in 1995. The government has kept a close watch on monopolies, which is a major reason most companies face strong competition, regardless of the market.

Founded on a centrist democratic tradition, the Tetchuanian government has since taken vast steps to boost not only consumer life in Tetchuan, but take great care of it's military. Economic freedoms are evenly spread, and consumers are, for the most part, free to spend their money how they choose. This has resulted in a vast, and diverse economy, and in within the last fifty years, an unprecedented economic boom. This has lead to Tetchuan becoming a superpower in it's region, one of the major powers in the world, and a leading provider in cutting-edge technological advances.

According to the United Nations, Tetchuan is ranked in the top twenty for safest nations in the world. This is according to a study which focused on not military power, but crime rates, and the general defense network of participating nations. Tetchuan has become more and more active in the United Nations, most notably when it's vote on the Environmental Protection Committee Act was the decision maker in 2004. Since then, Tetchuan has been most notably famous for giving very energetic speaches at U.N. summits. Tetchuan also remains a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.

Geography

The Armed Republic of Tetchuan is notable for it's vast geography. Tetchuan is a massive island in the Pacific Ocean with a total area of 4,818,695 square miles. It is one of the largest islands in the Pacific, and also holds the record for the highest point above sea level, with Mt. Ukimooka in the south eastern portion of the island.

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Climate

Because of it's vast size, Tetchuan contains examples of almost every type of global climate. Winter throughout most of Tetchuan is relatively mild however. The northern tier of the island recieves an annual snowfall of about 8 feet a year, while the south recieves little to no snow in a year. During the winter months, the average temperature to the north is around 30 degrees farenheit, while the south remains around 60. In contrary, the eastern seaboard of the island tends to be the dryest, and often experiences drought in the summer months.

History

The Kremlins

Before the official establishment of the Armed Republic of Tetchuan, the island was settled by a small group of outsiders called The Kremlins (ironically enough, this is also the first name of the current president). In 1898, the island was officially taken control by the small nation of Hildebrand. Hildebrand was under communist rule at the time, and many who had settled on the island beforehand were forced to either move away from the island, or follow commands from the Hildebrand government.

Hildebrand Rule and Revolt

In 1908, a small number of Kremlins still remained on the island. Many were very unhappy with the rule of the Hildebrand government, mainly because of it's focus on forcing the Kremlins into a new way of life and rule from an oppressing government. In 1910, the Kremlins staged a revolt at the colony capital of Ballston. While the protest began peaceully, it soon turned violent when the Hildebrand government gave security forces the order to fire on the crowd of protesters. This soon sparked a revolt from the Kremlins, which lasted nearly two years. The Kremlins were able to get outside help from a large amount of Kremlins living in other areas of the globe. On March 10th, 1910, the Hildebrand government announced it's official removal from the island.

Formation of the Republic

Upon the removal of all forms of government from the island, the people began to set up a government. The flag as it appears today was adopted on July 15th, 1910. The name Tetchuan came from the man who was largely considered to be the mastermind of the revolt, Jacob Tetchuan. By 1911, Tetchuan had formed a semi-stable pro-democratic government, and held it's first elections on February 1st, 1911 along with the formation of the full name The Armed Republic of Tetchuan.

Government Stuggles

During it's first several years, the government struggled with the every day problems that face a developing nation. One of the original major issues was unemployment rates were extremely high because businesses were not willing to move into a nation so young. The government countered this by encouraging many people to join the military. The government was able to offer benefits and incentives that most civilian jobs could not offer at the time. This is widely considered as one of the reasons Tetchuans military is a success today.

The Great Tetchuan War

After Tetchuan had begun to form good international relations, Tetchuan officially applied and was accepted into the United Nations on April 23rd, 1931. Soon after which, the close nation of Darsha declared that Tetchuan was not fit to join the U.N., claiming that it had violated many of the U.N.'s stanadards and practices that were ordered upon all U.N. members. President Dwight Howard countered this statement by stating that the Tetchuanian Government had applied after it had assured itself that it had complied with all of the United Nations demands upon entry. Darsha denied these claims however, and on June 15th 1931, declared war on Tetchuan.

