alternatehistory.com
Chapter XII
Qilai! Qilai!
A history of Modern China
Yu Shyi-kun (Democratic Progressive)
(2004-2008)
"The Green Chairman"
A history of Modern China
Yu Shyi-kun (Democratic Progressive)
(2004-2008)
"The Green Chairman"
In February 2004, Yu Shyi-kun took office as Chairman of the People's Republic of China, the leader of a party whom had, before 2004, been a mere footnote in the Chinese political scene. Elected on a policy of stopping environmental waste, and strengthening the state against terrorism, and funding 'green nationalism in the fields'-- Yu was also the first political leader of Unified China to come from outside of the Mainland--he was Taiwanese, and had grown up during Chiang Kai-shek's tyrannical rule of the small island nation. As such, he had a lot of scrutiny staring at him through his initial days in office, but he remained resolute to 'assisting the one-China solution to full prosperity'. Strangely enough, this involved a rather bizarre set of circumstances with Mongolia.
Mongolia had been a largely loyal Soviet puppet regime through out the 20th century, but there had been a number of issues cropping up during this period. The Mongolian Communist Party grew more distant from the Muscovite line, and demonstrations against the excesses of the regime grew more common, and in many instances, more violent than ever. In March 2004, a military-lead, anti-communist coup d'etat took place in Mongolia, lead by an ambitious general whom believed that it was time to reorient more towards the European populist military alliance. In doing so, however, he found common enemies amongst the American, Soviet and Chinese leadership--all of whom which had a vendetta against the European military alliance which aimed to seed populist sentiment in their lands (Bloc Quebecois in Canada, the nascent Patriot Movement in America, and the New Union Party in Britain, and the 'Nine Banners' party in China), and create a "fourth pole" to carve out European power-hegemony in a world largely dominated by the Big Three.
While President Bush stayed out of the affair, dealing with domestic issues, and the continuing war with the Arab Caliphate, a summit was held between Chairman Yu and General Secretary Ryzhkov on the matter. It was at this point, that Yu felt he could begin to re-assert Chinese territorial claims that had lapsed in nearly a century. At the summit, Yu began to point out Mongolia's long-standing tradition of being under Chinese suzerainty, and argued that with Chinese assistance, Mongolia's democracy and liberty could flourish once again-- this was not a popular move in many circles, and the Soviets were reluctant to assent to allowing their puppet regime in Mongolia to be out-right invaded and conquered by the Chinese.
However, after the ambitious Mongol general decided to agitate for the liberation and unification of "all Mongols", including those living under the People's Republic of China -- and the inclusion of Tuvans and Siberians in the Mongol state, the Sino-Soviet relationship with the new Mongol regime soured quicker than it had been in the weeks prior, during the summit. In April, the General Secretary gave his assent for the Chinese intervention in Mongolia, and pledged Soviet assistance. The Chinese army soon invaded within days, and brought a quick end to the ambitious new nationalist regime. Europe protested loudly, claiming that the communists were 'suppressing the independence of sovereign nations', but were largely drowned out of the discussion. This had the knock-on effect, however, of sending waves of uncertainty through nations whom had previously been tributaries or out-right part of China's territory-- Philippines was one of those nations, which increased defense spending, and requested more American troops deployed to the northern parts of the country. China sent letters of concern to the United States, whom placated China by sending half of what the Philippines had requested, instead opting to deepen 'mutual peace ties' between the AFS and Beijing Pact.
Mongolia's annexation caused China their fair share of headaches--protests and in some instances, partisan actions became a common place into present day, but at the same end, China, despite their occupation of a free nation, has been encouraging Mongol language and culture in the 'federation of Asiatic peoples' that was the People's Republic of China. China was also pursuing similar lines with the remaining Manchus, Turks and Tibetans under their rule. While Beijing would never let them go, and they were clear on that, they were okay with allowing them to co-exist with the Han and Cantonese.
In October 2004, the Allied armies suffered a string of minor setbacks that prevented the war from being finished immediately, and instead prolonged it by at least six to eight months. This primarily involved poor tactics, leading to serious ambushes and breaking of sieges-- but also included a decrease in morale after an outbreak of venereal disease amongst Soviet, Chinese and American ranks. However, this did trigger a reform within the People's Liberation Army that instituted female conscription, which went into effect on January 1, 2005. In March 2005, the fundamentalist leadership of Arabia was captured, and almost immediately executed by a Soviet firing squad. There wasn't a trial, and nobody seemed to care if they died. For three months after the conclusion of the war, United States, Chinese and Soviet forces mopped up the remaining fundamentalist regimes in Africa, forcibly changing them to meet their views.
