NationStates Jolt Archive

"Dear President,

As you are no doubt aware, significant happenings both in China's domestic politics and international politics have shifted both Beijing and Quintonnia's respective political alignments.

On behalf of the Republic of China, I would like to invite you President Madame or another suitable representative of your nation for an official state visit to Hong Kong in order to discuss recent international events.

Yours Sincerely

Hu Jin Tao
President of the Republic of China"

The Quinntonian embassy in China and the Foriegn Affiars office in Washington send immediate responses saying that Prime Minister Vannesa Moerike will be more than happy to mae a stop in China to facilitate relations between our great nations. Of course, she is currently en route to London, where she is attempting to mediate a peace treaty between the HL powers a the involved Anglo ones. As soon as she is done thee, she is committed to making a visit to the Ottoman Empire and the new leader of Messopamia. But she will definately continue on to Bejing when that is completed. However, the Minister of Foriegn Affairs could be dispatched immediately if that is the desire of the Chinese people.

OOC-Due to fluid time, and because Australasia is on vacation, I am going to start the tour immediately, perhap poting it in the next day or two, then I will head there, would tht be OK? I hav just planned all of this and OKed it, I can't back out now.




WWJD
Amen.

[It may be better to wait until London is finished actually, since it seems Hu Jin Tao and Moerike will see each other there.]

OK, I am going to go ahead with the diplomatic tour, but if it gets to you before you are ready, I can put things on hold.
Yeah, I am going to either make or break PM Moerike's government based upon the success of this mission. But after the statesman that was Jesse Obed, and the vascilating weakness of PM Moerike, what kind of leader will step up for the Quinntonian people now?
WWJD
Amen.

(This next post is NOT due to fluid time, this is an unexpected diplomatic event before the conference.)

Leaving the Sino-Russian conference halfway, Vice President James Chang asks for an urgent meeting with a representative of Quintonnia to discuss the pressing matter of the Suez standoff.

With nothing to gain and everything to lose from SEATO's current position and Chang's combination of political craft and abrasion in the mix, political analysts predict a fireworks.

The head ambassador to China, Cardinal Dr. Eric Tse, a Chinese born Quinntonian Roman Catholic who was also serving as one of the Cardinals to the Chinese Catholic Church, was quite busy making all of the preparations for the Quinntonian visit and keeping a close eye on the nefarious First Minister Armand from Russia. He was in no great rush to speak about Suez, especially considering he really didn’t agree with his government on this issue, but as soon as was possible asked Mr. Chang to come and see him at his Cathedral/Embassy in Beijing. He would not be wearing his ceremonial robes, in an attempt to appear more common, but a plain black cassock with red tubing along the shoulders and the small red hat of a Cardinal belied his ecclesiastical allegiance. As did his white collar, he supposed. He was a man of some 75 years, and had served in China for most of his career. Except for a brief stay in Quinntonia to study for Seminary and get his Doctorate in Political Science from Duke University. He was instrumental in supporting the oppressed Church in the former military junta and though he loved Taiwan and visited his colleagues there often, he thought that unification was the greatest thing a Chinese man could see in his lifetime. He was even imprisoned a few times by a couple of the Chinese governments for various “subversive activities” in his support for the Christian minority here, but when Jonathan Zhang, the now deposed Emperor, came to power he was granted a full pardon and the now deceased PM Jesse Obed made him the Quinntonian ambassador to China shortly after he ascended to the College of Cardinals. He was a good preacher who spoke to packed crowds at mass three times daily in the new Cathedral/Embassy that seated 3,000 people.

The gentle old man was very popular even outside of the Catholic and Christian community, and often did speaking engagements on tolerance and understanding at various universities throughout the nation. He has a winning smile, and a slow, grandfatherly way of speaking that seemed to disarm people. He walked with a cane, and his back surgeon said that a walker was not far off.

As he waited for the meeting, the tired old man with the pronounced laugh lines had his assistant help him to a kneeling position as he clutched his rosary. He simply prayed that the Chinese government was more understanding than it seemed, and that God would give him guidance for his triple loyalties, Chinese, Quinntonian, Catholic.


WWJD
Amen.

For the first time since the Sino era, the meeting is held in Taipei as opposed to Beijing or Hong Kong to prevent "social disorder" and the like - the media has continued a six month barrage against Quintonnia and NATO, firstly over Libya, then Panama, Indonesia, and now the Suez.

Chang himself was a person who commanded more fear than respect, and President Hu Jin Tao did not fully trust him or agree with his methods - he was in all respects, a nationalist hardliner who had a strange appeal to voters that policy alone could not explain. Accompanying him to the meeting was Christian Socialism leader Edmund Hui, a comparative novice to Chinese politics. Like President Hu Jin Tao, he was generally very pleasant and accomodating.

In the Taipei Palace, a private reservation was made to keep things low key and private. It was here they would be having perhaps the most important diplomatic engagement in Sino-Quintonnian affairs since Zhang's first meeting.
Formerly the Taipei Presidential Palace, the Taipei Palace was now a 5 star diplomatic hotel that catered entirely for government personel and foreign diplomats - it was electronically secure and still regularly patrolled by intelligence services, features which made it the meeting place of choice for less important events.

