NationStates Jolt Archive

After having discussed the policies of change and prevention, the Gwangmu Emperor consulted with his advisors on the method to begin a new era of the ideal and policy of Neo-Protectionism [as opposed to the old system of plain Protectionism projected by the Gojong Emperor in the 19th century]. At the very least, there were two interest parties, each for their own reason - Kiwiland was coming to protect their Siberian holds from a new aggrandized Russia; and the USAR was keen about recent European expansions around the world, particularly recently in West Africa. The truth was that the Gwangmu Emperor was not absolutely aware of these circumstances, but as with all things, an unstable neighbor is unwelcome news - and the old Protectionist ideals must be revised to allow Protection from new and different threats than the clear and utter Expansions of the 19th and 20th century. The 21st Century would be a new era, and this conference would be the beginning of an era in which the Great Powers would protect their neighbors, rather than expand into them.

And the conference was agreed to come to Hanseong, the natural midway between Hangyeong and Osaka [albeit, that makes a longer travel from the USAR to Hanseong, but granted, it was an unfortunate perception that was not until recently calculated]. There, they would establish the foundations of a Cooperation Organization - tasked to defend the entire Orient from Expansionism in the new era.

No sooner had Premier Lamya al-Badr arrived in Baghdad from Gbadolite than she had heard about al-Katib's proposal to the Han, and the subsequent summit in Hanseong about the proposed Gwangju Cooperation Organization. The premier and her Iranian girlfriend Shahrzad hadn't even bothered to unpack.
President al-Baghdadi had offered to go in her place; after all, this kind of thing really was his job. But there was sort of an unspoken policy the UASR had; when there were decisions to be made, the Premier made them. There were going to be decisions at this conference; al-Badr was going to make them. It had been that way since Idris al-Asadi, and it wasn't about to change, at least not under Lamya al-Badr.
So, now, she was flying to Hanseong, to take part in what she considered the most necessary organization in Asia.

ooc: Kinda rushed, I have to go somewhere.

The Emperor received notice of the presence of Arabian Prime Minister, which was fitting. He knew that it would take some time for the Kiwiland delegation to arrive as well - they were perhaps too busy dealing with the threats placed upon their country, and it was respectable and expected. Still, he could not leave the Arabian Prime Minister to remain in Hanseong without Imperial escorts. It would not be respectful, and since the construction of the new airport at Incheon, it would be a curious drive from the west coast. But still, the Prime Minister would be brought in good company [and a sensible translator who knew about what he was speaking].

Incorporated States of Gauthic
Bureau of External Affairs

Greetings Gwangmu Emperor,

Sir, due to Gauthics proximity to the orient, and the possible effects its neighbor's actions can have on it, The Bureau of External Affairs respectfully requests to be part of the upcoming conference in Hanseong.

We would like to send several members from the Bureau of External affairs and at least one representative.

Thank you for your consideration.

Signed,
Dreff Torsten, Bureau of External Affairs Administrator

Incorporated States of Gauthic
Bureau of External Affairs

Greetings Gwangmu Emperor,

Sir, due to Gauthics proximity to the orient, and the possible effects its neighbor's actions can have on it, The Bureau of External Affairs respectfully requests to be part of the upcoming conference in Hanseong.

We would like to send several members from the Bureau of External affairs and at least one representative.

Thank you for your consideration.

Signed,
Dreff Torsten, Bureau of External Affairs Administrator

His Imperial Majesty is willing to grant your government representation in this conference, as it is pertinent to the security needs for all Oriental countries. It is only fitting that we include your respective state as representative of the wide expanse to the east in the Great Serene Ocean [Pacific Ocean].

However, His Imperial Majesty must make it absolutely clear that the conference is to discuss primarily a security alliance and the possibility of the propagation of His Imperial Majesty's policy of "protectionism" as opposed to "expansionism" - clearly witnessed recently in the West. We wish to protect the sovereign interests of all states in the Orient from such expansionist ploys, defending the Oriental stronghold against all expansionism. It is to make protectionism the dominant policy of the Orient, such as the demonstrate the moral, ethical, and political superiority of the Orient compared to Western governments - which are apparently still struggling with matters of government practice. It is by our example that the Orient shall guide the Westerners to realize the superior form of government and bring balance and harmony to the world. It has been demonstrated in numerous instances that the Western governments are clearly unable to govern themselves and must continually seek intervention from His Imperial Majesty or governments to which His Imperial Majesty supports and clearly in alignment. The United Arab Socialist Republics has demonstrated their clear moral and political superiority in the issue over the Cape Verde Islands - and the Empire of Kiwiland has been threatened by the slovenly remarks of an expansionist regime in Russia; it is the common resolve of all Orientals to demonstrate the political, moral, and ethical superiority of our management and lead it to show itself in the world. Already, there are states in the West [i.e. United States of America, etc.] that exemplify this ideal of political establishment [of protectionism], but they are lacking the moral support from the Orient. It is therefore our resolve to bring together the forces that bring the ideals of protectionism to the world.