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Two days later, Darsha forces began to close in on Tetchuan. Because Tetchuan is an island, all forces were forced to come in through boat or by air. At the time, Tetchuan had not completely established a powerful Navy, so entry into the beaches of Tetchuan proved to not be difficult for Darsha. Tetchuan had however established it's ground and air forces, something which Darsha had not calculated during it's invasion plans. President Howard immediately ordered all military personel activated. Darsha had sent a total force of 120,000 strong with air support. Tetchuan countered this by sending in 132,000 ground assault troops with additional ground and air support.

Most of the war was fought on the outskirts of any major cities. Darsha had managed to get past Tetchuans air defenses twice when it bombed the capital of Ballston. After nearly a week of back and fourth battles, Howard ordered an additional 20,000 ground forces along with a massive 17 squadron air-support consisting of T-45 Raptor Bombers and TL-99 fighter jets. Darsha had not anticipated the sudden attack from the air, and it's ground forces were forced to retreat back to it's base 10 miles out to sea. Howard then stated to the Darshian government that if it did not pull it's forces away from the island and declare a cease-fire, that Tetchuan would send bombers and attack squads to attack the fleet. Darsha initially ignored the warnings, but soon thereafter declared a ceasefire when a fleet of bombers was detected on their naval radar.

Rise to Superpower

After the war, the nation continued to focus on building up it's military and educating it's people. By 1984, Tetchuan had one of the largest military's in the world, and was also growing an an astonishing rate. In 1995, newly elected president Kremlin Castro announced his plans to work together with neighboring nations to combine forces to create a coalition in the event that there was an attack on any of the nations. Today, this coalition consists of 15 nations, 4 of which (including Tetchuan) are considered world superpowers.

Tetchuan was able to continue to expand it's industry. The success of it's powerhouse economy is largely credited to the discovery of large amounts of Uranium in northern Tetchuan, and because of the establishment of many large and small businesses in the capital district. Arms Manufacturing also played a major role in vitalizing the Tetchuanian economy, putting millions of people to work, while at the same time, powering the nations military.

November 14th, 2005 Terrorist Attack

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On the early afternoon of November 14th, 2005 a terrorist who had stationed himself atop a nearby building fired 4 well-placed missiles at the Cumberland Center, Tetchuans second largest building. The rounds struck the tower at approximately 12:21 PM. Each round was fired within seconds of each other. A huge plume of smoke and fire blew out of the side of the building. Combined, the four rounds covered a total area of six stories, hitting the 78th-83rd floors. Soon afterwords, the man committed suicide by firing a magnum round into his head.

The evecuation of the building was immediate, and emergency crews rushed to get people out of the building. Despite fears that a total collapse of the building was probable, the building did not do so. A large portion of the south side of the building did fall off, however the main structure managed to stay intact. An estimated 424 people were killed in the attack, and the fire took fire crews 8 hours to control and extinguish.

Ferand War

In his 2006 State of the Union address, Kremlin Castro labeled Ferand as a nation that posed a great threat to the safety of Tetchuan. Castro stated that Ferand (who were already on bad terms with Tetchuan) had recently launched and successfully tested several inter-ballistic missiles just two miles outside Tetchuanian waters. In his statement, Castro asked Parliament permission to militarily respond to this aggressive action by sending four squadrons of Navy vessels out to the border of Tetchuanian and International waters. The parliament approved this action overwhelmingly, and in February 2006 Tetchuan sent the squadrons of destroyers, submarines and aircraft carriers.

Ferand responded by stating that Tetchuans actions would not prevent Ferand from going ahead with further tests. The Ferand government stated that "if Tetchuanian ships are in the area when we complete tests, then they can not say they have had warning of our intentions". At the time, Parliament would not approve an all-out war declaration. In spite of this, Castro declared a police action on Ferand as opposed to war. While the move as initially controversial, the Tetchuanian public quickly began to warm up to the decision after in a public statement, Ferand admitted it had prior knowledge on the November 14th, 2005 terrorist attack. This immediately fueled anger and dismay from Tetchuan, and shortly after the Parliament agreed to change the police action to an official declaration of war.

