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The break-up of China began in 2013.
Measures intended to save some of the government combines from outside
competition were met by serious market disapproval, and hinted at a schism
within the government between the reformists and a group of new hard-liners
that had emerged during the 00's. The result was a massive outflow of
investor capital. The government responded with measures to prevent "destructive
capitalist elements" from draining the country, further decreasing
Chinese credibility. Riots erupted in several major cities, and the PLA
was called in to quell them.
The riots continued to grow in 2014.
In the Sichuan province they were especially violent, as people displaced
by the Three Gorges Dam acted as seeds of anti-PLA activism. When several
army units switched sides the rioting turned into a popular revolution.
The Beijing government immediately moved to stop it, attacking Chengdu,
Chonquing and other major cities in Sichuan.
The rich coastal areas broke free, not
as much by direct revolt but by ignoring the central government more and
more. The local governments turned inwards, purging different factions.
The public joined in, and a loose alliance between globalists, ethnic
activists, democrats, religious movements and opportunistic local strong
men grew to support the independents.
The Beijing government tried to retain
control over the main regions, removing forces from outlying regions to
supply the garrisons near strategic places and the army in Sichuan. Local
ethnic movements and resistance groups sprung up everywhere in the power
vacuum. Tibet became de facto independent, and a bloody uprising began
as the Tibetans take their revenge.
The civil war was fought between the
Beijing government and the alliance of Sichuan, Shanghai and Guangzhou
2014-2019. At first it was a regular if confused campaign, and the Beijing
offensive appeared to be working. Many major cities fell to the PLA, and
it seemed able to retain control over the strategic infrastructure. But
as people mobilised and massive waves of sabotage/terrorism spread, the
offensive halted and the entire war bogged down into a stalemate.
Gradually the alliances holding together
the sides began to crumble. The core regions remained, but fiercely independent
ethnic groups, warlords and some communities made themselves de facto
independent nations. Marauders and bands of ex-army soldiers terrorised
the countryside where the weak governments couldn't reach them, and continue
to do so until this day.
Starvation and epidemics spread, and
countless atrocities were committed ranging from the Nantong massacre,
the Baoji poisoning or the use of nuclear weapon against Zhengyang. Multiresistant
epidemics ravaged the land, likely the result of biowarfare. All in all,
the breakdown cost hundreds of millions of people their lives and displaced
an equal number. Large regions were devastated, the infrastructure destroyed
and any semblance to civilisation crushed on the battlefields or in the
domains of the warlords.
The outside world tried to help, but
at first the Beijing government staunchly refused all humanitarian aid
and claimed that any attempts to supply revolutionary areas with aid would
be viewed as interfering with Chinese internal affairs. The UN vacillated,
but as it became more and more clear that Beijing could not gain control
over the whole land relief work began here and there. Unfortunately the
problem proved too large to handle - too many people, too many starving
and sick, too many terrorist fractions not caring whose aeroplanes they
attacked with "bamboo shot" antiaircraft weapons. In the end
all that could be done was creating more or less stable "protected
zones" mainly in the coastal areas.
By 2020 the actual war had ended, as
each fraction was far too busy trying to keep together to fight each other.
Over the next decade the region stabilised into a poor and confusing setting.
The mountains remain the home of independent microstates and domains ruled
by ruthless warlords. The main states suffer from bitter internal and
external rivalries, civil unrest and lack of economy. Here and there are
the remnants of the UN protected zones, today mostly absorbed into the
other states or (in a few rare and envied cases such as Hong Kong) small
international zones.
China Today
Currently China consists of several
loose states with many tiny independent areas and places of total anarchy.
As the situation stabilised outside relief work could reach at least the
coastal areas, but the land as a whole is regarded as a hopeless mess.
The internationalists have little interest in it, the nationalists are
usually only interested in their own nations. The international help and
development organisations give the help they can, but China is so big
their attempts are merely drops in the sea.
The main states are:
The Red Basin Republic
Part of current Sichuan. Industrially
strong but with a chaotic government where the cities vie for power over
the countryside. The Great Dam provides energy to the region and a measure
of influence over the lowland states, but it is practically an independent
state of itself.
