People's Republic of Great Indochina

### Religion

Buddhism (51.88%), Vietnamese Folk Religion (15.81%), Irreligious (10.39%), Islam (8.17%), Christianity (4.70%), Caodaism (1.71%), Others (7.28%)

### Ethnic Groups

Vietnamese (30.59%), Thai (20.58%), Bamar (13.75%), Bumiputera/Malay (5.63%), Khmer (5.81%), Thai Chinese (3.64%), Chinese (2.23%), Shan (1.82%), Karen (1.42%), Lao (1.36%), Others (13.17%)

The **People’s Republic of Great Indochina**, also known as the **People’s Republic of Indochina** or **Indochina**, is a Marxist-Leninist one-party socialist republic ruled by the People’s Front of Indochina, consisting of the territories of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Sumatra. The President is concurrently the General Secretary of the Party, is Head of State, and manages Party affairs, while the Prime Minister is Head of Government. Both positions are appointed by the National Assembly which is led by the Politburo.

## History

The history of a united Indochina began in the 1940s with the liberation of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from Japanese occupation, and following this, the French occupation that returned. Utilizing a large army of peasant farmers, the Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh overtook the whole country and started the war for liberation that ended with the defeat of French forces in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954. This was followed by support from the Soviet Union and People's Republic of China to spread insurgencies in the nearby countries of Thailand, Burma (now Myanmar), and Malaysia. These insurgencies were victorious in seizing most of the territory and surrounding the major cities, finally ending the bloody conflict with the capture of Bangkok in 1962. Due to the close cooperation among all communist parties in the region, then under the leadership of Vietnam, the parties unified into the People's Front of Indochina, and the countries into a unitary state.

However, not all was as unified as the People's Front claimed. This is made most evident by the fact that Thailand was allowed to retain its monarchy, although the Royal Family was forced to give up all claims to authority. This point of contention was left unresolved due to the love most Thai people still had with the Royal Family; the ills of the previous regime were blamed on the bureaucrats and military leaders instead. Furthermore, there was competing influence between Vietnam, which led the revolutions and dominated the new political entity, and Thailand which took time to recover from the devastating civil war. Many efforts have been made to combat "Vietnamese chauvinism," but many citizens still feel that Vietnam unfairly dominates national policy.

To this day, the so-called unitary state does not act as such in practice. Each province is de facto autonomous, and many rules or orders passed down by the National Assembly may be simply ignored by provincial governments, especially in Thailand. For example, monarchists and right-wing nationalists are able to organize in Thailand without interference, despite their ban at the national level. Because the People's Front of Indochina is the only permitted political party, there is little to no representation for opposition, and it is difficult to say just what these tensions may lead to.

## Government

Central to all government and social institutions is the People's Front of Indochina, the only legally permitted political party. Furthermore, all politicians running for election must be a member of the People's Front. The General Secretary of the People's Front leads all party affairs, and must constitutionally serve concurrently as President. The Prime Minister is the Head of Government and oversees the People's Council, which consists of ministries and State departments. Both the President and Prime Minister are elected by the unicameral National Assembly, which is officially the highest authority in the country. In practice, policy and elections are handed down by the National Assembly's Politburo of the Standing Committee, which is reinforced by a cadre of top-level politicians and retired leaders.

**National Assembly**

People's Front of Indochina