China (From Sea to Shining Sea)

China, officially known as the Chinese Federation, is a constitutional monarchy in East Asia.

Formation
In June 11, 1898, the Guangxu Emperor undertook the Hundred Days' Reform. On September 22, 1899, China completed its transformation into a constitutional monarchy, despite difficulties such as a failed attempt by Empress Dowager Cixi to take over the government. 2,000 years of Imperial China had finally ended, and in its place a new republic was formed. Yuan Shikai was elected as China's first prime minster on December 12, 1899, while the emperor became a powerless figurehead, completely unrelated to the government. The Royal Court became the judicial branch of the government, with a Royal Parliament organized as the legislative branch. China was controlled by a provisional government, known as the "Chinese Republic". Under the Shikai's rule, China was divided among local militias, forming separate self-governing areas called "provinces", though these remained bound to the central government. In response, Shikai renamed China from the "Chinese Republic" to the "United Provinces of China", later renamed to the "Chinese Federation" by Mao in 1967, which began forming relationships with Russia and the United States.

Early History
Nationalist movements in Mongolia lead to its independence from China in 1915. China provided support for Russia in the Russo-Japanese War, though with Lenin as Russia's prime minister, the war ended as quickly as China joined. Under Shikai, China built a strong national military under his conservative and anti-Japanese policies. He blamed the lack of a nation military is the reason for their loss in the war against the Japanese, and started merging local militias into a single nation army: the "Royal Preservation Army". Shikai also began to industrialize China with the hope of strengthening the military. He saw a second war with Japan as inevitable, and believed China must move forward technologically if it was to survive. Under Yan-sen, China became increasingly more democratic, reforming China's government to resemble the United States' government. China was transformed from a confederacy to a federation, and a split in the Royal Party lead to the creation of a right-wing party and a left-wing party in 1912. Political divisions nearly lead to breakup of China among its warlords, nearly leading to a civil war, though by 1919, the intervention of the Xuantong Emperor had prevented this from taking place.

World War 2
In the Second Sino-Japanese War, Japan invaded China through Korea on July 7, 1937, and within 2 months the province of Manchuria. Japan began an invasion of the Chinese capital of Nanjing, however, the Chinese military quickly repelled the invasion and began attacking Japanese colonies such as Taiwan. On June 30, 1942, Chinese forces invaded Korea through the Liaodong Peninsula, by which time Taiwan had been captured by the Chinese. Finally, on September 9, 1945, after 3 years of Stalemate and Japan's surrender to America, the Japanese Empire signed a peace treaty with China. Peace negotiations transferred Korean land above the 38th parallel to China, while land below the 38th parallel would remain under Japanese control. With the end of the war, China established the Korean Republic, a satellite state in northern Korea that became independent from China in 1975.

Involvement in the Cold War
The conflicting communist economy of America with the capitalist economy of China lead to tensions between China and America. Though tensions with America eased when the alliance between America and Japan collapsed in 1971, and America joined the embargo on Japan.

Modern day
By modern day, Chinese citizens enjoy the ninth-high standard of living, thirteenth lowest infant mortality rate, the world's third-largest industry, the fifteenth-least corrupt and eighth-most stable government. In the modern world, China benefits from large economy, the largest army, and a large number of allies, but suffers from in inability to feed its population and a severe population explosion.

Form of government
The Chinese Federation is structured as a federation; a union between self-governing "provinces". Each province is allowed to make its own laws and collect taxes. However, if a province's laws conflict with national laws, it will be nullified, and a percentage of taxes collected by the provinces must be given to the government. Each province is allowed to organize its own military, though these become groups within the national military rather than remaining independent.

Branches of government
The federal government has 3 components: the executive branch, the legislative branch, and judicial branch. The executive branch is comprised of a prime minister and cabinet, the legislative branch is comprised of the Royal Assembly, and the judicial branch is comprised of the Royal Court. A system of "checks and balances" exists to prevent any one branch of government from becoming to powerful.

Political parties
Chinese politics is dominated by 2 parties: the right-leaning Nationalist Party (originally the Conservative Party) and left-leaning Communist Party (originally the Progressive Party). For most of the 20th century, Chinese politics was dominated by the Nationalist Party, though as the Cold War thawed in 1990s, power shifted to the Communist Party. Currently, communists hold a majority in the government, with Prime Minter Xi Jinping and the majority of Royal Assembly being members of the Communist Party.