The war proved to be one that would be a do or die for Tetchuan. Up until then, Tetchuan had only been in one other major military conflict. An estimated 14,500 Tetchuanian soldiers would be killed in the war, with an additional 44,000 Ferand deaths. Tetchuans main focus in the war was air assaults, which proved to be extremely effective. Bombers and fighters were able to take out key Ferand factories and air-fields, grounding any possible retalliation from the air. By May, Tetchuan had taken ground control of Ferand and were on a march towards the capital. On May 9th, Ferand issued it's official surrender when Tetchuanian troops reached the capital. The surrender marked the end of the war, but would also begin a long and complicated political process as to how the Tetchuanian government should approach the situation now that they were in control of Ferand.

Post-War and Ferand Occupation

Immediately after the war, President Castro announced his intentions to hold Tetchuanian troops in Ferand for at least four months. This announcement was not taken well by the Ferand public. In response to this, violent protests began to rise up across the nation. While the Ferand people did not take liking to Tetchuans occupation, Castro promised that he would withdraw all troops by December. In the time being, over a hundred Tetchuanian troops would be killed due to violent attacks on convoys and soldiers. Castro kept his promise however and on December 13th, 2006, Tetchuan began it's withdraw plans, and by December 22nd, all troops had left Ferand.

Back at home, Castro put several high-ranking officials of Ferand under trial. They were charged with conspiracy to commit a terrorist attack, conspiracy to kill a federal official, and attempted murder. All five officials were found guilty in January, and sentanced to death by lethal injection.

Government and Politics

Political System

Tetchuan is a federation, which relies on representative democracy through a parliament. Unlike many federations, Tetchuan does not rely on specific levels of government, but rather a section in the constitution which specifically states what powers each province has, versus the federal government and Judicial office. Officials at both state and federal level are elected by voters, or in some cases, appointed by an elected official, such as the Vice President. Members of the Judicial office are appointed by the current elected president, and remain in office until a new president is elected, unless the new elect decides to re-appoint a member, or if they resign.

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The president of Tetchuan is acts as the highest level in the federal government, and also acts as the commander in chief. Once the president is elected, he serves a four year term before the incumbent must run for re-election. Currently, the consitution, nor any of its ammendments limit the president to a specific number of consecutive terms, however there has been some talk within parliament to limit this to 2 consecutive terms. The current elect, Kremlin Castro was elected in 1995, but announced in his 2007 state of the union address that he would not run for a 4th term in the end of 2007.

The Tetchuan Parliament is a rather complicated system. It is made up of 250 members, however recently Parliament has proposed a law to increase this to 300. Of the 250 members, 200 of the members are apportioned among the provinces according to the population (but still elected by voters). Of the remaining 50, 25 are elected by voters (each province gets one extra Parliament member), with the other 25 being appointed by the president (an additional member for every province). The 225 members that are elected by the voters must run again for office every 4 years, and the remaining 25 will be removed from Parliament assuming the current president fails to get re-elected, and replaced with new appointed members.

The Tetchuan Constitution is the supreme legal document in the system. All laws and and procedures must abide by the constitution, unless Parliament first passes an ammendment which opens way for the new law. This makes passing laws that contradict the consitution, or infringe on the constitutional rights of each citizen a very long and difficult process.

Tetchuanian politics contain a vast majority of political parties and views, however the Liberal and Conservative parties have come out on top as dominant. While members of both of these parties hold an overwhelming majority of elected officials, there are a select few elected spots which currently are held by third-party candidates. Depending on which party controls Parliament has rather large affect on Tetchuanian politics, and foreign relations. However, the Conservative party has managed to hold the majority of seats of elected officials since 1995 when Kremlin Castro was elected president, and the Conservative party took a number of key spots.

