Great Han Empire (Gingko, Narra, Encina)

Great Han Empire
帝国的哈尼
하리고쿠녀하니
*Harigoku nyou Hani*
Great Han Empire 帝国的哈尼; 하리고쿠녀하니; Harigoku nyou Hani
	Motto: ; 您钱该和您实力该; 카창안나라카라카수안; Kachang-an nara karakasu-an; ("Enrich the state, strengthen the military")
	Anthem: ; 精的神国; 디와녀고쿠; Diwa nyou Goku; ("Spirit of the Country");
Capital; (and largest city)	Hanyang
Official languages	Han
Demonym	Han
Government	Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Legislature	National Diet
Independence	from United States
Population
GDP (nominal)	2015 estimate
Currency	Chang (钱, 창, or ¢) (HNC)
Time zone	Han Standard Time (UTC+8)
Date formats	mm/dd/yyyy
Drives on the	right
Internet TLD	.ph (.哈尼, .하니)

The Great Han Empire (Han: 帝国的哈尼; 하리고쿠뇨하니, tr. Harigoku nyou Hani) is a constitutional monarchy that consists of the Han archipelago and its adjacent islands – occupying a total of area of 130,464 sq. miles (or 337,900 km²). Although it was established 2 February 1945 after the Hanyang Declaration, the re-installation of its monarchy was delayed until 17 September 1948 following the First Han Civil War.

Hani would not emerge as a single political entity until in the 17th century under the Kingdom of Tondo, a feat achieved through the rigorous expansion and incorporation of surrounding subordinate states. Capitalising on being central to regional trading routes, it would become a major regional power. While early Tondo would be culturally influenced primarily by India, and later, Brunei, later Tondo would be heavily culturally influenced by the Ming, a process that would be facilitated by the arrival of Chinese migrants fleeing the collapsing Ming dynasty. The increasing irrelevance of Indian culture would prompt the Tondo royal family to abolish the caste system, convert to neo–Confucianism, and wear Chinese clothing; all moves that would be disturbing for the increasingly powerless Indianised elite.

By the waning days of Tondo, there would be a power struggle between two major groups. The first group will be the now neo–Confucianist majority, who will be comprised of those of formerly low status. They would be appealed by the dissolution of the caste system and the fluid social strata. The second group would be the Hindu plurality, a declining but still significant group. They will be disturbed by the elevation of peasants to nominal equality and their loss of power. This power struggle would culminate in the ousting of the Tondo house by the hardliner Na dynasty. The Na dynasty would revise reforms done by the Tondo, but within five years, Tondo would dissolve into a dozen separate states.

After twenty-five years of conflict, former Tondo would be reunified under the Yi dynasty. The Yi dynasty would establish a strong bureaucracy through ruthless political repression and further entrench neo–Confucianism into Han culture, making it its state religion. These efforts would lead in the height of classical Han culture, trade, science, literature, and technology, and set the basis of modern Han culture. However, starting in the late 18th century, the Yi dynasty would suffer from severe political strife and decentralisation, with power eventually devolving to local governors. Despite establishing a isolationist policy in the 19th century, it would be to resist Western imperialistic ambitions. It would be subject to multiple unequal treaties before ultimately being annexed by the United States following the Han–American War.

Today, Hani is considered a highly developed country, ranking fourth on the Human Development Index and wielding the world’s third-largest economy. It is an advanced information society, and globally ranks highly in education, quality of health care, ease of doing business and job security. A member of numerous international organisations, it is internationally recognised as a major regional power, a great power, and a potential superpower.

Etymology[]

History[]

Geography[]

Hani is an archipelago comprised of numerous islands. It is bordered by the Sea of Korea to the north, the Han sea (East Han Sea) to the east, the South China Sea (West Han Sea) to the west, and the Celebes Sea to the south. The island of Borneo is located a few hundred miles southwest while China is located directly to the northwest. The Moluccas and Sulawesi are located to the south-southwest. Hani's main island group, Hani proper (comprised of three island groups; Rusan, Bisayō, and Shonanmin), has a total of 7,107 islands with a total area of 300,000 km² (115,831 sq. mi).

