Alternative History
Guangxi
广西
Timeline: 1983: Doomsday
Flag of
Flag of
Location of
Sphere of Influence: Light Green
Direct Control: Dark Green
Other nation influence: Other Colours
Hechi: Black
Other major cities: Grey
Motto
知识是通往成功的道路
("Knowledge is the path to success")
Capital Hechi
Largest city Hechi
Other cities Liuzhou, Guilin
Language
  official
 
Mandarin, Zhuang
  others Cantonese
Religion Buddhism
Ethnic Group Han Chinese, Zhuang peoples
Demonym Guangxinese
Government Technocracy
  Legislature The Dozen Incorruptible Wise Ones
Population 8,184,278 (directly controlled areas)

~5,750,000 (est. sphere of influence population) 

Established 1983
Independence from People's Republic of China
  declared 1983
Currency Yuan
Time Zone -7

Guangxi is a survivor state of the People's Republic of China. It was formed by two soft-liner party officials who escaped the disaster of Doomsday by merely being at the right place at the right time.

History of Guangxi[]

Pre-Doomsday[]

Originally inhabited by a mixture of tribal groups known to the Chinese as the region first became part of China during the Qin Dynasty.The name "Guangxi" can be traced to the "Expansive" or "Wide" province of the Eastern Wu, who controlled south-eastern China during the Three Kingdoms period.

The Mongolian Yuan Dynasty established control over Yunnan during its conquest of Dali in 1253 and eliminated the Southern Song following the Battle of Yamen in 1279. Rather than ruling the area as a subject territory or military district, the Mongolians then established Guangxi ("Western Expanse") as a proper province. The area nonetheless continued to be unruly, leading the Ming Dynasty to employ the different local groups against one another.

The Manchurian Qing Dynasty left the region alone until the imposition of direct rule in 1726, but the 19th century was one of constant unrest. A Yao revolt in 1831 was followed by the Taiping Rebellion on 11 January 1851. Following the Wuchang Uprising, Guangxi seceded from the Qing Empire on 6 November 1911.

Being in the far south, Guangxi did not fall during the Chinese Civil War, but joined the People's Republic in December 1949, two months after its founding.

In 1958 Guangxi was converted into an autonomous region for the Zhuang at the recommendation of Premier. This decision was made, because the Zhuang were the biggest minority group in China, and was mostly concentrated in the province.

For most of its history, Guangxi was landlocked. In 1952, a small section of Guangdong's coastline was given to Guangxi, giving it access to the sea. This was reversed in 1955, then restored in 1965. During Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution, Guangxi was the site of thousands of incidences of cannibalism. While some development of heavy industry occurred in the 1960s and 1970s, the province remained largely a scenic tourist destination. The area around Hechi however, was developed to harness the wealth offered by the mineral riches and the hydroelectric potential saw many dams built for electricity.

Doomsday[]

Two medium-ranking Communist party officials from Beijing were touring the southern states in Spring 1983. As they travelled on the train to Nanning, they stopped in Hechi for breakfast. In Hechi, the sky lit up in the north and the lightened expanse widened across the northern horizon. A minute later the southern horizon was similarly lit up with the southeast almost blinding to look at. The two party officials attempted to phone a superior in Guangzhou but the phones were not working. Rushing back to the train a huge bang sounded from the south, followed by similar muffled sounds from the north and more from the south for the next several minutes. The train was not able to start and the officials discovered that the electricity was off.

An hour later, gale force winds hit from the south damaging the city, north of Hechi the southerly wind hit an oncoming northerly wind causing tornadoes that lasted for several minutes. By this time the city was almost in a state of panic. The party officials, raced around the city calling on the citizens to stay calm and recruiting people to spread the word. they quickly established a committee with the professors and leaders of Hechi.

Three days later, the refugees came and told the people of Hechi of the devastation in Nanning and Guiyang. The people of Hechi were forced into martial law as the committee seized power with the support of a small local army group, the police force and a large number of neighbourhood watch groups formed on September 26. Food continuously arrived from the local farms and after a few incidents between refugees and farmers, patrols were organised to guard the farms supplying the city.

Meanwhile, the hospitals were overflowing with injured refugees and a decision was made by the committee on September 30, to only accept injured refugees that were between the ages of 12 and 35 and had no physical or mental disorders. The doctors recognised the symptoms as radiation burns and radiation sickness and finally the truth set in...