Foreign Relations

Tetchuan has vast economic, political, and military influence on a global scale, which makes its foreign policy a topic of great interest and discussion around the world. Tetchuan has entered into many treaties and alliances, most notably the PAC, or Pacific Alliance Coalition. Every nation located in the Pacific region has an embassy in Ballston, and many global nations have an embassy located there as well. With the exceptions of Ferand, Orca, and The Republic of the New U.S.S.R., Tetchuan generally has good relations with nations across the globe. Tetchuan is also a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, and also holds veto power in the United Nations. Today, Tetchuan has a close relationship with Lumination, Orzwelz and The Republic of U.N.C.

Military

Tetchuan has been well known for its long stance on civilian control over military affairs. The Tetchuanian military comprises of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Domestic Defense, and the Coast Guard. In peace time however, the Coast Guard falls under the category of the Navy. The Domestic Defense usually falls under the civil police department, however in times of war it is considered its own category. The military of Tetchuan compromises 249.2 million on active duty, and an additional 116.6 million in the reserves, with an additional 11 million in the Domestic Defense. Tetchuan has what is widely considered the most powerful military in its region, and one of the most powerful militarys in the world. Tetchuan also holds bases in nearly all countries across the world, and also is considered to have the largest military budget in the region.

Economy

General

The Tetchuanian economy can be described as a capitalist mixed economy. For the most part, corporations and private businesses make the majority of economic decisions, and have a significant say in their own economic operations. The government however does impose some restrictions on businesses, and consumers. The government plays a large role in the nations GDP, around 28%. Much of the economy consists of small business owners and sole proprietorships, however large corporations contribute a major part of the working force. Currently, Tetchuans largest domestic corporation is VisionSoft; a media and software conglomorate, which reports average yearly revenues of around Ω722.1 billion. The government imposes less restrictions on it's business than the average developed country, however they have taken steps to impose strict anti-monopoly laws in the past decade.

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The economy is fueled by a high abundance of natural resources, a vast infastructure, and a very high economic output. Tetchuanians have been known to work longer hours than the average developed nation citizen, and also take advantage of a high federal minimum wage. Currently, the minimum wage federally is Ω8.25 per hour. Recently however this has been a topic of much debate within parliament, as many want this raised to Ω8.75. Many of those employed in Tetchuan are in the service sector, which makes up around 76% of total employed citizens. The income level amongst the populous is high, and is also evenly distributed, which has greatly reduced the gap between rich and poor. Tetchuan is one of the largest exorters of goods in the world, and currently enjoys a high trade surplus of Ω195.2 billion as of June 2007.

Innovation

Tetchuan has always prided itself on being a nation which has large influence in scientific and technological research and development. Since 1985, Tetchuan has been the leading nation in it's region in both space travel, and technological research. Much of the technological research funding comes from the private sector, however in recent years the government has increased its funding to companies and organizations who meet certain scientific and/or technological milestones. This has led to Tetchuan having one of the most technologically advanced military's in the world, with wide space and missile defense capabilities. Recently, President Castro announced his intentions to begin funding a space defense network. The project is expected to be approved by Parliament, with an initial budget of Ω1.4 trillion.

Transportation

Before 1961, Tetchuan lacked a major highway and freeway system. Many travelers depended on side roads, many of which were not paved. In 1962 Parliament began to take great steps to improving the nations transportation. It began with the approval of the National Transportation & Safety Act (also known as the NTSA), which declared that the government would fund paved highways and freeways. This led way to the Highway Initiation Plan of 1965 which established a national highway system. Today, Tetchuans highway system is a number based system. Each federal highway has a two or three digit number, with local roads having a four digit number.

Air travel is the most common form of travel for long distances. In addition, cargo transport has also moved to air travel as it's primary form of transportation for non-local service. The airline industry has become a major economic influence in Tetchuan because of this, and contributes to almost 1/4 of the regions travel. As of today, there are dozens of airline companies based in Tetchuan, however only four of them are considered major airlines.

Transportation via boat inside Tetchuan itself is low because of Tetchuans lack of major rivers. While the country does contain many large lakes, most of boat travel is not used inside of Tetchuan for other than leisure purposes. However because Tetchuan is a massive island, travel of both people and cargo via boat into Tetchuan is a major industry, along with air travel. Approximately 48% of the nations imports enter Tetchuan via boat.