If your government is clearly interested in becoming among the elite that cherishes this ideal, it is right for your government to join us and thereby demonstrate further the superiority of our military alliance - not only in the simplicity of its interests, but in the simplicity of its ideals as well.

News of the Conference arrived in Kiwiland at the same time that the National Security Hearings Committee concluded, invigorating the exhausted Emperor Reinc Eluys. "Excellent! Bring me the Foregin Minister!" He quickly got ready to travel, knowing full well the importance of the coming meeting. "This will be deciding point of 21st century history!"

Within an hour both Emperor and the Foreign Minister Lus Coralin were seated on the King's Flight, flying steadily towards Hanseong. The Foregin Minister had just flew back from overseas negotiations, and felt utterly exhausted, though. But even as he tried frantically to get some rest on the amazingly still plane, excitement kept him up over the entire course of the flight.

"Here we are, the Great Han Empire," the Emperor peered through the windows as the plane landed with hardly a bump. He made his way off excitedly. "Hurry, we are late already."

Flanked by three bodyguards, the Emperor strode into the Han Empire's airport, while Minister Coralin scuttled along behind with two briefcases' of documents.

"Now which way are we headed?" the Emperor looked around.

A convoy of cars arrived just as the Kiwiland Emperor was pondering that question, and they came quickly, to shuttle them to the conference area. They were careful to be courteous and to likewise show expediency in their rush, as the Emperor did not like to wait, and no doubt, two Emperors waiting were worse than one waiting. In due time, they gathered the Kiwiland Emperor with the Arabian Prime Minister, and the Emperor considered the gathering sufficient, although he decided to send his officials to gather more at the conference, likewise wondering if the Gauthic representatives would arrive in time before tea time was over.

al-Badr disembarked the plane, discreetly removing her gum from her mouth and putting it in its wrapper. She dropped it into her trousers' pocket to throw away later, then put an arm around Shahrzad's waist and began walking towards the people the Han had sent for them.
"Hey, do you know what East Asians think about lesbians?" al-Badr asked the other woman in Farsi.
"Since when have you cared?" Shahrzad replied. It was a good point; the Premier really didn't care at all what people thought about her being a lesbian. Still, she didn't want to leave a bad first impression with the country she was hoping to be close friends with.
"Never mind," al-Badr said, then, switching to Arabic, she said to the people, "Greetings, comrades! Is one of you an interpreter?"

Hanseong, East Asia
Weather: Partly Cloudy, Moderate Winds
6/03/2007, 1215

The squad of eight guards with their bright orange stun guns flanked the delegation on either side. Dreff Torsten was dressed in his formal military uniform, looking over his PDA. The Moderators to monitor the conference were right behind him, also warming their PDAs up to begin recording, cross referencing, and translating.

Cindy Yates, the Representative from Jade Province and one of the most internationally involved of Gauthic's congress, was behind all of them at first, trailing the rear while she relaced her steel boot and checked her dark green formal suit. With herself in order she went forward, taking one of the guards by the arm and asking him to kindly use physical force to wedge the Moderators aside so she may walk beside Dreff.

"Hey, glad to see you." Dreff said once Cindy had been placed beside him by the guard. "I doubt we'll be doing anything too serious here, just mostly head nodding. Mainly trying to keep the big bad west from steam-rolling the east." Cindy shook her head and chuckled, "I doubt the old Americas can hurt the east. Our nation is the only one in danger of being crushed, nestled between two powerhouses." Dreff looked up at Cindy, grinning, "We survived the migration away from the USA, we allied to form our losse islands to a real nation, I think we can avoid being stepped on by the giant and the dragon."

"I just hope my relationship issues don't come up in what's supposed to be a political meeting." Cindy said, a litle wary of the fact her sex life has been mentioned by the governments of every nation in every meeting she's been to since she began travelling.

The convoys were busy running the delegates from the airport to the conference center - but nonetheless, with great swiftness, all of those dedicated to arriving had arrived and the Emperor decided that now was a good time to greet his greets.

"All rise, His Imperial Majesty - the Gwangmu Emperor - sovereign of the Celestial and Great Han Empire!"