The highest point in Hani is Mount Apo; located on the island of Shonanmin, it measures up to 2,954 meters (9,692 feet) above sea level. In contrast, Galathea Depth in the Han Trench is the deepest point in Hani and is the third deepest point in the world with a depth of more than 10,540 metres (34,580 feet). The trench is located in the Han sea. The longest river is the Gaya river which is located in the Gaya governorate. Its basin measures at a 27,280 km² (10,533 sq. mi) while having a total length of 505 km² (314 sq. mi). Ansan Bay, which is next to the capital city of Hanyang, is connected to its largest lake, Chagong Bay, via the Min River.

Hani is situated on the Western fringes of the Pacific Ring of Fire, and as a result, Hani experiences common seismic and volcanic activity, with up to twenty earthquakes registered daily. Fortunately, an overwhelming majority of these earthquakes are too weak to be felt or to pose a threat to the island's safety. Not all geographic features are so violent or destructive, an example of one of the most serene legacies of the geologic disturbances is the Parawōn River, which is one of the new Seven Wonders of Nature. The surrounding area is a major target of conservation efforts, as it is one of the few largely untouched places in Hani, and contains a full mountain-to-the-sea ecosystem and a high endemism rate.

Being located in the tropics, most of the islands, with the notable exemption of Rusan (which is dominated by flatlands and urban agglomerations), are covered in thick tropical rainforest and are mainly volcanic in origin. As a result of its volcanic nature, Hani has the world's second-largest gold deposits, one of the largest copper deposits, but is also rich in nickel, chromite, and zinc. Hani is the world's second-largest geothermal producer (just behind the United States), providing roughly a fifth (approximately 18%) of the country's electricity demand.

Government and politics[]

Hani features a federal multi-party parliamentary representative democratic constitutional monarchy. The monarch is the head of state, but wields little actual political power and serves as a ceremonial figurehead, whose role is to embody the Han people. The majority of real political power is held by the Premier, who also leads the executive branch; he or she is appointed by the monarch, but designated by people through a popular vote. Although the monarch appoints the Premier, its constitution explicitly states the monarch must appoint whoever the majority of voters designated in the elections.

Hani's legislative body is the National Diet, seated in the capital city of Hanyang. The National Diet is bicameral, consisting of two chambers; the Senate (with 15 elected from every constituent state) and the National Congress (a total of 600 seats). The members of the National Diet are elected through popular vote, and is dissolved once every six years. All adults eighteen and above have universal suffrage, with a secret ballot for all elected offices. All members of the government, excluding the monarchy, are elected by the people of Hani.

The judicial branch is headed by the Supreme Court of Hani; while it is the highest court in the country, it only has appellate jurisdiction over appeals cases relating to general and criminal law. The Constitutional Court of Hani has original jurisdiction surrounding any cases that involve constitutionality, having also additional powers on deciding cases regarding administrative law.

Political parties[]

Hani is most commonly described as a one-party dominant state, having been dominated by the socially conservative, centrist Nationalist Party since the fifties whilst other parties are marginalised and excluded from mainstream politics. The Nationalist Party runs its campaigns based on the promotion of Confucian values, collectivism, conformity, with an elitist streak, as well as maintained socioeconomic and military expansion that is seen as a necessity to retain Hani's sovereignty.

Recently however, the ousting of the military junta in the seventies and the end of the persecution of political dissidents has allowed minority parties have flourished and grown in number, though none are large enough to threaten the preeminence of the Nationalist Party. The second largest party in Hani is the leftist Worker's Party, while the third largest party is the Unitary party, which advocates for a unitary system in place of a federal one. Other parties in Hani are often single-issue parties, basing their campaigns on a single issue. However, these type of parties has never had a significant influence on Han politics.