Demographics

General

On July 12th, 1994 the Tetchuan population stood at an estimated 1,000,000,000. Obviously, this figure excluded persons who were living in Tetchuan illegally. Because of Tetchuans vast size and growth, this number is only an estimate and was based directly off of birth rate vs. death rate, so the exact date and time is disputed. Since 1994, Tetchuans population has grown by nearly 180%. The population clock estimates that the population will reach 3,000,000,000 in December 2007. According to the most recent census in 2002, 64% of the population lived in urban areas. Tetchuan is a rather diverse nation, home to more than 23 different ethnic groups. As of 2002, racial demographics were dominated by Whites, who make up approximately 76% of the population. African-Americans make up 12%, and Hispanics and Other races make up the remaining 12%. Recently however, the general percentage of African-Americans has been declining in favor of hispanics.

Languages

Although Tetchuan does not have an official language by law, English is the most prominant language spoken, and acts as the de facto language. More than 86% of the population speak only English. Another 10% speaks Dutch, however this has been declining over the past decade. A small portion of the population, less than 2%, speak both English and Dutch.

Cities

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Some of Tetchuans largest cities play a key role in the economy, and history of Tetchuan. As of 2006, 295 cities had a population of more than 250,000, 26 cities had a population of more than one million, and eight had a population of 2 million or greater. Currently, the largest city in Tetchuan is San Juan, with a population of 32 million. Before 1993, the capital of Ballston was the largest city in Tetchuan since it's creation. San Juan surpassed Ballston in 1994, and for the first time in the nations history, the nations capital dropped to second for fastest growing populations. In 2002, Ballston dropped to third behind Saratoga. It is projected however that by 2012, Saratoga will surpass San Juan to become the largest city in the nation.

Religion

The Tetchuan government does not keep official records of the religious status of the general population. However, an independant study in 2004 showed that Protestantism held an overwhelming majority with nearly 64% of the population. Another 28% recognized themselves as Roman Catholics. A small percentage, around 6% identified themselves as Jewis or Islamic, and a very small percentage, 2% identified themselves as either aethist or other. The constitution of Tetchuan calls for a complete separation of religion and state, and forbids the government to favor one religion over the other. Another independant survey in 2003 however, found that the majority of elected officials have strong religious beliefs.

However, many still believe that regardless of the seperation of church and state law, religion still plays a major role in Tetchuan politics. Many politicians who support sensitive issues such as abortion or gay marriage tend to base their political stance on their religous beliefs on the issue. This has been generally accepted by the public, which is a major reason that religion has managed to play a role in government without substantial public disapproval.

Education

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Education in Tetchuan is grouped into two entities; public and private schooling. Public schooling, which is provided by the government and is paid for by tax payers, is mandated for anyone between the ages of 5 and 16. Until a person has turned 16 years of age, it is illegal for him/her to drop out of public education, and he or she still can not drop out without parental permission until they reach the age of 18. The government, current president Kremlin Castro in particular, has put a large emphasis on the importance of education.

Private education in Tetchuan is not paid for by the government or local tax payers, rather the selected parties. Private education includes home schooling, private religous schools, and online schooling, which has become increasingly popular within the last 5 years. Private schooling is not protected by the same laws that public schooling is, and therefore, it is possible for a student never receive an official education if he or she enrolls in private schooling, and never attends. This is strongly discouraged by the federal government however.

Universities are included under both public and private entities. The federal government offers public college education, and is usually cheaper than a private university. After general public education, college is completely voluntary because it is a paid service. Public universities carry the FUT symbol, or Federal University of Tetchuan. Currently, there are over 2,400 FUT public colleges across the country.

