Democratic Republic of Yuanjing

元靖民主共和国

The Democratic Republic of Yuanjing is a major Stelsoc power located in the coreward reaches of the Pariah Sector. The colonies that would eventually make up Yuanjing were some of the earlier colonies in the region, established by China shortly after the initial charting of the Pariah Sector. Largely colonized by citizens from the Chinese directorate of the then Solar League, the region did develop a sense of cultural unity, and it was a hotbed of Communist thought, with thinkers from this region being key in developing Stellar Socialist (Stelsoc) ideology. In the years following the Great Cataclysm, the Democratic Republic of Yuanjing would be founded and would become the largest and most powerful and prominent Stelsoc state in charted space, and is building an alliance with Cincastrella against the State of Pariah.

Culture

The people of Yuanjing can, for the most part, trace their lineage back to original settlers from China, many of whom were dissidents against a state that had abandoned the path set out by the Communists in favor of kowtowing to Rentierist hegemony. It became a bastion of socialist thought early in galactic history, and has, despite changes in the ideological roots, maintained this tradition. People of Yuanjing tend to be very communitarian with a strong emphasis on promoting the public good as if not the highest aim, at least one of them. Yuanjing arts are often visual in nature with traditional painting, photography, trids, and holograms all pursued, and these works are the Democratic Republic's most widely appreciated cultural export. It is of course no slouch in the other arts but doesn't export music and the performing arts nearly as much as the visual.

History

The history of Yuanjing can be traced back to the earliest days of interstellar colonization, with the development of the first jump-capable ships, and the breakdown of traditional nation-states on Earth in the 4th century AU. In this early phase of colonization, colonial charters were issued to countries to ease the mounting crisis of heavy population in the slowly degrading habitability of Earth. A contract was issued to China in AU 397 to colonize a series of systems in the Pariah Sector next to the Hawking Nebula, which was then perceived as dangerous. Initial remote terraforming attempts would start as early as AU 415, though colony ships would not launch until ten years later. In this early era of jump technology, the process of jumping parsec by parsec was, despite being way faster than the sublight freezer ships, still quite slow, and colonies would not be established until 429. In these earlier days of colonization, the concept of the nation-state was very much on the decline and the ever-greater influence of Earth's central government. Despite the resurgence of socialist movements, particularly within China in the last days of the nation-state, the rentierist control over the United Nations of Earth saw the Chinese state forced to abandon its socialist policies much to the chagrin of hardliners. As a result, the early colonists of what would become Yuanjing were these frequently leftist dissidents who were exiled to the colony to preserve order on the homeworld. Initial colonization was a long and slow process, as was the case with nearly every colony in the younger days, though by the 10th century AU, a stable, if not necessarily thriving series of colony worlds was producing materials and goods to be shipped back to Sol. As the Age of Unity passed, the colonies of Yuanjing would continue to grow, though that original current of dissidence and the increasing demands of the successive governments of Earth pressed harder on the folk living out in Pariah. It was during this time, that intellectuals hailing from the nascent intelligentsia of the colonies would begin to turn back to the venerable ideology that their ancestors were originally deported to the colonies for. In these years of slowly growing unrest, they would synthesize old socialist currents, make note of, and incorporate elements formed from the practical realities of interstellar civilization, and Stellar Socialism, Stelsoc, in its earliest forms was born. Armed with a new ideological fervor, the peoples of Yuanjing would organize strikes, protests, and rebellions would escalate throughout the later Age of Unity, culminating in the Great Yuanjing Rebellion, in which all three worlds would declare independence before being crushed utterly by the Stellar League in 1612. After the failure of the Great Yuanjing Rebellion, the Stellar League began to seed the Pariah Sector much more heavily than the small minor scattering of colonies, and in particular, would establish a strong Sector government. This had a chilling effect on further rebellions and quieted the region until the arrival of the Jred on the galactic stage in the last days of the Age of Unity. Though the peoples of the Yuanjing systems would not be heavily impacted by the Jred themselves the chaos following their wake. As the Stellar League broke down the people of Yuanjing would become increasingly rebellious. Several worlds, including those in the Yuanjing cluster, would declare their independence in this chaos, the Stellar League launched an attempt to bring these rebels to heel, but the Great Cataclysm brought an end to that notion. After the Great Cataclysm, the member worlds of the Yuanjing cluster would struggle to rebuild their shattered society, though the Jump Gate network in their sector of space was relatively intact and allowed for continued relatively safe use of jump drives, resources were scarce. An economic union would be formed in the years following the Fall, and grow more and more incorporated culminating in the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Yuanjing in AC 115. The Democratic Republic would very quickly assert its Stelsoc philosophy, and the planning of the economy, though a slower process than the establishment of the Republic would pay dividends, allowing the Republic to stabilize fairly quickly. As conditions in the wider galaxy began to improve the Republic would seek out other societies that had survived the Cataclysm. The reach of Yuanjing expanded fairly quickly, as did the influence of Stelsoc thought. The influences of the Democratic Republic would put it at odds with many of its neighbors particularly the State of Pariah, which it fought several minor wars with before settling into a cold war. In recent history, Yuanjing would ally with Cincastrella, another Stelsoc state that neighbors it, and would work to spread its ideology to the wider galaxy. The Republic's economy grew rapidly in these years, with many of its worlds achieving high levels of technological advancement and production.

Demography and Population

The Democratic Republic of Yuanjing is a highly populated state, with a population rivaling the largest states closer to the core of charted space. There are currently 39,811,754,052 citizens of the Democratic Republic. This population is scattered around a few dozen worlds, most of which are sparsely populated colonies of the primary worlds of the Republic. The largest colonies are located in Xin Guangdong, Zui Liang, and Renmen di Xiwang, which have populations in the billions, aside from these there are several other colonies with populations in the millions some of which are recent agricultural settlements established to help feed the population of the denser industrial worlds. Though the Democratic Republic was initially settled primarily by colonists from China, it had become significantly more diverse in the centuries leading up to the Great Cataclysm, and now has a mixed population, though the descendants of the original colonization remain a slight majority.

