Huguang-Zhongyuan (1983: Doomsday)

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Not to be confused with Taiwan (1983: Doomsday)

Republic of China
中華民國 Zhōnghuá Mínguó
Timeline: 1983: Doomsday
OTL equivalent: Central China (Location),

Flag Seal Orange: Direct, Civilian Control Light Orange: Indirect, Military Control Motto 光从黑暗中 Guāng Cóng Hēi'àn Zhōng ("Light out of Darkness")
Anthem	"National: Cn: 三民主义 Sānmín Zhǔyì En: Three Principles of the People Military: Cn: 革命三月 Gémìng Sān Yuè En: The Revolutionary March"
Capital	Xinjing
Largest city	Yichang
Other cities	Jingzhou, Shiyan, Suizhou, Jingmen, Enshi, Nanyang, Yueyang, Changde, Changsha, Xiangtan, Zhuzhou, Pingxiang, Xinyang, Susong
Language   official	None, de facto Chinese ([1])
others	Chinese (Mandarin), Tujia, Miao, Tibetan, Others
Religion   main	Atheism (32.26%)
others	Buddhism (23.3%), Islam (12.5%), Taoism (6.5%), Confucianism (6.04%), Chinese Folk Religions (7.0%)
Ethnic Groups   main	Han Chinese (90%)
others	Tujia (3.2%), Miao (2.3%), Hui (1.3%), Tibetan (0.2%), Other 3.00%)
Demonym	Chinese
Government	Unitary semi-presidential republic (Constitutionally Socialist)
Legislature	Cn: 议院 Yìyuàn En: Assembly Upper House: Cn: 国家立法议院 Guójiā Lìfǎ Yìyuàn En: National Legislative Assembly Lower House: Cn: 人民立法议院 Rénmín Lìfǎ Yìyuàn People's Legislative Assembly
Population	22,320,523 (2012 Estimate)
Established	Neolithic Settlement: 125,000 - 80,000 BCE Neolithic Cultures: 10,000 - 5,000 BCE Early Imperial Period: c. 1,600 - 221 BCE Consolidation of China under the Qin Dynasty 221 BCE Middle Imperial Period: 221 BCE - 1279 CE Mongol Conquests: 1235 - 1279 CE Late Imperial Period: 1279 - 1912 CE Xinhai Revolution: October 10, 1911 - February 1, 1912 CE Proclamation of the Republic of China (1912 - 1949): January 1, 1912 CE May 4 Movement: May 4, 1919 Chinese Civil War: August 1, 1927 - December 22, 1936, March 31, 1946 - February 9, 1961 Proclamation of the People's Republic of China: October 1, 1949 Republican Retreat to Taiwan: December 1949 Doomsday: September 23, 1983 February 14 Movement: February 14, 1989 - May 4, 1989 Xinwei Revolution: May 4 1989 - January 21, 1991 Proclamation of the Republic of China: February 15, 1991
Independence	from People's Republic of China (1949 - 1983)
declared	February 1, 1991
Currency	Chinese (RoC) Yuan
Time Zone	Chinese Standard Time, -7

Huguang-Zhongyuan, officially the Republic of China, or alternatively known as Hubei, the Third Chinese Republic, or sometimes as the Republic of China-Xinjing, is a landlocked nation located primarily in pre-Doomsday's Hubei Province, China. Considering itself the successor to both the historic People's Republic of China and Republic of China (Taiwan), the newly formed continental Republic of China has a complicated relationship with the rest of China.

In a state of undeclared war with the New PRC and Taiwan, the Third Republic has only begun to establish diplomatic and economic relations with the other survivor states in China in recent years. This is because Huguang-Zhongyuan refused to acknowledge the full sovereignty of the other Chinese nation-states, which the Republic of China considered to be unlawfully occupying its territory, or as autonomous entities within the Third Republic.

As a result of the ____ Administration's policies of 开放与和平重返社会 Kāifàng yǔ hépíng chóng fǎn shèhuì, or Openness and Peaceful Integration, Huguang-Zhongyuan has been favouring a diplomatic approach to integrating the south-central Chinese nation states as opposed to its previous policy of revolution and military liberation. Huguang-Zhongyuan currently enjoys close political and economic ties with Jiangsu, Guangxi, and Yunnan. _____'s Kāifàng led the Third Republic to recognize Tibet as a sovereign nation, insisting that Xinjing is only concerned with reunifying the Chinese nation, not overt imperialism.

Huguang-Zhongyuan has not expressed interest in joining the League of Nations due to the international community's recognition of Taiwan as the sole government in China as well as the new USSR's recent annexations of former Chinese territory. The Republic of China remains adamant that Socialist Siberia should allow referendums to take place in the Uyghur and Manchurian Socialist Republics to legitimize the annexations through popular sovereignty and representation.