With the war concluded by June 2005, everything seemed to settle into peace, which brought tranquility back to China, which had been in a war footing for three years. During Yu's tenure as Chairman, he instituted lengthy eco-friendly policies that would give China a net benefit-- he instituted emission caps on companies whom had factories in Chinese territory, and expanded government projects to plant new trees. The Clemency By Bettering the Peoples Program was one of the center-pieces of his policy. Prisoners whom were incarcerated for non-violent offenses, would be given total clemency on the condition that they serve a certain number of hours doing things to help China's citizens-- building roads, buildings, schools, volunteering to clean up trash, plant trees, clean up waste, or even go to school to learn a trade or a certain nuance of knowledge. The largest demographic to take advantage of this program, were primarily drug offenders.
China, like most East Asian nations, had heavy penalties on casual drug use, so much to the point that possession of drugs named as illicit warranted imprisonment for over a year at a time. However, in 2006, under Yu's party's leadership, the law was reformed, and marijuana was effectively legalized-- however, they maintained heavy fines and imprisonment on drugs such as crack, cocaine and heroin (or opium). This was popular amongst younger generations, whom were becoming more and more pro-marijuana. He followed the example of the Ukrainian SSR, and the states of California, Florida, Minnesota and Maine, whom had all legalized marijuana in the early 2000s. This had the interesting effect of sparking the Chinese pot industry-- marijuana shops appeared in many Chinese cities, and the tax revenue raised from levying tax upon them allowed for Yu to fund his many programs, and pour more money than ever into the education system, which was still slightly behind the Americans and Soviets in terms of strength and ability to educate the masses.
Despite his popularity, and success in helping end the war and improve China's ecological footprint, he declined to run again in 2008, choosing instead to focus on continuing his environmental policies as the leader of a non-governmental organization (NGO). In February 2008, he was succeeded by Liu Yandong, the first woman to be the leader of China since Madame Mao over a generation ago. She was a member of the Democratic League, the party that had won the office in 2002, but had lost power after the assassination of their leader in the start of the Islamic War. She hailed the way forward as 'the start of the rest of the Chinese century', and called for 'the war to be behind us, and for China to stand up and show herself as the leader of freedom in the world'-- a resonant message that spread even to Chinese people living in other countries. But during her predecessor's rule, even after the war had ended, it hadn't stopped the winds of change from echoing through the world--and it wouldn't stop, even with her at the helm. She had tasks ahead, and she pledged she would do it as best as she could.
Chairwoman Liu Yandong (DL)
February 2008 - February 2014
Mongolia had been a largely loyal Soviet puppet regime through out the 20th century, but there had been a number of issues cropping up during this period. The Mongolian Communist Party grew more distant from the Muscovite line, and demonstrations against the excesses of the regime grew more common, and in many instances, more violent than ever. In March 2004, a military-lead, anti-communist coup d'etat took place in Mongolia, lead by an ambitious general whom believed that it was time to reorient more towards the European populist military alliance. In doing so, however, he found common enemies amongst the American, Soviet and Chinese leadership--all of whom which had a vendetta against the European military alliance which aimed to seed populist sentiment in their lands (Bloc Quebecois in Canada, the nascent Patriot Movement in America, and the New Union Party in Britain, and the 'Nine Banners' party in China), and create a "fourth pole" to carve out European power-hegemony in a world largely dominated by the Big Three.
While President Bush stayed out of the affair, dealing with domestic issues, and the continuing war with the Arab Caliphate, a summit was held between Chairman Yu and General Secretary Ryzhkov on the matter. It was at this point, that Yu felt he could begin to re-assert Chinese territorial claims that had lapsed in nearly a century. At the summit, Yu began to point out Mongolia's long-standing tradition of being under Chinese suzerainty, and argued that with Chinese assistance, Mongolia's democracy and liberty could flourish once again-- this was not a popular move in many circles, and the Soviets were reluctant to assent to allowing their puppet regime in Mongolia to be out-right invaded and conquered by the Chinese.