Post-Doomsday[]

By early 1984, the refugee flow had stemmed and the city was in decline as almost one million citizens went to help on the farms. The committee established contact with nearby areas and the cities of Liuzhou and Guilin. The panicked mayors were more than happy to give away the reins of their cities to much higher ranking officials. Surveys explored the area of the three provinces of Guangxi, Guizhou and Hunan and slowly over the course of many years these areas were settled and held under loose control. Surveys into Yunan never returned and the area was abandoned as notable refugee populations were found in other areas.

In 1985 one of the party officials died of cancer and the remaining, more conservative official was left as the committee's head. He halted the surveys which were very expensive in terms of manpower and lost supplies. However, the state continued to grow as the search for more and more farmland continued.

In 1988 faint radio signals from Vietnam, Hainan and Macau were heard. Six surveys were sent out but none returned. These were to be the last official surveys.

In 1990 a notable group of nearly one million refugees from the eastern provinces were found in a time frame of two months, they had been fleeing a nation of brutal suppression and slavery - the Dragon State. The Supreme Leader of Guangxi immediately launched an expansion campaign toward the area where the refugees had come from but the Dragon State was nowhere to be found. Thus, after one year the expansion was halted after the unnuked major city of Changsha was discovered. The city was almost abandoned and a great sense of fear oppressed the remaining citizens, who all chose to flee to Guangxi with the returning victorous expedition corps. Guangxi gained a great deal of material taken from the industrial plants around Changsha which helped to fully re-establish Guangxi's pre Doomsday industry and then a little more. Guangxi also gained factory parts that could process building material, chemicals and minerals as well as create more parts. These would allow the establishment of a stable electricity grid in the major cities of Guangxi in several years time.

Guangxi from the start 2012

Contact[]

Eventually contact was established with other major survivor states. First with Macau in February 1991 during their period of expansion, when scouts from Macau discovered Guangxi farms. The scouts managed to inquire about Guangxi and discovered the fact that it was ruled by a Chinese Communist Party official. The Macaunese were somewhat unnerved to discover that the Chinese Communists had survived but soon discovered that the state was relatively small and not much stronger than the Macaunese. Talks over trade and land quickly frosted over but finally in late 1991, formal trade began between the two nations. However, the level of trade was insignificant as Macau snubbed off many communist attempts at fostering greater relations.

In June 1992 an expedition to Kumming came though and relations were established with Yunnan. In the coming months, Yunnan egged Guangxi to side with it but Guangxi declined, fearing that establishing close relations with such a totalitarian state would be detrimental to Guangxi's desired image, leaving only a frosty relationship but trade was still allowed to continue. Guangxi, worried over the potential threat posed by the unstable Yunnan and their territorial demands over Guangxi, strengthened their western border, much to Yunnan's displeasure.

The supreme leader fell ill in late 1993. The current medical technology of Guangxi was unable to help the ailing leader. Contact was established with Vietnam in 1994, with the democratic state also snubbing relations with the communist Guangxi. Realizing that in the new world order, to be communist was to be like a fly; dirty, annoying and unwanted; the supreme leader changed his will on his deathbed to ensure Guangxi would change ideologies and laws. Thus, distancing itself with the ideology that destroyed the world.

Technocracy[]

The death of the supreme leader in 1994 caused Guangxi to leave behind communism, allowing the leaders advisory council to take power and transform Guangxi into a technocratic nation. The announcement of the change in ideology was met with skepticism by many of Guangxi's people and the neighbouring nations. However after successful elections were held in November, relations with Vietnam and Macau warmed dramatically, whilst Yunnan cut all communication in disgust. Macau subsequently helped Guangxi in trading with nations overseas.

In 1999 after many years of growth, and the return of electricity, albeit intermittent, through the repair of the primitive hydroelectric dams in the central parts of Guangxi; life grew rather comfortable for many in the country. The new technocratic system was working well with all middle school graduates taking an amplitude test and questionnaire to discover their strengths and desires and allocate their future jobs. The aptitude test and questionnaires allowed many to enter a profession they both loved and were good at, thus leaving the nation's populace content.

An expedition during 1999 to Fujian discovered the state of Taiwan and trade and relations were quickly established, the only problem between the two nations was Taiwan's territorial demands. In 2000, the first government authorized expeditions to Guilin and Nanning were sent and the news was not good. It would be many years before those areas could be resettled.