Since the Third Republic established diplomatic and economic relations with several Chinese survivor states, Huguang-Zhongyuan is quickly emerging as a economic, military, and political power. Historically an agricultural and industrial centre of China, the Republic of China's territories are rapidly developing thanks to .... "Huguang Miracle" ... becoming a third party to PRC and ROC... benefits of alliance between Jiangsu, Huguang-Zhongyuan, Yunnan, and Guangxi.

History

Pre-Doomsday

*Rewrite to emphasize entire Huguang and Zhongyuan region?

Hubei was a prized possession of many ancient Chinese states, as the province lay on the majestic Yangtze River, home to the legendary Three Gorges. Hubei was well known to be abundant in agricultural and mineral resources throughout history. The first state to have control over the province was Chu, of the Warring States Period. Hubei was the site of the epic Battle of the Red Cliffs in the winter of 208/9 CE, where Cao Cao's forces were devastated by Liu Bei and Sun Quan.

Nomadic people invaded China in the fourth and fifth centuries, dividing China into north, led by the nomads, and south, dominated by the local Han Chinese. After the Tang Dynasty disintegrated, Hubei fell under the control of several different regional powers: Jingnan in the centre, Wu in the east, and the Five Dynasties to the north. The Song Dynasty reunited China in 982, and divided Hubei into a number of circuits for easier administration. After the Mongols conquered southern China in 1279, the provinces of Hubei, Hunan, and portions of Guangdong and Guangxi, were grouped together to form Huguang Province. During Mongol occupation, Hubei was devastated by the world's first epidemic of Black Death, which quickly spread across Eurasia and North Africa.

After the Ming drove out the Mongols in 1368, Huguang was reduced in size: to the point of nearly including all of Hubei and Hunan combined. During the last Ming years, Hubei was devastated by rebel factions staking their claims to the Mandate of Heaven. When the Qing took over, they split Huguang into modern Hubei and Hunan. Later reforms transformed Hubei into a centre of trade and commerce. In 1911, the Wuchang uprising occurred in the old city of Wuhan, overthrowing the Qing and replacing the centuries-old monarchy with the Republic of China. During World War II, eastern Hubei fell under the occupation of Japan in 1940. The occupation lasted until late 1944, when the Republic of China liberated Hubei only to lose it again when Nationalist forces retreated to the island of Taiwan.

During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), the province was home to infighting between local Red Guard factions. The post-Mao economic reforms did little to improve the livelihoods of the residents of Hubei province, with the eastern and southern provinces outpacing Hubei in economic growth. In the final years before Doomsday, the old PRC began the construction of a subterranean military command structure in Xianning in case nuclear war broke out. However, the complex was not prepared enough to survive the events of September 1983.[2]

Post Doomsday

*Rewrite to emphasize Zhongyuan region?

Hubei's capital Wuhan was the industrial centre of mainland China prior to Doomsday. This made it an automatic target for Soviet missile strikes, severing Hubei from contact with Beijing. The cities of Xiaogan, Huanggang, and Ezhou were either destroyed in the blasts or abandoned soon after. Cities that survived the initial effects Doomsday were Yichang, Xiangfan (Xiangyang), Jingzhou, Shiyan, Suizhou, Xianning, Huangshi, Jingmen, and Enshi. A state of emergency was declared instantly, as refugees from Wuhan and the rest of China began to overpower the PRC's control of Hubei.

Initially, the government aided in the construction of slums as a temporary solution to an increasingly difficult situation. By December, the government ceased to function and the People's Liberation Army assumed control of the province. The PLA struggled to maintain authority as the economy collapsed, causing mass famine and unrest. Matters were further complicated as the constant influx of refugees strained Hubei's diminishing resources.

The situation deteriorated further in the spring, as severe weather and nuclear radiation caused mass crop failure across the province. The amount of refugees residing in Hubei limited PLA control to the urban areas. The inadequate health care systems, economy, social policies, and crumbling infrastructure ensured that Hubei had one of the highest mortality rates in the former People's Republic of China. Estimates indicate the mortality rate may have been between 45 and 90 deaths per thousand.

*Likely much higher, only abating in the last decade or two. Will edit later.

Crisis escalated in the summer of 1984 as severe drought struck Hubei, causing further disorder in the cities. Wildfires struck frequently, often destroying swaths of the slums surrounding areas under the control of the PLA. Between June and August, the PLA was forced to abandon Huangshi, Ezhou and Huanggang due to the risks of severe radiation poisoning, fire, bandits, gangs, and refugees. Xianning fell into total anarchy at the end of August as the PLA failed to maintain control over the looting and raiding, with various PLA, warlord, gang, bandit, local, and refugee factions fighting to secure the city.

