Federation of Szanyun

Flag of the Federation of Szanyun

**Szanyun**, officially the **Federation of Szanyun**, is a country in the Cunabula region. Centered on the planet of the same name within the Mazu system, Szanyun consists of 19 provinces, 1 autonomous region, and 2 federal districts, while its interstellar territory spans 47 star systems. It is the 6th most populous country in Colonized Space with 1.7 billion people as of 2320. Mazu is one of 8 systems that has a hypergate link to the Sol system. The nation's capital is Huatien while its largest city and financial center is Phong San. Other major cities include Asadel, Hashih, Kasasagi, New Lubang, and Angkhirum.

Szanyun has its origins in the various initial Asia-Pacific colonies established during the Golden Age of Colonization. Tensions back on Earth spilled over to Szanyun so a United Nations Peacekeeping Mission was deployed in 2188 AD, the first of its kind. The Great Blackout saw the rise of the dictatorial regime of Shao Jianyu emerging on the Haishih colony in 2211 and soon attempted to expand across the planet. An organized resistance by the other colonies and the remainder of the UN presence successfully overthrew the regime in 2216. Recontact with Earth was successful in 2227. Following the Secessionist War, the Szanyunese colonies were reorganized into the Federation of Szanyun in 2294.

A federal semi-presidential republic, Szanyun is considered a powerful nation with a strong developed economy of nearly §84 trillion. An associate member of the Stellar Confederate Union, the nation has access to the free trade area and is thus highly developed. Despite this, it has maintained a policy of neutrality in the new cold war.

## History

### Colonial era

The Mazu star system and the planet of Szanyun were fully surveyed in 2120, and the latter was declared suitable for colonization the year after. The rights to the planet were given to China and some of their allies in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the Asia-Pacific Joint Space Fund. Ultimately, 10 nations sponsored the first wave of colonization: China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Australia and New Zealand were to join but opted out in favor of pursuing efforts with North America.

The Chinese colony of Haishih was the first to be established in 2124, followed by 9 others of their respective country. By 2135, 4 more colonies by other nations were established in the second wave while the initial 10 were substantially expanded into what can be considered cities. Orbital infrastructure was developed to allow for regular trips from Earth with the Srivijaya Spaceport finishing construction in 2149. Furthermore, construction on the Sol-Mazu Hyperlane megaproject broke ground in 2174. The spaceport also served as a staging ground for further expeditions and colonization. It was during this time that the planet became the site of the first serious attempts at radical terraforming, not only making it habitable but also more like Earth. The efforts here laid the foundation for further endeavors through its many successes and failures across the decades.

However, from 2175 onwards, tensions in Southeast and Central Asia boiled over to Szanyun. Distrust and lack of cooperation between the colonies grew until it became territorial disputes and small clashes between civilian militias. Meanwhile, the Hyperlane project was continuously delayed and eventually indefinitely paused altogether due to the deteriorating situation. Then, a hijacking of an atmospheric reentry craft to crash into the city of Kasasagi in 2181 caused mass riots and instability across the planet as unprecedented amounts of the host nations' militaries were sent to the planet using that as a pretense in violation of the Napier Protocol. The threat of an all-out war on Szanyun was curtailed in 2187, as the rest of the international community pressured nations involved to limit hostilities. The United Nations Security Council and the United Nations Extrasolar Council agreed at the behest of the Szanyun-sponsoring nations to establish the United Nations Mission on Szanyun (UNAMOS). It was the first time a UN peacekeeping force was ever sent to another planet. Though their presence mediated the tense situation, suspicions between the colonies and contempt towards the UN persisted.

### Great Blackout

The Great Blackout started at the beginning of the 2210s. As ships from Earth, and thus communication with Earth, stopped arriving, panic ensued. The UN presence attempted to unify the colony under an emergency government. This was met with great resistance, culminating in Shao Jianyu, a colonel of the Chinese Colonial Army on Szanyun, seizing power from a UN-mandated authority in Haishih in 2214, on the 90th anniversary of the colony’s settlement. While supported by most Hashih residents and the wider population during the coup, his popularity diminished as he attempted to consolidate power from neighboring colonies. The Szanyunese Civil War lasted for 5 years, as a UN-led coalition of the rest of the planet fought against Shao’s Hashih Government, which held territory in all of East Beiyuan. The conflict largely ended when Haishih was taken and Shao Jianyu was arrested and subsequently assassinated in 2219.