Wuhan Protectorate
A weak ally of Sichuan centred around
the Wuhan area. It was especially hard hit by the 2017 cholera epidemic
and other diseases suspected of being bioweapons.
Guangzhou
Reasonably strong and with international allies in Hong Kong but plagued
by rowing marauders and many independent regions within the borders. Hong
Kong is an internationalist mini-state, formally a part of Guangzhou but
in practice independent.
Taiwan China
Formosa island and parts of the mainland
in Fujian. During the war Taiwan took its chance despite many warnings
from its allies. The result has been a tar-baby situation: Taiwan cannot
withdraw from the mainland, but defending the mainland has been extremely
costly to the economy and caused the loss of international capital. Taiwan
is today one of the fiercest isolationist governments, constantly denouncing
the internationalists as betrayers.
Shanghai Democracy
A severely war-damaged state, but with enough residual industry and economy to hold its own against the Peking Alliance and other enemies.
Beijing Alliance
The Northeast area centred around Beijing. A competitive alliance of smaller states, united mainly in wars against the outside. Recently the alliance has begun to encounter immigrating or invading Mongols and Russians, climate refuges from the north.
Tibet
An independent, inhospitable region. The collapse of China gave the
inhabitants their land back, but now the worsening climate is slowly them
away.
Guiyang
Guiyang is a fairly typical city state
ruled by a warlord. It is the former capital of the Kweichow province
in the mountains south of Sichuan and north of Hunan. The land is a mountainous,
rainy high plateau with many fast rivers. Incised valleys, steep gorges,
and cliffs are common in the province making waterways nearly unusable.
However, Guiyang is located in the middle of the highway from Sichuan
southwards, making it a perfect place for a local ruler to extract tariffs
and taxes from trade.
During the Civil War general Mao Lee took control over Guyang, turning it into his personal kingdom. He is now officially president and his fellow officers the cabinet. He keeps the trade route safe in exchange for hefty tariffs, occasionally attacking various mountain warlords and marauder bands. Most of the time he spends in Guyang enjoying life: he is a well known gambler and bon vivant, although he has a reputation of being a sore loser. As the joke goes, in the morning he has a hangover, in the afternoon he runs the country, in the evening he gambles. His ministers get to run things during the morning.
Guangzhou (Canton)
During the Civil War the UN established
a protected zone in the Canton-Hong Kong area, originally intended as
a staging point for further relief work but eventually just remaining
where it was. The young Canton government supported the international
aid and did its best to profit from it, but the situation evolved into
a double bind: it became dependent on the foreign aid to survive, and
at the same time the internationalist-nationalist split led to the UN
making more demands on the local government in exchange for the aid. A
complex web of mutual distrust, underhand political deals, economic blackmailing
and media manipulation developed in the late 10's and early 20's.
Enormous refugee camps where millions
of people clustered were set up around Canton, a constant source of unrest,
epidemics and problems. Without micromanufacturing and microfarming the
region would have collapsed long ago, and thanks to international aid
early biotech materials could be used to quickly provide housing. Today
the camps have grown into a cluster of poor, sprawling cities dotting
the countryside. The Guangzhou Department of Immigration patrol them together
with the UN forces
In 2025 is became clear that Hong Kong
ha again become a firmly internationalist zone, formally part of Canton
under UN protection but in practice an independent political entity under
its own, in practice run by the Hong Kong Infrastructure Council. It is
a prosperous internationalist enclave, dominated by a forest of biotech
spires built in the late 20's.
Meanwhile the remaining UN forces have
developed into a kind of parallel government in the rest of Guangzhou,
upholding the order in Canton and the refuge cities but independently
of the forces of the national government. The situation is uncomfortable
but hard to avoid, without them the little stability that remains would
likely evaporate and with it the last chance to at least remain a part
of the international community. It is no secret that there is an ongoing
competition between the nationalist UN and internationalist sponsors in
funding the UN forces in the area, leading both to high-level intrigue
in the administration and some conflicts between different groups stationed
in Canton and Hong Kong.
