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To be honest, the rules of the challenge seemed kind of vague in the OP, but looking through some examples of the pre-1900 version, it seems like you're asking for OTL people who were born a bit differently (different sex, etc.), and then seeing how they turned out? Nevermind. Read through...

Thanks everybody! Great to have you all along! Thanks for the recommendation. I had previously gone through Kissinger's "Years of Renewal" for background on US-China relations in this period, but I'll be sure to check out "On China" as well. You're right, the direction of reform is...

Well, a while back I was going to suggest that you include more conservative dissatisfaction with McCain as being too soft, but then you did exactly that! So I think the TL is going fine on the path you've got right now.

Yeah, I had to stop and try to figure that one out for a second too. :)

A delegation of top Chinese leaders arrived in Guangzhou yesterday in an apparent effort to bring an end to the civil unrest plaguing the country’s southern provinces. A report broadcast on Radio Guangdong announced that Ye Jianying, the 82-year old Vice-Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party...

I’m not so sure about that. If the mainland is still devotedly Maoist, that would likely mean that they’re still dedicated to “liberating” Taiwan, or at least still use that kind of rhetoric. If China is an isolated and mistrusted pariah in the international community, it’s likely these...

It's also been done in *coughcough* other timelines as well. :rolleyes:

Republic of Canton? I would never have expected that! But you make a great point, I hadnt thought about the overseas Chinese, but they could really have a strong influence in a split-up China. I'm a little fuzzy on the details too, but a while back I remember reading a book called "Song and...

Great concept you’ve put together! The irony of the VP pick backlash made me laugh. And I think the minimalist headline/picture style you’ve been using works perfectly for this kind of story, giving us all the information we need without bogging us down in OTL detail we already know.

Well, could we have some ethnic divides after all? Nothing major, but could some of the minorities in the south make a move for independence?

lol, I think I'm going to start using that now and see what kinds of reactions I get.

The prospect is too hideous to contemplate. And thank you for the mental image. That would be an interesting scenario, Nixon as a Sihanouk-type figure.

Starting at a POD of his resignation on August 9, 1974, what can Richard Nixon do in his post-presidency to have the worst possible effect on the US or the world at large? Conversely, what is the best, most beneficial influence he could have? As for the worst-case scenario (which IMO is the...

Fun times are always around the corner whenever Suslov comes to power in a 1970s TL. :)

Good point. Saddam had been more or less fixed in the American psyche as one of the top bad guys for most of the past decades, whereas I’d say that since the 80s no one really paid much attention to Gaddafi. As for North Korea, IIRC one of the main reasons for starting the Iraq War, at...

My first thought was that there wouldn't be so much of a "complete breakdown of discipline" (as Tom B put it) as there was in OTL. With the aforementioned reforms coming gradually rather than as part of a major, epochal event like an ecumenical council, there'd be less of a temptation to buy...

Great stuff! I've been following this TL for a while now, and I've been on the edge of my seat the whole time. It will be very interesting to see where things go from here. One of the first questions is what will happen to Li Peng now that he's in the hands of the people, but one longterm...

That's not a bad idea. So far, I've tried to include several misleading or misinformed sources, but I hadn't thought of including a more extended "visitor's report" style. As you suggest, this kind of approach would likely add a bit more color to what all too often has tended towards a dry...

And mine too.

Wow, this is impressive. Your grasp of all the background of the political ins-and-outs is remarkably thorough, but not to the point where it bogs the story down. And I think all your detail gives this timeline the potential to be very realistic. I'll definitely be following this! One...