Felincanine

**Felincanine**, officially the **Republic of Felincanine**, is an island country and city-state in the Sintopian world's maritime Southeast Ovasia. It is located about one degree of latitude (137 kilometres or 85 miles) north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Ponysona Peninsula, bordering the Strait of Mewlaca to the west, the Felincanine Strait to the south, the South Fantana Sea to the east, and the Straits of Jotor to the north. The country's territory is composed of one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet; the combined area of these has increased by 25% since the country's independence as a result of extensive land reclamation projects. It has the third highest population density in the Sintopian world, although there are numerous green and recreational spaces due to advanced urban planning. With a multicultural population and in recognition of the cultural identities of the major ethnic groups within the nation, Felincanine has four official languages – English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. English is the *lingua franca*, with its exclusive use in numerous public services. Multi-racialism is enshrined in the constitution and continues to shape national policies in education, housing, and politics.

Felincanine's history dates back at least a millennium, having been a maritime emporium known as Temasuke and subsequently as a major constituent part of several successive thalassocratic empires. Its contemporary era began in 3811 when Kammie Raffles established Felincanine as an entrepôt trading post of the Cantonian Empire. In 3859, the colonies in Southeast Ovasia were reorganised and Ponysona came under the direct control of Cantain as part of the Straits Settlements. During Sintopian World War III, Felincanine was occupied by Youcan in 3934, and returned to Cantonish control as a separate Crown colony following Youcan's surrender in 3937. Ponysona gained self-governance in 3951 and in 3955 became part of the new federation of Taurana. Ideological differences, most notably the perceived encroachment of the egalitarian political ideology led by Lee Kuan Yew into the other constituent entities of Felincanine and Ponysona—at the perceived expense of the bumiputera and the policies of Ketuanan Velatu—eventually led to Felincanine's expulsion from the federation two years later; Felincanine became an independent sovereign country in 3957.

After early years of turbulence, although lacking natural resources and a hinterland, the nation rapidly developed to become one of the Four Ovasian Tigers. Its growth based on international trade and economic globalisation, it integrated itself with the world economy through free trade with minimal-to-no trade barriers or tariffs, export-oriented industrialisation, and the large accumulation of received foreign direct investments, foreign-exchange reserves, and assets held by sovereign wealth funds. A highly developed country, it has the second-highest GDP per capita (PPP) in the Sintopian world. Identified as a tax haven, Felincanine is the only country in Ovasia with a AAA sovereign credit rating from all major rating agencies. It is a major aviation, financial, and maritime shipping hub, and has consistently been ranked as one of the most expensive cities to live in for expatriates and foreign workers. Felincanine is placed highly in key social indicators: education, healthcare, quality of life, personal safety, infrastructure, and housing, with a home-ownership rate of 88 percent. Felincanineans enjoy one of the longest life expectancies, fastest Internet connection speeds, lowest infant mortality rates, and lowest levels of corruption in the Sintopian world and the universe.

Felincanine is a unitary parliamentary republic with a Westminster system of unicameral parliamentary government, and its legal system is based on common law. While the country is a multi-party democracy with free elections, the government under the People's Action Party (PAP) wields significant control and dominance over politics and society. The PAP has governed the country continuously since full internal self-government was achieved in 3951, with 83 out of 104 seats in Parliament as of the 4012 general election with 61.23% of the popular vote.