Health

In 2002, the United Nations placed Tetchuans health care system in the top tier of the world. Per capita, Tetchuan spends more than most industrialized nations on health care. Prior to 1986, the health care system in Tetchuan was in question. At the time, nearly one third of the population was living without health insurance. In June of 1986, Parliament finally passed a law that provided all legal Tetchuan citizens with government funded health care, a law that Parliament had been attempting to pass for a decade previous. The system would not go into effect until 1988, two years later, and was not until 1991 when the system began to have major positive results.

Today, both the government, and private entities offer health care to citizens. The governments program is offered at no charge, however some claim that private entities who charge a fee, offer more options and coverage. Nonetheless, the program has worked overwhelmingly, and has dropped the number of citizens living without healthcare to around 3%, mainly contributed to the lack of registration. The program has not gone without criticism, however. Many feel that it is easy to take advantage of the program because it is open to everyone. Some feel that the program should only be given to those who make below a certain amount in a year. This is mainly due to an independent study that showed that nearly one third of the people using the program, make more than Ω50,000 a year.

Recent History

President Kremlin M. Castro

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Current incumbent Kremlin M. Castro was elected in 1995 with 64% of the popular votes. Since his election, he has taken a very tough stance on monopoly control and emphasizing the importance of education. Castro was the first president in the nations history to implement the TIN, or the Terrorist Investigation Network following the November 14th, 2004 terrorist attacks. Castro has been re-elected twice in 1999 and then again in 2003. In his 2007 State of the Union address however, Castro announced that he was not going to seek re-election for a 4th term, and would end his term at the conclusion of the 2007 presidential elections.

Castros approval ratings have seen a steady increase over the past year, however overall they have averaged around 71%. Castros biggest critisizm was his slower than anticpated investigation response to the 11/14 attacks, however the masterminds behind the plot were brought to justice in 2006. Since 2001, Castro has been a large supporter of an increasing military budget, and it has shown. The defense budget has steadily increased since 2001, and currently is the highest in the region, and one of the highest in the world.

2004 Parliament Scandal

In August of 2004, a press released leaked information that several members of Parliament were making side deals with non-profit orginizations to push bills in their favor. Initially, the Castro administration denied these reports, and even went as far as refusing to answer questions on the matter. On December 9th, 2004, a memo was leaked to the Tetchuan News Network that provided solid proof that at least seven members of Parliament had made side deals with these select orginizations.

After the memo was leaked, President Castro finally ordered the full and complete investigation on the matter. In January of 2005, the investigation revealed that the deals had indeed taken place, some of them being for more than Ω2 million. Three days later addressing the nation, Castro stated that he would implement his recommendation for resignation powers to Parliament and order the members of Parliament who were involved in the scandal resign. Parliament approved the recommendation, and six of the seven involved members resigned the following day. The seventh member, Jason Hughes, continued to deny his involvement and refused to resign. He was put under federal trial in June, where he was found guilty and sentanced to twenty years in prison, and a Ω1.2 million fine.

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Anti-Terror War Plan

In early 2006, President Castro released information that the Tetchuan secret service, working alongside the TIN officials had begun to set up a program entitled the “Anti-Terror War Plan”. The announcement was in direct response to allegations that several international terrorist organizations were plotting attacks on Tetchuanian citizens and soldiers. The plan, which asked Parliament for Ω1.6 trillion in funding, would be used to track, and target known terrorist cells and organizations.

When the proposal was sent to Parliament, it sparked a heated debate amongst politicians alike. Opposition to the plan argued that it was another attempt by the Castro administration to increase executive powers, and increase foreign influence. Supporters however argued that the bill would affectively single out terrorist organizations, and help prevent future attacks. Parliament debated the plan for 24 days, before finally passing the plan 198-52. However, Parliament would not fork over the entire Ω1.6 trillion until what they said was “sufficient proof” that the money would be used exclusively for the program, and not to increase executive influence. Instead, Parliament approved a contingency Ω812 billion budget for the program for a six-month period, with the remaining funds being supplied if the demands were met.

At the start of 2007, the remainder of the funds was approved for use by Parliament. Currently, the program is still in it’s developing stages, however president Castro has stated that the program has already carried out two classified missions, but would not give details.

External Links

• The Armed Republic of Tetchuan