However, after the ambitious Mongol general decided to agitate for the liberation and unification of "all Mongols", including those living under the People's Republic of China -- and the inclusion of Tuvans and Siberians in the Mongol state, the Sino-Soviet relationship with the new Mongol regime soured quicker than it had been in the weeks prior, during the summit. In April, the General Secretary gave his assent for the Chinese intervention in Mongolia, and pledged Soviet assistance. The Chinese army soon invaded within days, and brought a quick end to the ambitious new nationalist regime. Europe protested loudly, claiming that the communists were 'suppressing the independence of sovereign nations', but were largely drowned out of the discussion. This had the knock-on effect, however, of sending waves of uncertainty through nations whom had previously been tributaries or out-right part of China's territory-- Philippines was one of those nations, which increased defense spending, and requested more American troops deployed to the northern parts of the country. China sent letters of concern to the United States, whom placated China by sending half of what the Philippines had requested, instead opting to deepen 'mutual peace ties' between the AFS and Beijing Pact.
Mongolia's annexation caused China their fair share of headaches--protests and in some instances, partisan actions became a common place into present day, but at the same end, China, despite their occupation of a free nation, has been encouraging Mongol language and culture in the 'federation of Asiatic peoples' that was the People's Republic of China. China was also pursuing similar lines with the remaining Manchus, Turks and Tibetans under their rule. While Beijing would never let them go, and they were clear on that, they were okay with allowing them to co-exist with the Han and Cantonese.
In October 2004, the Allied armies suffered a string of minor setbacks that prevented the war from being finished immediately, and instead prolonged it by at least six to eight months. This primarily involved poor tactics, leading to serious ambushes and breaking of sieges-- but also included a decrease in morale after an outbreak of venereal disease amongst Soviet, Chinese and American ranks. However, this did trigger a reform within the People's Liberation Army that instituted female conscription, which went into effect on January 1, 2005. In March 2005, the fundamentalist leadership of Arabia was captured, and almost immediately executed by a Soviet firing squad. There wasn't a trial, and nobody seemed to care if they died. For three months after the conclusion of the war, United States, Chinese and Soviet forces mopped up the remaining fundamentalist regimes in Africa, forcibly changing them to meet their views.
With the war concluded by June 2005, everything seemed to settle into peace, which brought tranquility back to China, which had been in a war footing for three years. During Yu's tenure as Chairman, he instituted lengthy eco-friendly policies that would give China a net benefit-- he instituted emission caps on companies whom had factories in Chinese territory, and expanded government projects to plant new trees. The Clemency By Bettering the Peoples Program was one of the center-pieces of his policy. Prisoners whom were incarcerated for non-violent offenses, would be given total clemency on the condition that they serve a certain number of hours doing things to help China's citizens-- building roads, buildings, schools, volunteering to clean up trash, plant trees, clean up waste, or even go to school to learn a trade or a certain nuance of knowledge. The largest demographic to take advantage of this program, were primarily drug offenders.
China, like most East Asian nations, had heavy penalties on casual drug use, so much to the point that possession of drugs named as illicit warranted imprisonment for over a year at a time. However, in 2006, under Yu's party's leadership, the law was reformed, and marijuana was effectively legalized-- however, they maintained heavy fines and imprisonment on drugs such as crack, cocaine and heroin (or opium). This was popular amongst younger generations, whom were becoming more and more pro-marijuana. He followed the example of the Ukrainian SSR, and the states of California, Florida, Minnesota and Maine, whom had all legalized marijuana in the early 2000s. This had the interesting effect of sparking the Chinese pot industry-- marijuana shops appeared in many Chinese cities, and the tax revenue raised from levying tax upon them allowed for Yu to fund his many programs, and pour more money than ever into the education system, which was still slightly behind the Americans and Soviets in terms of strength and ability to educate the masses.
Despite his popularity, and success in helping end the war and improve China's ecological footprint, he declined to run again in 2008, choosing instead to focus on continuing his environmental policies as the leader of a non-governmental organization (NGO). In February 2008, he was succeeded by Liu Yandong, the first woman to be the leader of China since Madame Mao over a generation ago. She was a member of the Democratic League, the party that had won the office in 2002, but had lost power after the assassination of their leader in the start of the Islamic War. She hailed the way forward as 'the start of the rest of the Chinese century', and called for 'the war to be behind us, and for China to stand up and show herself as the leader of freedom in the world'-- a resonant message that spread even to Chinese people living in other countries. But during her predecessor's rule, even after the war had ended, it hadn't stopped the winds of change from echoing through the world--and it wouldn't stop, even with her at the helm. She had tasks ahead, and she pledged she would do it as best as she could.
Chairwoman Liu Yandong (DL)
February 2008 - February 2014
- Asami
- Word Count: 1.4k