Administrative divisions of Hani[]

Hani proper, a region comprising the Han archipelago, is divided into eight governorates (douwou, 省), while outside regions outside Hani proper are directly governed by the federal government. Governorates are further divided into prefectures (jwou, 州), component cities (shi, 城市), and special cities (jingshi, 首都). All of these prefectures and equivalent prefecture-level equivalents are further divided into sub-entities including counties (shan, 县), districts (gyuchin, 区), towns (changgi-il, 镇), neighbourhoods (changri-il, 邻里), villages (soon, 村), and hamlets (sooring, 村庄).

Each governorate is led by the governor, and he or she is tasked with enforcing both national and local law in their governorate. Meanwhile, prefectures and prefecture-level equivalents are led by the lead chairmen, which is the highest rank in the municipal council. As Hani is a federal state, governorates enjoy partial autonomy in internal affairs and decisions. However this autonomy is restricted in some fields, for example, there is a set of core laws that are designated by the federal government, and governorates may be reorganised or dissolved per the discretion of the National Diet.

A growing portion of the National Diet (which is the legislative body of Hani) has advocated for the replacement of the current federal system in favour for the creation of a unitary state. This move is meant to combat separatism and regionalism among Han governorates. Opponents have said that the cost of creating and maintaining provincial boundaries would be a financial burden, and that the separatist movements and regionalism would only be amplified by the decision.

Military[]

Hani wields the fourth-most powerful military in the world according to both the Military Power Index and the Global Firepower Index. It traditionally has been non-interventionist and defence-oriented, though the Second Cold War has prompted it to increase military intervention abroad. Hani's annual military budget comprises about 3% of its gross domestic product, with the prime focus being on the manufacturing of aircraft, missile, and naval technology. While Hani has signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, it allegedly possesses a small stockpile of nuclear weapons, though it has actively denounced these accusations.

The Ministry of Defense and Public Security is responsible for the coordination of Hani's defence and military capabilities, and is based, with all federal government branches, in the Imperial district of Hanyang. The armed forces of Hani is divided into four branches; the Han People's Army, the Han People's Air Force, the Han People's Navy, and the Han People's Coast Guard, all of which are collectively known as the Han Crown Armed Forces. As the role of the monarchy is to embody state, the members of the Han military swear loyalty and allegiance to the monarch as well as the Han people.

Military service is a voluntary manner, but conscription occurs during times of war. During times of war, all able-bodied and men between the ages of 21 and 23 are automatically drafted. Those who have moral objections may receive other options, such as being a medical personnel or engineer. As of today, Hani has over 6,300,000 active military and reserve personnel. The reserve personnel of Hani predominantly consists of ex-conscripts with an obligation to undertake three days of training annually.

LGBT rights[]

Gay rights in	Same-sex sexual activity	Recognition of relationships	Same-sex marriage	Adoption by same-sex couples	Gays allowed to serve openly in military?	Anti-discrimination laws concerning sexual orientation	Laws concerning gender identity/expression
Hani	Legal (No laws against same-sex sexual activity has ever existed in the country)		(since 2003)			Bans all hate crimes and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity	Transsexuals allowed to change legal gender

Economy[]

The skyline of Hanyang; Hani's capital and most populous city.

Hani is a highly developed economy, the second largest in the world. According to estimates from the World Bank Organization, Hani's economy at power purchasing parity stood at roughly $9 trillion, ranked third globally. A major economic power, it is a member of many economic organisations, including G20, G7, the Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation, World Trade Organization, and the the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Hani's free market economy is considered to follow the East Asian model of capitalism. It is a centrally planned economy where all major economic sectors, such as the banking sector, save for the services and industrial sector, are fully nationalised and publicly owned. However, the industrial sector is instead dominated by privately-owned large-scale business conglomerates known as the changsu, which are similar to the chaebol of Korea and the keiretsu of Japan. Meanwhile, the services sector is dominated by privately small to medium sized corporations.