Expeditions to the coast were very successful and in 2001 a ship with a strange flag was sighted on the coast. Subsequent contact revealed that Hainan had survived and turned democratic. Trade and negotiation promptly began. An expedition accidentally came across Nanchung in 2002. The state sat over a nuked city and was ignored by Guangxi as a future partner. Expeditions into that area have thus been cancelled as Nanchung was declared out of bounds. In 2004, expeditions to the north revealed Gansu and the PRC. The survival of the PRC was unnerving to Guangxi, showing just how far Guangxi had come. With many pockets of Chinese civilization growing, Guangxi and its citizens decided that they needed to help nations such as Gansu by establishing a reliable port and coastline. Thus, preparations for a war against the bandits and brigands that roamed Southern Guangxi began.

Expansion of Guangxi[]

The First Guangxinese War of Expansion began on the 16th of March 2012. Troops from the regular army as well as the first reserves began to rapidly move south as they attempted to reach and secure the southern portion of the Chinese province. Many of the gangs and thugs inhabiting this area were initially taken by surprise by the sudden and rapid attack. However, things rapidly changed after Guangxi took Nanning on the 20th; gang leaders formed a united coalition against Guangxi. However, the highly trained Guangxi army still outnumbered and outclassed the bandits and gangs who were slowly but inevitably pushed to the coast and defeated. With the port secured, Guangxi began to build a small fishing fleet and sent permanent abassadors to the ANZC and SAC. In the future, Guangxi hopes to play a role in the peaceful reunification of the Chinese states.

Politics[]

The politics of Guangxi are highly sophisticated with membership into the inner circle of twelve that governs the nation incredibly hard to obtain. The high level of morality and logic necessary to enter the inner circle has earned them the nickname, "the dozen, incorruptible wise ones". Each member of the inner circle specializes in one area of the following: Defense, Economy, Education and Research, Environment, Exploration, Foreign Affairs, Health Services, Industry, Infrastructure, Justice, Resources and Water Management and Decontamination.

The chairman of the inner circle rotates every month and the term of service is until resignation or death. Any person over the age of 16 can enter the inner circle should the position be empty and they meet the criterion.

These twelve head the People's Congress where two hundred elected intellectuals from the nation, gather to pass various bills and discuss issues affecting the nation. For a bill to pass the congress at least 101 members and nine of the inner circle must vote to allow it to pass, or should the entire inner circle vote a bill to pass it automatically passes.

The aforementioned intellectuals must have also passed a morality and logic test and completed a university level course. They are elected for terms of ten years with half elections every five years. The next one is scheduled for 2014.

To sum it up, Guangxi has elements of communism but also democratic government, but is foremost a technocracy.

Economy[]

Guangxi's economy has improved rapidly since 1990. With the industrial parts taken from around Changsha, Guangxi has been able to develop both its industrial and agricultural sectors. The lucky finding of factories in Changsha that manufactured machine parts has resulted in Guangxi's industry expanding into new sectors. Guangxi mines its own coal from Guizhou to supplement the hydroelectric power plants and has some oil deposits. However the current level of technology in extracting oil shale is not sufficient. A small, but growing, surplus of rice is produced each year due to the continued fertility of the region and is exported to Macau and Gansu.

Military[]

Guangxi has a military of around 200,000 people with at least another half a million reserves. These brave men and women defend the frontiers of Guangxi. Some in the elite Guangxi Exploration Corps are sent to annex and explore the lands in the name of Guangxi. The weapons used in the military are mostly pre-Doomsday models but newer models from overseas are trickling in from the SAC and ANZC. Guangxi also has designed several models of gun which are produced in factories near Hechi. These weapons are on offer to other states in return for military alliances.

Flag of Guangxi[]

The flag of Guangxi is rather unusual, however it has deep symbolic meaning.

The Black stands for the dark days of Doomsday and the Green stands for the growth years after Guangxi picked itself up. The three small, 5-pointed stars represent the three original provinces of Guangxi, based off the old Chinese prefecture system. They are located in the black as they were the first provinces of Guangxi, established soon after Doomsday. The two large red stars stand for the communist party officials that founded and brought order to the region. Lastly is the river running through the flag, symbolic as Guangxi has many rivers running throughout the nation and relies heavily on them to survive.

Current Relations[]

Relations are very warm with Vietnam, Macau, Gansu, Taiwan and Hainan. Guangxi has not established relations with Nanchung merely as they believe it insignificant. Guangxi has established formal relations with the ANZC, SAC, Jiangsu, the PRC, Imperial China, Korea and India, but they are just to develop. There has been no communications with Yunnan since 1994. Most international relations are dealt with via Macau but recent events are sent to change that.