Drinks were offered to Dr Tse by an assistant while Chang and Hui took a seat at the table. Dr Tse had a choice of 1975 Pinot Noir from France, some indigenous produce, or a 2002 Savignon Blanc from Australia. Light dim sum were also offered.

Hui chatted to him about Christian things, while Chang prepared his material in silence after a brief introduction, sporting a rather stern face while doing so. After a while he stops shuffling his papers and coughs slightly - the standard sign for "Let's get down to business".

"Thank you for making it here on such short notice, I hope the unexpected flight down from Beijing was not too bad."

"Obviously our two governments don't see eye to eye on the canal issue and my President has said something to the effect of "We'll pull out of the Tri-partide", so I will ask you a quick question. Businesses all over the world, from Beijing to Los Angeles are suffering the effects of the Suez closure resulting in job losses and an increase in anti-Quintonnian sentiment.

While we understand the direct cause of the blockage is a Soviet frigate blocking the way, as administrators of the canal it is Washington's and the Suez Canal's authority's responsibility to ensure the canal operates smoothly and without incident. Bluntly put, why doesn't your country use her influence on the board to let Soviet shipping through again so that the blockage could be sorted immediately?"

Dr, Tse was very tired after the flight, he didn’t seem to travel well these days. He politely refused the wine, asking for some Green Tea instead. His assistant held the cup for him, as his palsied and shaking hands would have spilled it all over his bright red ceremonial robes, and his assistant, along with a couple of other aides, were at his side at all time, helping him stand, holding his arm as he walked, and so on. Dr. Tse was not quite blind, but he sure couldn’t see very well either. And so when it was time to get to business, he could not see the stern face, but only hear the barking voice and that only with the help of a hearing aid.

His perpetually smiling face fell, and in a sombre tone, voice shaking with age, he tried to answer, “I am a messenger. In Greek, this is called angelos. It is sometimes translated in the Bible as the word angel. I cannot make decisions for my government, and I hope that you understand the limits of my powers here. As the angels in the Holy Scriptures, I only speak the words that I have been given to speak. Please keep that in mind.” At that point, he began to cough, and one of his aides rushed forward to steady him as he brought a silk cloth to his mouth.

When that subsided, he took another drink of tea and continued, “The blockade of the Suez is not advantageous to anyone, least of all Quinntonia. But we are labouring under some heavy pressures. First, it is the Roycelandians that hold the majority shares and seats on the board, not us. Second, the Soviets have made the situation worse than it needed to be by refusing to leave the lines and trying to force the blockade, as well as murdering the Egyptian authorities that tried to arrest them. Almost every ship captain has asked the Soviets to remove themselves from the lines so that shipping of their cargo at least, be allowed through, but they seem content to fabricate an international incident by forcing all shipping to a stop, instead of just theirs.” At this point he paused to gather himself, he knew of his predilection to ramble at his advanced age.

“At first, there was to be no stoppage of shipping at all, let us remember. Even Soviet military shipping was to be allowed through. But the Soviets, objecting to even having that company present landed troops there. That was the first act of aggression. Let us be clear on that. In response, the Egyptian authorities were called by the company representatives and asked to arrest the trespassers who were by all reports heavily armed. Unfortunately, the Soviets refused to submit to arrest and opened fire on the Egyptian policemen, killing several of them. This lead to a firefight in which the Soviet presence there was destroyed. That is all well-documented by the many cameras that captured the occurrence, I think. At that time, fearful of terrorist activity, the Quinntonian Navy was asked to patrol the canal in case of Soviet bombs or attacks, so that they would be directed at us instead of innocent civilians. It is at this time that Soviet military shipping was asked not to proceed through. The Quinntonian board members did ask though, knowing that there was no line between military and civilian in their society, which all Soviet shipping would be blocked, but the board refused.” At this stage, he called for tea again, and after drinking some of it, closed his eyes for almost a full minute.

Then they opened again and he went on, “That is how the blockade started. The blockade is against Soviet shipping only, but the Soviets have refused to allow any shipping through if theirs could not. Thus, if Chinese shipping is not being allowed through, it would be the Soviets who were blockading you, not us. Since that time, the situation has escalated, with more and more threats of violence coming from India and the Roycelandian protectorate of Goa coming under shelling in the past days. Time and time again, the NATO/SEATO powers have offered to negotiate, and when even the INU has applauded the plans, the Soviets have refused. We are at a loss. However, the Quinntonian government has offered to negotiate a financial settlement when Prime Minister Moerike arrives, that would compensate our friends and allies here, in my homeland, for any financial loss they may have incurred.”

More coughing, “Further, the situation about the Panama Canal was brought forward, and I must apologise for my government’s position on this. Nevertheless, it is simply illegal for any military units of any non-NATO nation to travel through the canal. Even our SEATO allies cannot do it. It would take an act of parliament to change that. We desperately wanted you to be able to, but it was simply impossible given the time afforded to us. As for the Philippines, I am confused as to what involvement Quinntonia had there, perhaps you could explain?”