The United Nations Emergency Government on Szanyun (UNEGOS) was established in the immediate aftermath to distribute needed resources and organize aid, but stayed out of most other affairs, allowing for the colonies to develop autonomy. Forces loyal to Shao remained at large, frequently harassing settlements and convoys amidst a terrible post-war economy. It was only in 2223, after giving amnesty to all fighters, that stability was restored. UNEGOS lasted until recontact with Earth was made in 2226.

### Post-Blackout

The emergency government gradually faded out and control was given back to the host nations as a return to the pre-Blackout status was favorable to Earth. However, the Great Blackout has, like with so many other planets, created a new identity that conflicted with the past. The 19 colonies were administered as entirely separate entities as borders were finalized, with the exception of security which the nations of Earth decided to temporarily continue the presence of Peacekeepers under the newly-created Colonial Directorate to deal with organized crime that had been allowed to grow uncontrolled during the Blackout.

Efforts were made to encourage cooperation, most notably through the Mazu Summit, a forum held by all of the host Earth nations and the colonies, and eventually culminating in the opening of the Solidarity Hypergate in 2233, the Chuanjing International Development Zones in 2243, and the Phong San Space Elevator in 2250. Despite this, Szanyun continued to politically and socially drift away from Earth, but never as a unified effort. By the mid-century, a local creole had started to take root and grew in prevalence planetwide, becoming known as Szan-Creole. During the same time, domestic corporations began to overtake Earth corporations on Szanyun and they stood behind the largest lobbying organization on the planet, the Szanyun Economic Forum, which even got observer status in the Mazu Summit in 2269. The Forum pushed for greater socioeconomic independence from Earth and greater cohesion internally, especially as some in the Summit had been unwilling to continue funding for development. Yet the division between the colonies presented an almost insurmountable barrier. The ideology of Shaoism began to reemerge and grew rapidly in the 2170s, advocating for a single planetary state and independence from Earth.

### Secessionist War

While secessionist rhetoric wasn’t nearly as loud as the ones in the Terminus and Aurora regions, it was nevertheless present. When the Independent Worlds’ Concord was proclaimed in 2281 AD, Szanyun was starkly divided between those who supported joining the Concord and those who sided with the Colonial Directorate. By 2282, the IWC had occupied the planet, taking many of its population centers with the help of local supporters, especially Shaoist forces. Yet the Declaration of Coalition later that year and then a victory at the nearby Ibeji system by the Strategic Coalition of Allied Planets reinvigorated the Earth-aligned section of the population and still-surviving forces. Fighting among the Szanyunese colonies was one of the bloodiest in the war with multiple competing factions, most notably the Burning of San Teofilo and the Pratu Khral Massacre.

After the Second Battle of Szanyun in 2285, SCAS forces defeated the orbiting IWC fleet and fiercely contested the ground battle. The Mazu system became a center of Operation Iron Shield which stabilized the Cunabulan front. The location of the system allowed SCAS to conduct raids into the core territory of the IWC, forcing them to divert resources. At the conclusion of the war in 2288, remnant secessionist forces on Szanyun surrendered and were allowed to leave past the Treaty Line. In total, the population of the planet shrank by 5% compared to the start of the war.

### Independence

Even before the Colonial Directorate was dissolved, there were already plans to declare the independence and unification of Szanyun. By 2291, the Constitution of the Federation of Szanyun was signed by all parties. One of the clauses of the Constitution was a declaration of neutrality and non-interference, which was widely supported by the population who were tired of the constant conflict of the planet. As such, it did not sign the Treaty of Mangala and joined SCAS, now a military organization. Its military was subsequently reduced in size. Democratic infrastructure was built with Huatien, then a small city, becoming the capital. The Federation's first general election had the Szanyunese Democratic League, a party with deep roots in the peacekeeping mission of the first half of the 23rd century and is mostly made up of the descendants of those peacekeepers, winning the majority in the House and Senate. Oe Yoshinori became the first president and Tharn Kammana was the first prime minister.

### Modern

At the beginning of the 24th century, Szanyun faced pressure in the developing Cold War between the newly-established Stellar Confederate Union and the unified Frontierran Commonwealth, especially as it borders the Treaty Lines and thus threatens its neutral stance. The Free Nations Movement candidate Lê Trĩ Quang Ngọc was elected as president in 2301 and quickly enacted a policy of armed neutrality. Her tenure oversaw the revitalization of the military, expanding it to one of the most powerful in the region. However, she also started the nation's controversial isolationism and pivot towards nationalism. Stagnation, over-expenditure in the defense industries, and government deficits caused inflation and instability. Szanyun stayed out of the 2305 Ardulafra-Krusvet War happening nearby, instead criticizing and alienating both sides, eventually prompting sanctions by both.