Hani's economy is driven by the production and exportation of high-tech precision goods such as consumer electronics, semiconductors, fine machinery, and petrochemicals. It is the world's second-largest exporter, but despite its wide-scale economic involvement in other regions, it is a well-known practicer of protectionism, placing high tariffs and has trading quotas on foreign imports to limit competition with domestically produced goods. However, this does not stop it from being the fifth-largest importer (importing roughly $700 billion worth of goods) as the economy relies on lots of petroleum, raw materials such as coal, timber, and agricultural goods to meet local food demands.

Labour[]

Hanworker — A Han worker working in a semiconductor factory owned by the Han conglomerate Sanbit.

Workers' rights are both enshrined and entrenched in the Han Constituition, and as a result, Han labourers enjoy one of the highest working standards and wages within the region. The Han minimum wage is at $7.5 every hour, or $15,000 annually, and with the exception of temporary workers, receive benefits that include health insurance and subsidised tuition fees for their children (if they have any).

Working hours are traditionally long; an excess of more than 1,800 hours annually (or eight hours per day), with the working week being from Monday to Friday. This long working time is a result of the government's attempt to facilitate economic expansion–despite increased labor costs and a decline in the working-age population–through heightened productivity per worker, higher employment, and the mechanisation of non-skilled labour. However, in response to several key problems brought by this long working period, the current administration has established a campaign that aims to lower working hours to 1,200 (a 33% decrease) hours a day within a 10-year period.

Many problems stem from the long working hours, including reported incidences of deaths in which workers were pushed to suicide or heart attacks/strokes brought by stress, an issue also prevalent in nearby Korea, South Japan, and South Vietnam. It is also largely responsible for the country's low birth rate, prompting the government to introduce efforts to facilitate child rearing by subsidising child care services.

Currency[]

The Han chang (Sign: 钱 or ¢; Code: HNC) is the official currency of Hani. It is divided into séng by a ratio of 1/100, and further divided into mūn by a ratio of 1/1,000. The chan is largely issued in the form of banknotes, with coins becoming increasingly obsolete due to their low value coupled with rising consumer prices. A result of its miraculous growth, the chang has emerged as the world's third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the American dollar ($) and the Euro (€). A low inflation rate and value has led to its candidacy as a potential global reserve currency and is currently going further internationalisation in case either dollar or the euro crashes.

Demographics[]

Population[]

Han women cheongsam — Two Han women wearing chōngsam, the designated national dress of Hani

In 2016, the Han Census Bureau counted a total of 176 million people in Hani, a figure that includes citizens and foreign-born permanent residents, but excludes nonpermanent residents (defined as those who have lived in Hani for under a year) and tourists.

Hani is an ethnically homogenous society with approximately 99% of its residents being of Han ethnicity. The remaining percent are foreign expatriates; most of which are either mail-order brides or domestic workers from mainland Asia. The largest foreign immigrant enclaves are only found in Hanyang and the rest are dispersed evenly among the rest of Hani's major cities. The consistency of the population is attributed to strict immigration policies, though recently the rise of Han pop culture overseas has initiated the relaxation of these policies and the resulting rise in immigrants.

Citizenship and nationality are determined through jus sanguinis (right of blood); under Han law, any person with at least one legal parent of Han ancestry, regardless of place of birth and nationality can apply for citizenship. Introduced in the eighties, dual citizenship is restricted to foreign-born Hans that has lived in their host country for at least five years.

Language[]

The Han language is the official language of Hani, with 95% of Hans having the ability to speak and write in said language fluently. Like many other languages, it has three dialects, with the Hanyang dialect being the standardised form. The official global regulatory body of the Han language is the Commission on the Han language, which governs the proper usage of the Han language.

English is the second most prominent language as words of English origin are often incorporated into signs and media. While it is mandatory in secondary and postsecondary education, the usage of English is minimal and only half of Hans have the ability to maintain a conversation in English. Other languages spoken in Hani that have a sizeable number of speakers are Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese, although their uses are largely limited within the ethnic enclaves of their origin.