The Guangzhou government is notoriously
pragmatic and economic. It tries to uphold maximal law and order where
it is needed, such as in Canton, in order to safeguard itself and international
trade, while skimping on it where it is less useful. There are no true
borders of the nation, rather a gradual transition towards more and more
autonomous regions. Patrol drones are common, usually just monitoring
events but sometimes carrying weapons. Canton is one of the largest manufacturers
of low-end cheap drones, with some of the more advanced systems developed
in Hong Kong.
The economic disparities are more extreme
here than nearly anywhere else in the world. Central Canton is a modern
city, most of the city is perhaps 10-20 years behind, the refugee cities
turn of the century and much of the countryside nearly medieval.
Sichuan - The Red Basin Republic
During the Civil War, Sichuan came to
be controlled by Sichuan Defence Force, essentially a combination of a
public militia, defecting units from the People's Liberation Army and
local political interests. At first public support was strong, and during
the critical initial weeks in 2014 and 2015 everybody fought together
against the PLA and the Beijing loyalists. The initial battles were a
combination of regular military operations and widespread attacks against
suspected loyalists and their holdings - quite a few innocent people got
killed. At first the PLA made great headway against the major cities,
but after the bombing of Chengdu the advance halted as it got bogged down
in endless guerrilla warfare, sabotage and local uprisings.
As the war dragged on, the SDF both
grew into a local government and a reasonably effective fighting force.
It managed to drive the loyalists back, especially after the battle of
Dazu in January 2016, even if the cost in human lives and material destruction
was staggering. An uneasy stalemate developed, with the PLA dominating
the northern half of the region and the SDF the southern. For a while
it seemed the province would be divided into two sides forever, but in
2019 many of the PLA troops had to withdraw due to the collapse of the
Tsingtao front. In a series of running battles the SDF ousted the remaining
units, including taking the Three Gorges Dam after a bloody battle. For
the next years the SDF held Sichuan despite several offensives, mostly
part of Beijing's weakening attempts to retain control over middle China.
During 2022 it seemed the SDF had finally
gained total control over the region, when the loyalists staged a coup
attempt in the major cities. Bitter battles raged from house to house,
and the fragile government seemed on the verge of breaking apart. Several
army units moved to secure various cities and strategic points, partially
to ensure that whatever happened they would come out on top. For the next
four years the region was torn between rival fractions, and what had been
a war against Beijing turned into a civil war. Gradually SDF reasserted
itself, but several outlying areas and ethnicities had made themselves
independent. In 2026 the Red Basin Republic was announced.
The Red Basin Republic is formally ruled
by a parliament located in Chonquing, with representatives elected in
the different districts. In practice these representatives are the local
strongmen or their puppets. The real power rests among regional strong
men, often generals of the SDF or local crime/business leaders.
The current president, Li Angnai, is
an unpopular compromise between the major groups. Originally an intelligence
officer in the PLA, he became the right hand man of General Bai Baosha,
the SDF war hero. Together they fought the PLA in the civil war and the
loyalists in the civil war. When Bai Baosha died in a traffic accident
in 2029, Li Angnai became president as a compromise between the three
main fractions.
The three largest fractions are the
Red Gang, the Nanchong fraction and the Chongquing Traders Association.
The Red Gang, led by General An Enrui , is centred on the interest of
Western Sichuan, especially Wutunghliao. It is officially socialist, although
in practice it can be described as pragmatic robbers trying to gain as
much power and wealth for themselves as possible. The Nanchong fraction
has close ties to the many farmers associations and the military groups
protecting them. It is mainly interested in safeguarding the farming lowlands,
playing out the other fractions against each other and getting the highest
possible prices from the farming products from the citydwellers. The Chongquing
Traders Association is really a front for the old criminal syndicates
which came to become the local city government, a highly fractious group
but strongly opposed to the other two fractions. They seek to open up
more trade to the neighbouring states across the mountains (which would
necessitate some expensive fighting against local warlords), the use of
the Dam to get more from Wuhan and generally to outcompete the Red Gang.