The 2311 election resulted in a more divided parliament and the Progressive Reforms Party heading the presidency under Zou Changming. Zou's broad coalition reversed the isolationist stance and pursued closer ties with other nations in the SCU and especially Frontierra. The nation became active on the international stage, signing multiple bilateral trade deals to restore economic growth and participating in peacekeeping operations. Szanyun was instrumental in brokering the 2315 armistice for the Serenkic Civil War. Despite this, his reforms proved unpopular and he himself was mired in numerous scandals, leading to the government being voted out 3 times.

He lasted only a single term before being replaced by SDL candidate Susanto Yongliang in 2316. Thanks to a stable coalition, his government managed to fully recover the economy, mostly due to Yongliang pushing for closer relations with Earth and the wider SCU. The question of joining the SCU has always been extremely divisive in Szanyunese politics, and despite having promised to address the question once and for all with a referendum, Yongliang feared that it wouldn’t have popular support. He instead negotiated with and forced his coalition partners to vote for ascension into the Stellar Confederate Union on the floor of the Federal Assembly. It succeeded, and Szanyun formally joined the organization in 2318 as an associate member with some major concessions like no SCU security presence and multiple opt-outs. This enraged the public who saw it as circumventing the people's will and a constitutional violation on neutrality, and multiple protests ensued. The event also caused a major rift and distrust in the coalition. In 2319, the Supreme Court ultimately ruled that ascension was constitutional on the grounds that it had no military obligation and didn’t interfere with the nation’s independence.

## Geography

### Mazu system

Mazu is a star system comprising the G4V-type yellow main-sequence star Mazu. The system has 7 planets orbiting it: 4 terrestrial planets, a gas giants, and 2 ice giants, along with the Snaam asteroid belt between Szanyun and Hoangcung (Mazu V) and a comet belt - the Himatok belt - and a few dwarf planets.

The 4th planet from Mazu is Szanyun, formerly Mazu IV, itself with 2 moons, the large Chuanjing and the minor Chyawcha.

### Planet

With a radius of 1.03 R🜨 and a mass of 1.09M🜨, Szanyun is only a slightly larger world than Earth with 2 main continents and various large island chains. It is both wetter but slightly colder than Earth, supporting an already complex atmospheric system and helping in the terraforming efforts that have turned the planet green.

The northern continent of Beiyuan (meaning “Northern Plain”) and the southern continent of Antaboga are the main two land masses on the planet, separated by the Singub Sea. The larger Beiyuan features wide expanses of flatland, rolling hills, and old mountains. The longest river, the Hyusig River, is located here. The geography of the serpentine Antaboga, on the other hand, is dominated by the Great Antabogan Range, home to the highest peak–Mount Malabo, and Kyarpankan Lake, the largest lake. The third part of the planet's land is the millions of islands spread out across the Northern and Southern Ocean, commonly referred to as simply the Great Archipelago.

## Government and politics

### Government

Szanyun is a representative democracy under a federal semi-presidential system. Though the current system is young, democratic principles had been established following the civil war under the representative UN provisional government. Though after the Great Blackout, the colonies were once again under the directives of their host nations without much autonomy. The constituent assembly to draft the current constitution originally called for a parliamentary system, however later drafts changed it into a semi-presidential one due to concerns over potential uncooperativeness and infighting of the constituents, requiring a popular and strong leader, whilst still preventing an authoritative figure like Shao Jianyu. The government is separated into 4 branches: the executive, legislative, judicial, and supervisory.

Its head of state is the President, directly elected by a majority of the population through a runoff voting system for a 5-year term with a two terms limit. The President picks the Prime Minister–the head of government–and their Cabinet, with approval from the legislature. The President can also circumvent the legislature on certain issues through a referendum, represents the nation abroad, enters into agreements, and is the Commander-in-Chief. The 2316 general election resulted in Susanto Yongliang of the Szanyunese Democratic League being newly elected into office. The Prime Minister and the Cabinet are responsible for the regular administration of the Federation. The current Prime Minister is Khaing Myint of the Unity and Justice Party.

