TBC38

==Chapter 38 - The Broken Commonwealth==
===Overview: Kowloon Local Politics>===
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Overview: Local Politics
A ritualized measure that has gone largely uninterrupted since 2788 is being seriously debated for the first time in almost a century.
The Ritual
Chapter 32, subsection 9 of the Kowloon Treaty of Annexation (written 2785) explicitly states that the Kowloon System's membership in the Lyran Commonwealth is voluntary, and outlines specific procedures to be taken by the Citizen's Assembly in the event that the system, for whatever reason, should wish to terminate that voluntary membership.
It's unique, because most ex-Rim-Worlds taken by the Lyrans after the SLDF got finished reaming the actual Rim Worlds Republic itself as part of knocking the pins out from under Amaris didn't get that kind of consideration-but then, they didn't negotiate their annexation, either.
The vote requires a 60% majority of all elected members of the Assembly.  Not a 'quorum', and abstentions are specifically not allowed on this specific vote.  It is very much an either/or situation and requires a super-majority to pass.  However, the same treaty also requires the vote be taken annually.
Notable violations have occurred on this, particularly during the reign of Alessandro Steiner (when nearly 10% of the Assembly were being held as political prisoners, including Cham Duk Ngo, the Duke of that time), and during the latter portion of the Regency period (3048 to 3053) when a significant portion of the Assembly were 'absent' due to being imprisoned or fugitive and the body was dissolved under 'emergency measures extant to wartime' by Governor-Regent Stonecipher (who also questionably-legally suspended the constitution, applied illegal taxes, and conducted a number of questionably-lawful land and resource seizures under false color of law, which got his brains blown out by Duchess Elizabeth Ngo on live television.)
The closest the votes have gotten in previous instances, were the 48% secession vote after Katrina (Victor's Grandmother) took the throne from Alessandro Steiner and released political prisoners, and 51% after Elizabeth Ngo's execution of the Governor-Regent.
Most of the time, secession polls around 10-15%, usually concentrated in delegates from the Northern continental districts or Provo Valley on the Plateau (these are largely cosmetic votes cast as  a sort of 'virtue signaling' or 'ritualized position'.)
In other words, no serious debate has actually gone on before this most recent Ducal Address.
So, What Changed?
While Kowloon is relatively stable at the moment, there are several factors influencing the mood of the populace. Both on the planet and in her Rockjack communities of the outer system.
Among those: Growing dissatisfaction with how the world is treated and viewed outside.  The sustained campaign against the Jade Falcons, and visible lack of progress, the Commonwealth's apparent further weakness, and especially the issues regarding a recent civil war, and Trillian's unifying with Clan Wolf, are actually controversial on Kowloon.  "He's no Roshak, and she's effectively subordinated to him!" is gaining a lot of ground.  
This is a backhand reference to Elizabeth Ngo's marriage to Star Colonel Nathan Roshak. A Jade Falcon, which occurred under quite different conditions, with the Duchess being the dominant partner in the public's eye.  This perception grows from a perception that Trillian Steiner-Davion is weak-a perception driven in part by LCAF's failure to make solid gains against the Falcon Ordun, with many of the successes of Reinhardt's campaign being locally viewed more as "Kowloonese successes that were pissed away."
A weakened Commonwealth economy is further damaging things.  The loss of much of the Commonwealth's industrial base, economic base, crumbling trade infrastructure, and a wartime recession are not helping matters.  The onset of additional taxes and levies, after a forced disarmament prior to the current crisis, well...it's like remembering the stimulus and the response.  
Upshot being, to many Kowloonese who previously were opposed to Secession, the attitude is 'The Commonwealth is collapsing'.
Sharon Ngo's public resignation from the post of LCAF's Chief of Naval Operations, didn't help this impression in the slightest. In particularly her cited reasons, which lack nuance and in their blunt delivery appeals to the sentiments of the average planetary voter.
Opposition say WHUT??
Just as important to the voters, however, is the virtue of persistence and loyalty, as well as pocket-book concerns regarding exports and income, jobs, and ties to the Commonwealth such as military service and patriotism.
And, of course, the risk of MORE war coming, both from a Lyran Commonwealth that might object to secession, and closer, more threatening conditions involving the Clans and the threat that they might find themselves standing alone to face the teeth of Malvina's murderous war machine.
The argument is quite heated, and a vote that is normally handled in fifteen to twenty minutes as part of the closing session for the year, has resulted in a multi-week impassioned debate regarding Kowloon's future.  Protests and counter-protests have been peaceful thus far, as sentiment can't be neatly divided by geography or even political orientation.  There are elements of both the left and right that are passionately arguing internally about this, with questions coming up more often than answers-even more often than 'simpleton' answers.
It's a big step, to even think about walking away.
But, for the first time since they got rid of a corrupt regency, those thoughts are seriously being considered...
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