Religion[]

Religious affliation in Hani

Irreligion/other			43%
Buddhism			39.2%
Roman Catholicism			10.8%
Protestanism			7%

Han-Temple-400 — Buddhism is mostly concentrated within the areas surrounding the capital of Hanyang, as it is the region that historically received the most Chinese influence.

Churchhani — A church in Bundōkshi, which is the sole Christian-majority city in the whole of Hani.

According to its constitution, Hani is a secular state, being supportive of the separation of church and state doctrine. Hani guarantees the freedom of religion and ever since the end of its pre-modern era, never had an official state religion.

Buddhism is the most practiced religion, having been introduced by missionaries from China and Korea. The most common branch of Buddhism is Mahayana Buddhism (with the most practiced sect of it being amidism), practiced by over ~90% of the Buddhist population. Other practiced branches are Theravada Buddhism and Vajrayana Buddhism.

Christianity, which has gained prominence at the end of the American occupation and provisional government, is the second largest religion determined by the number of followers. The Catholic branch of Christianity is the largest, with the largest denomination being Roman Catholicism. The Protestant branch is the second largest branch. The Presbyterian denominations are the largest Protestant churches, followed by Evangelicalism, and the Baptist tradition.

The overwhelming majority of Hans has described themselves as being either spiritual but not religious, irreligious, agnostic, and/or atheist. However, despite this and rigorous Westernisation, Han culture remains heavily influenced by traditional religions such as Buddhism and Taoism. While it is not a religion, Han culture is also heavily influenced on concepts deriving from neo–Confucianism.

Culture[]

Cuisine[]

Fried cellophane noodles with shrimp Pad woon sen kung

Han cuisine, which is described as outwardly simple but rich in taste, is strongly fusionist, borrowing heavily from Chinese cuisine (particularly the regional Cantonese and Kuhchia cuisines), but also incorporating aspects of Korean, Japanese, Thai, and Indian cuisine. Han cuisine emphasises the freshness of ingredients (typically picked at the height of its quality), the balance of flavour between condiments and other components, and the texture of the dish.

Rice, as with many other Asian cultures, enjoys status as the staple grain and make up the basis of a Han diet. Pork, beef, chicken, and seafood are the most used meats, but Han cuisine encompasses almost all edible meats, readily making use of offal, chicken feet, duck's tongue, snakes, and snails. Fruits such as bananas, avocados, and dragonfruit are frequently consumed raw and are rarely added into dishes, while vegetables are typically boiled.

Condiments are used lightly and sparingly, as to not overwhelm other flavours. However, a notable exception is garlic, which is used heavily in dishes that utilise internal organs (such as entrails) to mask the otherwise unpleasant odour. The primary condiments (excluding spices) include spring onion, sugar, salt, soy sauce, rice wine, corn starch, vinegar, scallion oil, and sesame oil. Meanwhile, the spices used are primarily ginger, chili peppers, five-spice powder, powdered black pepper, star anise. With the exception of garlic and coriander (with the latter being used merely as garnish), there is little to no usage of fresh herbs in Han cuisine.

The most favoured method of cooking is stir frying or steaming. Stewed, braised, roast meats play a central place in their repertoire, with most processed meats being delicacies. Other cooking methods are shallow frying, double steaming, and deep frying.

Dining etiquette[]

Eating is considered an important social activity that reinforces relations between the family. Eating is typically led by a host or hostess (or in some cases multiple hosts), who are either the main cooker of the meals or the leader of the household. The youngest and eldest members of the family usually receive the first dishes.

Chopsticks are the primary eating utensils, used to pick pieces of meat, vegetable, and rice. When consuming soups, a Chinese-style spoon is used to scoop the liquid contents while the solid contents are still picked up with the use of chopsticks. A knife is seldom used to handle tough meats.

Side dishes include pickled vegetables, mashed potatoes, and salads, and typically start a meal along with drinks such as tea or boba tea. These dishes work as an appetiser or to balance the strength of the main courses. To conclude meals, sweets such as fruit and sweet-drinks are consumed.