The bicameral Federal Assembly is the nation's legislature, comprising the Senate and the House of Representatives. Representatives are proportionally elected in single-member districts, also for a 5-year term. The 894-seat House is the main legislative organ for it has the final say on legislations and can call a motion of confidence on the Prime Minister and members of the Cabinet. The Senate, in contrast, is weak, mainly serving as a review body and can recommend revisions to the House. There are 73 senators, appointed by their respective provincial legislatures every 6 years, of which the original 10 have 4 seats each, the later 9 have 3 seats each, federal districts and the single autonomous region only have 2 seats each. As of 2314, Szanyun is governed under the center-left Blue-Green coalition consisting of the Szanyunese Democratic League, the Unity and Justice Party, and the Liendao (“United Islands”) Party. The right-wing Official Opposition notably includes the Free Nation Movement (Nationalist Party), the Progressive Reforms Party, and the Libertarian Action Party. Other important parties are the Revolutionary People’s Party and the Agrarian Union.

The Supreme Court of Szanyun is the nation’s highest court, overseeing 19 Provincial High Courts, and headed by a panel of Justices appointed by the President and confirmed by all other organs. The Censorate of Szanyun is the supervisory, censure, and prosecutorial branch, responsible for holding public officials accountable. Censors are appointed by the President and both houses of the Federal Assembly and have the authority to investigate, censure, and prosecute office holders, and is the only organ allowed to initiate impeachment, though a supermajority of a joint session of the Federal Assembly is still required to impeach an official.

Szanyunese politics are increasingly regionalized, as the Liendao Party and the Unity and Justice Party have come to dominate the Archipelago and Antaboga respectively against the Progressive-dominated Beiyuan. Only the Szanyunese Democratic League remains supported across the planet. Another major issue is the nation’s foreign affairs, especially in relation to its neutrality clause. The current government has come under criticism for joining the Stellar Confederate Union as an associate member without calling for a national referendum as promised. The Opposition and even some of the Blue-Green coalition have called that a breach of the constitution, despite the Supreme Court stating otherwise.

### Administrative divisions

As a federation, the 19 provinces act as federal states of Szanyun. These are often divided based on their origins, whether they were established from the initial 10 colonies or the later 9 colonies. The former has always been more influential and often dominates the governing of the planet. The one autonomous region is the moon of Chuanjing, made so due to its importance to trade and geographical distance. The largest province is Ansin and the smallest is Sampantu. The capital of Huatien is a Federal District with the other Federal District, Phong San, being home to the Szanyun Space Elevator.

### Military

The end of the Secessionist War left Szanyun with a large amount of both SCAS and IWC military equipment leftover from serving in the local planetary defense forces, espeically during Operation Iron Shield. After independence and assuming ownership of all of them, the nation decided to massively downsize the military due to economic and political reasons. The vast majority of the space fleet was either scrapped or kept in reserves. Yet by the turn of the 24th century, the nation embarked on a rearmament effort in the wake of the new armed neutrality doctrine. The mothballed ships were reactivated and retrofitted, while the Planetary Army was completely overhauled with an improved command structure. Despite the immense cost, great emphasis was placed on domestic production, resulting in the completion of Chuanjing Fleet Yard and the production of Singa-class frigates, based on the IWC Llanero-class. Szanyun is one of the few countries to have a seperate orbital guard branch, responsible for monitoring the Mazu system and the operation of Szanyun's many orbital defense platforms. Even during the height of austerity policies, military spending was one of the few areas that weren't cut. When foreign trade and technological cooperation grew in the 2310s, the military was further modernized, especially once the nation joined the Stellar Confederate Union.

Today, the Defense Forces of the Federation of Szanyun is a formidable and advanced military consisting of mostly domestic equipment but also SCU imports. Its relatively small size is counteracted by the ease of maintenance and is continuously upgraded and modernized. The nation's military industrial sector is comparatively young compared to others like Tybin or Ourabora but has managed to competently produce new indigenous designs, most notably the Faisal Karim-class destroyers. However, the force is largely untested, and due to its doctrine of armed neutrality, has been constrained in Federation's territory. To remedy this, it joined the international peacekeeping efforts in Serenku as well as participating in exercises with the militaries of the SCU in 2319.

## Symbol

The symbol of the nation is the flower of the Szanyunese plum tree, or Prunus szanyunica, a genetically modified variant of Prunus mume. It is also commonly referred to as plum blossom. Not only is the plum blossom an important cultural symbol in East Asia back on Earth, but the modified species was one of the first lifeforms to grow on its own when the planet was still in its main terraforming phase.

The flag of Szanyun has a plum blossom, with the 10 stamens representing the 10 original colonies. The flower is above two bars, meant to be branches and symbolizing two sides coming together for unity and cooperation. The green represents the planet’s beauty and the pride of the people in terraforming their planet, while the white background represents calm and a longing for peace.