On September 1st, 1984, the PLA in Yichang began a systematic repression campaign in urban areas under its control. Rationing became mandatory, as violations were now punishable by imprisonment, beatings, torture, and death. Curfews, effective at sundown, were as strictly enforced. So too were illicit activities like thievery, murder, and public demonstrations. Public acts of violence, particularly aimed at the PLA officials, were punished most severely of all. These acts were deemed treasonous, and punished by firing squad in the cities' public spaces.

Because Yichang functioned as the de facto headquarters of the Hubei PLA, the other cities began to adopt similar measures by the end of the month. Rough estimates indicate that 500,000-750'000 people across the province were arrested, imprisoned, outright murdered, or displaced by the end of the year. Most refugees fled towards the eastern and southern provinces, most likely due to the belief that it would be safest in these regions or as a means to escape China entirely by the sea. However, it is assumed that most refugees were unable to reach their destinations.

It is commonly said throughout Hubei that on February 2nd, 1984, the province was at peace for the first time since the surprise Soviet missile strike. However, the price paid to ensure that peace had alienated the populace, ultimately leading to the PLA's downfall.

Decentralization and Pre-Revolutionary Activity

By 1986, the PLA was starting to govern Hubei's remaining cities with brutal efficiency. Spring saw the first attempts at the PLA operations to regain control of the province's interior. The PLA met with little resistance in the surviving communities, only encountering roaming bands of nomads, bandits, and gangs in the abandoned settlements and irradiated areas of Hubei. Paradoxically, as the PLA began to accumulate more and more power and resources, the more decentralized the PLA's power structure became.

The decentralization of PLA authority began in earnest by mid-August 1986. Because of Yichang's central position within the People Liberation Army, and as the de facto capital of Hubei Province, the juntas outside of Yichang began to resent the position Yichang had in the PLA's governmental structure. Officals in Jingzhou and Jingmen were especially discontent with Yichang as the three cities were engaged often in disputes over territorial and resource allocation. On September 23rd, 1986, the general secretaries (also known as chairman-generals or generalissimos) of Jingmen and Jingzhou met at the PLA's headquarters in Jingmen to discuss the possible of mutual assistance in order to overthrow Yichang's ruling elite.

What became of this meeting is unknown. What is known is that both cities began to actively resist Yichang's orders by the end of the year. Initially, Jingmen and Jingzhou resisted Yichang by lowering production qoutas, refusing to enforce the law, and disobeying or slowing down military operations set by Yichang. These acts would not go unnoticed. While Yichang ignored the two cities' disobedience, the people of both cities were granted greater autonomy, if only temporarily. With the exception of Suizhou, the other juntas began to unofficially support the resistance taken by Jingzhou and Jingmen.

By the winter of 1986, Yichang could no longer tolerate the disobedience of Jingmen and Jingzhou. Their acts of disobedience had become more and more radicalized. On January 1st, 1987, Jiang Jianzheng, General-Secretary of the People's Liberation Army in Hubei, signed a declaration submitting the juntas of Jingzhou and Jingmen to a formal disciplinary hearing, which was set to occur within two weeks of the issuing of the declaration. Both cities' juntas ignored Yichang's demands. Yichang issued a second declaration on January 28th, which was again ignored. On February 13th, Yichang issued a third declaration, calling for the immediate resignation of Jingzhou and Jingmen's generals.

Yichang had not expected the secretary-generals of either Jingmen or Jinzhou to comply. Intelligence showed that both cities were performing unauthorized military exercises and surveillance around the unofficial boundaries around the three city-states. There was also evidence to suggest that both cities were training divisions separately from central command's authority.

The ensuing crisis generated a mix of responses from both the ruling elites and general public of Hubei. While the juntas of Enshi, Shiyan, and Xiangfan prepared for the inevitable civil war, Suizhou recognized that involving it and its people in the upcoming conflict could potentially endanger its survival. Suizhou then began to distance itself from Yichang while enforcing a policy of neutrality when it came to the other juntas. Meanwhile, Hubei's intelligentsia and general public was becoming increasingly apprehensive of the escalating situation.

A small group of disillusioned citizens began to hold meetings in undisclosed locations throughout Hubei Province.

Demographics

Hubei

Census	Population	Difference
1912	29,699,000	---
1928	26,516,000	- 9.8%
1936-37	25,516,000	- 4.4%
1947	20,976,000	- 17.8%
1954	27,789,693	+ 32.5%
1964	33,709,344	+ 21.3%
1982	47,804,150	+ 41.8%
1992	13,368,900
2002	17,727,161
2012	22,320,523

*Provinces and/or territories under the jurisdiction of the Republic of China's military administration are not included in official censuses.