Territories

The Democratic Republic of Yuanjing maintains a relatively small, but extremely dense territory spanning roughly 11 parsecs in size, with almost every parsec of Yuanjing space possessing an inhabited system. There are ten occupied systems within the territory of Yuanjing, almost every one of which has more than one inhabited world. Yuanjing has been putting effort into seizing control over Xin Fujian, a system struggling to survive, as well as establishing some measure of control over Chang-Er. Worlds within Yuanjing are a mixed lot, with some very verdant and lush worlds and some hostile desert worlds, and those with toxic atmospheres. Yuanjing, in conjunction with Cincastrella, has begun to redevelop the technologies necessary to quickly terraform worlds in order to bring much of its periphery into line with the expectations of developed colony worlds.

Military

The Democratic Republic of Yuanjing maintains a sizable standing military. In particular, its naval forces are large, as are its Red Guard, the primary force responsible for space-to-ground operations. In particular, the Red Guards' Special Service is a galaxy-renowned special operations force with well-regarded training The DRY's defensive capabilities are relatively minor, with much of its military geared towards offensive operations. The military of Yuanjing has been modernizing significantly in recent years, purchasing a few Cincastrella strike cruisers, as well as developing their own vessels more advanced than what the Standard Build Template system could offer for a colony in Pariah. They have even introduced the concept of the Fleet Carrier to the Pariah Sector, being the first examples of such seen in the region in centuries.

Technological Level

The Democratic Republic of Yuanjing is a fairly advanced state, with most of its core worlds, and a few within the periphery maintaining stellar era technological development. Though some worlds have regressed significantly, or indeed not developed the capability to reproduce advanced technology these tend to be sparsely populated worlds that have oftentimes been colonized fairly recently, already relying on imports from other member worlds. Though some worlds, particularly those within the Zui Liang system have approached the level of technical achievement before the fall, they are still working towards that goal.

Religion

The Democratic Republic of Yuanjing is, nominally a secular state, allowing the public practice of almost any religion in charted space. In practice however, almost all local governments strongly discourage the public practice of religion in favor of an atheistic worldview, and certain religions, most notably Opus Dei, have been outright banned either by planetary governors or by the Democratic Republic itself. Most of the population is irreligious, though there is a significant minority of persons who remain faithful, and traditional Old Earth religions remain dominant among the faithful with religions developed since the Great Cataclysm having struggled to find converts among the Jingli. The largest single religion in Yuanjing is Buddhism, specifically Mahayana Buddhism.

Foreign Relations

Yuanjing is perhaps the most influential Stelsoc state in charted space, and likely the galaxy. It has been a major foreign policy aim to assist in the spread of Stelsoc idealogy throughout the galaxy. To meet that end the DRY has funded revolutionary groups throughout its galactic neighborhood and has been trying to do the same for rebels further afield, as well as doing ample trade with Stelsoc states already in existence. It has even offered a formal alliance to the Cincastrella Confederacy, one which has expanded, rapidly and now includes a development pact for Frontier Space. Its activities have garnered enemies, however, and it faces the near-constant threat of war with the State of Pariah, and the wider alliance of SASO.

Laws

Yuanjing is largely content to turn the particulars of the law to its member worlds. Generally, law levels are fairly low in the lesser populated worlds with stricter laws among worlds with higher populations. The world with the strictest laws in Changsha in Xin Hunan, but most worlds have a much looser grip on their citizenry. Generally, the broader Democratic Republic has laws restricting the ownership and usage of weapons, and unusually strong anti-drug laws. The Democratic Republic is noteworthy among states in charted space however in that it is the first state to have drafted and passed legislation explicitly protecting the right of psionic persons to exist and to practice their abilities in any way that is not deemed to cause harm to others.

Agriculture & Industry

The Democratic Republic of Yuanjing is largely a self-sufficient society, with ample agricultural and industrial output. However, its growing population and the heavy industrialization of its most populated worlds have made food increasingly difficult to supply to the bulk of the population. The economies of Yuanjing are generally very specialized with individual worlds contributing specific resources and goods to the larger industrial production chain, something which the central planning bureaus have spent decades optimizing to the greatest extent possible. To this end, the Democratic Republic manages to keep its population fed, provide its own resources as well as generating an industrial output sufficient to meet its own needs, trade with friendly powers as well as supply Stelsoc revolutionary movements throughout explored space.

Education

The Democratic Republic of Yuanjing maintains a reasonable education system, with a state-approved curriculum that is distributed throughout the whole of its territory. Students are expected to attend up to 18 years of schooling, 15 of which are mandatory. Students are given a broad curriculum on maths, natural science, the arts, civics, social science, and at least two languages. Most educational materials are sourced from the central bureaucracy with the production of materials happening on each of the worlds of the Democratic Republic. Yuanjing education is highly regarded and is considered among the highest quality outside of the Sol Sector.

Infrastructure

Yuanjing has in recent years been developing its infrastructure, though it has been a slow process due to the great effort required to do so, especially in conjunction with the slow expansion of territory under the Republic's banner. The Jump Gate Network runs through the territory of Yuanjing, with most of the major worlds having a jump gate system in place. Efforts have been made to connect the entire country to the network, however, the need to repair and replace existing systems and the difficulty of getting new assemblies have slowed those efforts. Thanks to the effort of the Democratic Republic since interstellar travel became easier, most worlds can expect at least an information age level of development.