Technologically the region is turn of the century. People use cellular phones and old-fashioned wearables. Biotech is very rare, and most of its products have to be imported. There is not much import or export, but the majority follows the Yang-tze river.
Chonquing
Chonquing remains the industrial centre of the Republic, despite the heavy bombings from the PLA and the fierce city warfare of the revolt. The population has decreased to 6 million people, less than a half of the 2010 size. The main industries are steel and carbon production, electronics and vehicles.
The city government is notoriously fractious.
During the Civil War, it was first ruled by the traditional administration
after it had defected to the SDF, but as the normal lines of command were
broken during the heavy bombings a more informal arrangement of various
networks and interests worked together to run things. As the situation
stabilised, this informal government became official. Unfortunately the
networks involved included several major criminal groups and plenty of
more or less corrupt officials who had spent the 10's building up their
own personal mini-armies and guanxi networks. From the start the city
was plagued by intrigue and conflicts, and the loyalist revolution was
at least partially supported by some of the fractions. Over time many
were defeated or merged into other fractions, until at this point there
remains around ten major sides that are reasonably peaceful. Still, the
underhand politics of Chonqiung is almost proverbial in the Republic.
Nobody doubts that the fractions will do anything they can to further
their own ends as long as the outside forces of the rest of the Republic
does not turn against them.
The different areas are dominated by
the different fractions, each acting as the local government, police force,
revenue service/protection racket and many other functions. Some fractions
have specialised themselves, such as Colonel Han's Men who run the international
airport, the Alley of Steelworks dominating the steel industry or the
Pearl Association which runs the wharves near Hung-yen-ts´un.
The Great Dam
The Three Gorges Dam is ruled by the
General of the Dam, general Ran Muliang. He was a skilled officer in the
SDF and was sent with a major force to sieze the dam from the PLA during
the desperate fighting in 2019. The battle, one of the bloodiest in the
entire campaign, only ended when the garrison was wiped out. He was told
by the SDF to hold the dam against the likely counterattack. He and his
officers set to fortifying the dam further, making sure that it would
be impossible to drive them away. They built an improvised fortress on
top of the dam itself, placing artillery on the mountains on both sides
and boring a complex network of defence bunkers within a wide area. Since
then Ran Muliang has controlled the area, becoming one of the most powerful
men in China.
According to popular myth, he regularly
receives caravans of tribute from Wuhan and even remote Nanjing in exchange
for not flooding them. People downstream see him as the Dragon of the
Dam, able to make the water come and go at his whim. Rumors claim he regards
himself as the true emperor of China, residing on a golden throne on top
of the dam. Other rumors speak about his enormous harem filled with beauties
from all of China or hidden chambers filled with his mutated offspring,
warped by exposure to chemical warfare poisons.
The truth is less dramatic, even if
Ran Muliang is indeed enormously powerful and often receives "gifts"
from Wuhan. He is not and have never been a brilliant man, just a competent
man at the right time and place. He old, still quite alert but relying
on his loyal officer cadre to run the everyday business around the dam.
He never leaves the fortress; overall his paranoia has grown over the
years and he is constantly worried about assassination attempts. He has
deliberately fuelled the rumours that he has hidden demolition charges
linked to his life support bracelet inside the dam; whether the rumours
are true or not does not matter as long as the deterrent effect is clear.
Near the dam lies the city/garrison
that has sprung up close to the local centre of power. It is usually just
called The Dam or the Dam City. It is little more than a large armed camp,
run with military precision by the General's officers. Despite this it
is an important trading station and the easternmost outpost of the Red
Basin Republic.
The Dam is for all practical purposes
an independent state. The General rules supreme, and is indeed able to
both cut off power to the Red Basin and Wuhan, control the level of the
river and dam and generally force the surrounding region. However, being
a master of brinkmanship the General seldom demonstrates his power, preferring
to keep the Parliament and Wuhan fearful of him but not angered enough
to do something stupid. In the Republic he is viewed with suspicion, but
the politicians realise that it is better to never test him than to demonstrate
to the world that he does not act under their control.