*Doomsday = - 3,000,000

*1983-1986 = -500-750,000 displaced or missing

-13,716,870 deaths relating to disease, malnutrition, poor healthcare, radiation poisoning,

extreme weather, police brutality, government suppression, uprisings, other

*1986-1987 = - 7,716,870 same reasons

*1987-1991 = 3,000,000 military casualties

= 999,000 civilian casualties

= 1,001,000 displaced

Government and Politics

*Politically structured similar to modern Cuba and historic Georgia, though built on a "libertarian socialist" model consistent with Nordic states though planned/mixed economy; political parties and economy regulated but high standards of development and freedom; authoritarianism is deemed antithetical to Zhongyuan - monarchism, fascism, authoritarian communism - as is capitalism. Political parties structured on socialist basis, centre-left; law-based society, science and separation of church and state; laws granting rights and freedoms considered progressive for time but moderate today; growing minority rights movement challenging status quo

International Relations

Huguang-Zhongyuan has only begun to establish diplomatic and economic relations with the other survivor states in China in recent years. This is because during the ____ and ____ Administrations, the Republic of China refused to acknowledge the full sovereignty of the other Chinese nation-states, which Huguang-Zhongyuan considered to be unlawfully occupying its territory, or as autonomous entities within the Third Republic.

As a result of the ____ Administration's policies of Kāifàng, Huguang-Zhongyuan has been favouring a diplomatic approach to integrating the south-central Chinese nation states as opposed to its previous policy of revolution and military liberation. Huguang-Zhongyuan currently enjoys close political and economic ties with Jiangsu, Guangxi, and Yunnan. _____'s Kāifàng led the Third Republic to recognize Tibet as a sovereign nation, insisting that Xinjing is only concerned with "integrating the Chinese nation, not imperialism."

The Republic of China has not expressed interest in joining the League of Nations due to the international community's recognition of Taiwan as the sole government in China as well as the new USSR's recent annexations of former Chinese territory. The Republic of China remains adamant that Socialist Siberia should allow referendums to take place in the Uyghur and Manchurian Socialist Republics in order to legitimize the annexations through popular sovereignty and representation.

Huguang-Zhongyuan recent expansions into east Central China established contact between Xinjing, the Dragon State, and Nanchang. The eastern military districts bordering both groups are frequently raided, though the Republic of China maintains a strong hold over their newly acquired territories. Currently the position of Xinjing is to keep a defensive stance towards Dragon State and Nanchang, though this is expected to change as the situation in the east stabilizes. To this end the Third Republic has been airdropping leaflets via balloon over the population centres of the Dragon State and Nanchang. Pamphlets recovered by the WCRB throughout the South Chinese trade network

Despite the recent opening up of Huguang-Zhongyuan economically and politically, the Republic of China remains in a state of undeclared war with the People's Republic of China and Taiwan. Representatives from the Third Republic, Jiangsu, Guangxi, and Yunnan have suggested that a military alliance and economic agreement may be possible in the near future. It is speculated this is in response to the PRC's recent annexation of Gansu and the USSR's conquest of Imperial China. Xinjing refuses to contact Taiyuan until the People's Republic acknowledges its independence and position as sole legitimate government in China. It is unclear if Xinjing intends to annex the People's Republic or reduce it to protectorate status. All negotiations between the Republic of China and Taiwan have failed as a result of Taiwan's refusal to capitulate the Fujian Protectorate to Huguang-Zhongyuan.

As the Republic of China establishes contact with nations in East Asia and across the Pacific, it is predicted that confrontations between the Third Republic and the People's Republic and Taiwan will become inevitable in the near future.

*Alliance/Integration with Guangxi, Alliance with Yunnan, Improvevties with Jiangsu, Improve ties with Macau, Establish relations with Hainan

Administrative Divisions

*Largely follows OTL provincial, prefectural, county-level divisions, however formed Tujia-Miao Autonmous Region in response to dwindling population, violence, and discrimination

Culture

*Combination of Chinese Traditional with Modernism and Futurism, Eco movement based on protectionist stance

*Growth of religious movements; syncretism;

Science and Technology

*Salvage operations in Wuhan ruins; technology levels grow to pre-doomsday equivalent; entrepreneurs driving efforts to import industry and technology into Zhongyuan; reverse engineering?

*OTL equivalent 1990s China? Contemporary Cuba? Vietnam?

Economy

*rice, wheat, tea, cotton for agriculture

*iron, oil, coal,

Military

The Third Republic's military is known as the _______. It consists of currently 3'000,000 personnel when mobilized, which is divided into

NPRC War Ensign

. During peacetime, the NPRC's standing army totals 300'000. These numbers do not include local police forces.

*War with Dragon State and Nanchang, preparations for war with Taiwan and PRC