With that, he asked to be excused to use the facilities before a response was made, and his assistant rushed forward to help him to his feet, and they walked towards the nearest door. At his age, these things just could not wait.


WWJD
Amen.

While Tse headed to the restroom, Chang and Hui discussed amongst themselves what they thought. They poured themselves some 'Changjiang Estate' wine, but it was so bad they opted instantly to throw the whole bottle out. No wonder the company was on its knees.

"I guess we get what we ask for. They sent the office receptionist instead of the CEO." Chang said. "I'll take a slight break. If he asks where I am tell him I'm talking with our delegation in France. Thanks for your assistance."

Edmund Hui thought things were going well indeed for him. The Vice President was usually a fairly abrasive person but was unusually kind to him, and he would take that as a good sign.

As Tse returned, Edmund offered him some more tea and began where he left off.

"As for the Phillipines, that was really the turning point of China's relations with Quintonnia." he said.

"To quote the political analyst and former Taiwanese President Chen Shui Bian, and now ambassador to Mesopotamia, the Quintonnian endorsement of Roycelandia through NATO, and by extension France at the time would be akin to the Soviets establishing communist government in Canada, building a fort on the Great Lakes and China signing a military alliance with the communists. In short, Washington placing Roycelandian and French interests ahead of any moral authority, and ahead of the safety of China's Pacific trade routes."

"But that is ancient history now to be fair, and things with France and other Russia are on the up again, due largely in part to my Vice President Chang's work."

On the subject of Panama, Edmund was very candid.

"I believe Moerike had her reasons, but to my coalition partners President Hu and Vice President Chang, they believe this was a raw deal. Our Emperor of the time, Zhang provided Quintonnia with support against Dra-pol but in return Washington was not willing to return the favour. Bluntly put, they feel that the incident showed that China's alliance with Quintonnia is really just for Washington's benefit."

The old Pastor nodded sagely, his wrinkled features taking in impassively what was said. He was handed his tea once again by his aids and after sipping the warm liquid, he began again, “The Philippines? Surely you must understand that the alliance with Roycelandia has been, in some for or another, in place since almost the foundation of the USQ. We have several…understandings with them. Their relationship with France is not one that we condone in any way, but you are right, through them, we have a military relationship of sorts. Roycelandia is one of our closest allies, and they are then in an alliance with France. The NATO terms of which you refer to, were signed long ago and in no way does the alliance with France invalidate it anymore than if Quinntonia signed a sudden alliance with the Combine would that invalidate their commitments to us. That treaty was designed to act as a measure of defence and protection against the rising Progressive Bloc of the time and their expansionist activities. It is purely defensive in nature, and only requires that each party comes to the other’s aid in the event of an unsolicited attack. It does not represent an offensive weapon in any way, and should not be interpreted thus. For instance, there was a single time in the last several years in which a mass persecution of the millions of French Protestants was occurring in France, and the USQ threatened to intervene. At that time, France threatened air strikes on Rammstien in Germany, which is considered Quinntonian soil. At that time, Roycelandia would have been obligated to enter a war against France due to the nature of the attack. Royce I was contacted and expressed his desire to do so should it come to it, even going so far as mobilising his Navy. Then, due to the efforts of Royce I, the French backed down and stopped their intolerance of that particular group. So, with that precedent and understanding in place, when Royce intervened in the Philippines, Quinntonia did not support them in any way, it was only when the Soviets started to mobilise several hundred thousand troops on the Goan border that they were reminded that an attack on Roycelandian soil would obligate the Quinntonians to intervene. In that way, we did support them. The Soviets chose a course of action which did not just attack the Roycelandian position in the Philippines, but also obligated us to respond. Had they invaded the Philippines, we would have done nothing to stop them fighting the Roycelandians. Do you see?”

It was at the end of the line of reasoning that he called for an aide, and started wheezing heavily, his aide slipped a nitro-glycerine pill into his mouth and then applied an inhalant, which calmed him down. When a minute or so had passed and the emergency was over, he sipped his tea as if nothing had happened and went on, “The canal issue, as I’ve already explained, is problematic. We do appreciate all of the support that the Emperor has given us, and the people of China themselves, I wish I could show you that. The China that exists now is a far better thing than the one that the USQ has been facing for years, while we had the 7th Fleet parked in front of Taiwan. It is rather glorious that I was able to live to see this day. And we very much wished that we could help you, but it would have taken an act of Parliament to do that, and though it would have most certainly passed, you did not allow us enough time. If you were to join SEATO, you too would have those privileges, without reservation. But with the change in your government’s foreign policy, I don’t see that as a realistic expectation. Perhaps we could change the terms of the Tripartite Pact to include canal privileges? Though, your current many close relationships with the Progressive Bloc would be problematic. And, I don’t know how much you would value that anyways, given your non-interference policy regarding European affairs after the Russian Summit. One thing is troubling though, why would having canal privileges so that you could fight the French be important to someone who just signed a comprehensive trade alliance with their closest ally?”

WWJD
Amen.