The Chinese Republic of Xiang Gang is a nation in the Meritocracy. Although ancient, with a population of nearly 5 billion, it was insular for much of its existence. After a 30-year-long economic boom, the developed economy is now cooling. Government expenditure has increased greatly over the past 5 years as the government turns to the improvement of the quality of life of its citizens instead of improvement of the conditions for big business.

The Republic is a member of the Meritocratic Accords Senate, SATO, the SATO Free Trade Agreement and the SATO Open Borders Convention.

Xiang Gang

Flag of Xiang Gang
Motto: HUMANITY
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Region	The Meritocracy
Capital	Yongjing
Official Language(s)	Chinese
Leader	H.E. Lin Ming, President of the Republic
Population	nearly 5 billion
Currency	Denarius
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Politics

Xiang Gang is a free, democratic republic with the rule of law, before which all citizens are equal. It exhibits the characteristics of a federation in some areas of policy, and a unitary state in others.

President

The highest officer of state is the President. He or she, upon election by the National Assembly, has the primary obligation to defend the constitution and the rights of the citizens. The President appoints all senior members of the judiciary. The current president is Mr Lin An, who serves concurrently as General Secretary of the Central Government.

State Council

The highest functions of the state are carried out by the State Council, whose 30 members are chosen by the General Secretary. The State Council accepts and sends letters of credence, controls the military, may appoint a General Commander in times of war and summons and dissolves the legislature. Its most senior members form the Standing Committee of the State Council.

The State Council is primarily responsible for national policy, whilst the state apparatus is controlled by the Secretariat of the Central Government.

Secretariat of the Central Government

The secretariat of the Central Government is responsible for the controlling of state apparatus, following the directives of the State Council.

General Secretary of the Central Government

The General Secretary of the Central Government is appointed by the State Council to preside over the Secretariat of the Central Government, and is assisted by the Vice Chairman of the Secretariat. Lin An, currently also President, is General Secretary.

Military Affairs Commission

Defence of the state is the responsibility of the forces under the command of the Military Affairs Commission, currently headed by Chairman Lin An. Most of the members of the commission are military officials.

National Assembly

The National Assembly is the supreme organ of state power. Its 1990 members are elected by the additional member system, and are lead by the President of the National Assembly, whom they elect. The President of the State Council gives a weekly report to the National Assembly, which has sole authority to create legislation.

The following political parties are represented in the National Assembly:

Armed Forces

The Republic of Xiang Gang maintains an all-volunteer army, which, although small in proportion to its population, is well-trained. It is set up only for defence of the country and is structured as follows:-

Command and Logistics Network: Central Command with links to offices in every base

Land Defence Network: 115 000 area defence batallions, integrates with State Militia on emergency

Air Defence Network: 70 national air defence network bases

Strategic Air Branch: special air support; 10 bases

Military Police Branch: office in each military base

Maritime Defence Network: offshore defence; submarines, large vessels to maintain territorial waters

Amphibious Defence Network: 175 specialised beach defence and shallow waters defence bases

River and Lake Defence Network: 30 specialised river and lake defence bases

Special Operations Branch: behind enemy lines, covert operations

Special Foreign Branch: troops trained, for whatever reason, to go abroad; 1 base.

Special Intelligence Branch: intelligence forces

State Militia

Each district has a regiment of the State Militia, which is a part-time armed volunteer force of State Citizens. A milita commando trains for three weekends a year after the initial two-month training, serves in a civil defence post for one week a year, and may be called up in a State of Emergency to serve in the defence of the State. The commandos keep their equipment, including their rifle, at home, so that they can be summoned immediately. The mobilisation time for the State Militia is 14 hours.

Ranks

Militia:

Recruit

Commando, Third Class

Commando, Second Class (commands a militia section or militia patrol boat)

Commando, First Class (commands a militia troop)

Non-commissioned Officers:

Corporal

Sergeant

Sergeant Major

Commissioned Officers:

Lieutenant (advises militia, commands an army section, flies a fighter)

Commander (commands a militia company, commands an army troop, commands a naval station, flies a fighter))

Captain [no navy rank](commands a militia district unit, commands an army company, commands an air group)

Staff Officers:

Major (commands an army batallion, commands a small vessel, commands a ship's system, commands several air groups from the air)

Lieutenant Colonel [First Officer of a Ship] (commands an army brigade, first officer of a large vessel, commands an air operation from the ground)

Colonel [Captain of a Ship] (commands an army brigade or operations unit, captains a large vessel, commands all the air operations of a base)

Higher Staff Officers:

Commandant [Admiral](heads a base and all its operations, commands an army corps, commands a fleet of large vessels)

General (heads a branch or network)

Administrative Divisions

Xiang Gang is divided into 280 metropolitan areas, each of which has some degree of autonomy over local affairs.

Each metropolitan area is headed by a First Secretary, who presides over the Council of Secretaries. The First Secretary is appointed by the area's parliament.

The regions have responsibility to manage local policing and infrastructure as well as several key areas of policy.

Capital Metropolitan Area: Yongjing

Yongjing is the capital of the Republic. It has an elected Mayor and Capital Assembly, as well as several City Councils and City Administrators as a lower tier. The metropolitan government has a very large budget, and maintains one of the most extensive, largest and well-developed public infrastructures in the region.

Yongpu Island contains the National Assembly building and the Office of the President, as well as most key Central Government institutions and offices. A special unit of the Gendarmerie polices the area, to which access is restricted at certain times.

Public Security

The Central Deparment of Security has broad responsibility for public security in Xiang Gang, and is composed of the following departments: -

Department of the Police Forces;

Department of the Internal Intelligence Force;

Department of Immigration and Domicile Registration;

Border Protection Groups;

Department for Emergencies;

Department of the Coast Guard;

Department of the Fire Service.

The Special Contingent of the Xiang Gang Police

A Special Police Contingent is based in each metropolitan area. These centrally-controlled officers are independent of the local populace, and are drawn from other metropolitan areas. They act as the elite police force, and are seen as an independent, neutral mediating force.

Media

Xiang Gang has a varied and dynamic media sector. Most newspapers and television stations are national and based in Yongjing, particularly its Dayi City.

There is full editorial freedom in all sectors except digital terrestrial television, which must remain politically neutral.

Xiang Gang Television (XDT) is the publically-funded television network; it broadcasts three terrestrial channels: XDT-News, XDT-Inform and XDT-Entertainment.