Emperor Gwangmu entered and seated himself on the ground upon a silken pillow, much the same that was offered to his guests. Upon his seating, the others followed - not so much out of respect, but out of custom. With that done, three women entered the room: one with a teapot, one with ceramic plates, and the last with tea cups. They arrayed the items for all of them to enjoy before commencing the meeting. Very quickly, the Emperor noticed that the head representatives from Gauthic and UASR were in fact women - not to discredit them or their work. But it seemed odd that after years of listening to his own father speak of the predominant female in the Western world, and to see it happening, it seemed intriguing to say the least. But he did well to heed his father's advice - to disregard the gender of the most esteemed representative and to render them the same respect as he would himself - it is not the woman he treats, but rather the country that she represents.

[ooc: I'll let you guys talk a little bit before I begin the meat of the discussion - talk about anything and everything and maybe we can have a nice pre-conference chat? after all, that's why we have tea time. After tea time comes the discussion. If the discussion calls for it, we shall have some food and continue another round of discussion. But hopefully, we will be resolute the first time and have a dinner to conclude it all. Despite all of this extravagance, I will try to keep the extraneous matter brief but interesting.]

The convoys were busy running the delegates from the airport to the conference center - but nonetheless, with great swiftness, all of those dedicated to arriving had arrived and the Emperor decided that now was a good time to greet his greets.

"All rise, His Imperial Majesty - the Gwangmu Emperor - sovereign of the Celestial and Great Han Empire!"

At this, every single member of the Gauthic delegation stood at full attention and gave a formal military salute.

Emperor Gwangmu entered and seated himself on the ground upon a silken pillow, much the same that was offered to his guests. Upon his seating, the others followed - not so much out of respect, but out of custom

The salute was dropped, and every member of the delegation took their seats while the majority of the guards left the room or took positions at it's corners.

With that done, three women entered the room: one with a teapot, one with ceramic plates, and the last with tea cups. They arrayed the items for all of them to enjoy before commencing the meeting. Very quickly, the Emperor noticed that the head representatives from Gauthic and UASR were in fact women - not to discredit them or their work. But it seemed odd that after years of listening to his own father speak of the predominant female in the Western world, and to see it happening, it seemed intriguing to say the least. But he did well to heed his father's advice - to disregard the gender of the most esteemed representative and to render them the same respect as he would himself - it is not the woman he treats, but rather the country that she represents.

Dreff Torsten and the other moderators pocketed their PDAs and other gadgets as the tea reached them, and awaited some sign that it was allright to drink, mainly looking to Emperor Gwangmu.

Cindy Yates was taking a look around at the other delegates, noting their posture, facial features and expression, and general eccentricities. The Premier of the UASR, arm wrapped around a woman, caught her attention for a few moments longer then she would like to admit. Once the tea arrived she turned to Emperor Gwangmu and smiled, lifting her cup in the general direction of the Emperor, "Emperor, it's good to see you. From the States of Gauthic, I offer you a blessing, to the continued health of yourself and your empire."

al-Badr and Shahrzad stood as the Emperor walked in. Shahrzad did it as soon as it was asked of her. al-Badr was a bit slower about it, simply because it wasn't normally done in the UASR. It had been before al-Asadi, but al-Badr's predecessor, all-too-scared of forming a personality cult around himself, had done away with it. And Lamya bint 'Isa al-Badr had been less than five years old when al-Asadi had come to power in 1980, so it was hardly standard practice.
The Premier found herself to be one of the first people to be sitting down as well. When her companion took her seat, she received a nudge and a meaningful look. al-Badr returned a shrug and a silent, "Sue me."
Taking her cup of tea, for courtesy reasons, the Premier couldn't stand the stuff, al-Badr looked around the room. The representative from Gauthic was staring a bit too long at her, more specifically, the arm she had around Shahrzad, for the Premier's taste. Habitually, she pushed her glasses up on her nose; a gesture that, when accompanied by a discreet nod at somebody, was a signal for the SSD to pop that somebody at a later time. But, the SSD, unless you counted Shahrzad, wasn't in the room, and the Premier didn't want the lady dead. She lived in a Muslim country, after all. People stared all the time.
al-Badr took a sip of tea. She set it back on its plate, and slid it over to Shahrzad. The Iranian woman took a sip of it as well.
"Don't know why you don't like it," she whispered to the Premier in Farsi.
"I don't know why you don't like Tupac," al-Badr whispered back. She took back the cup of tea, in case everyone else was going to raise their cups for the Emperor.

(ooc: sorry for the delay, internet issues.... btw, does anyone know about the feasibility of using two ADSL routers on the same phone line?)

Out of courtesy Emperor Reinc Eluys also stood as Emperor Gwangmu arrived on the scene, nodding at his continental counterpart. Once everyone seated again, he began studying the foreign versions of chadō instruments with great interest. As a skilled politician he has been involved in his fair share of tea parties, and was curious about what developments occured in tea's land of origin.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Minister quietly reported on the others in attendance of the conference. "Premier al-Badr is a homosexual," he said, reading from his phone. "The Intelligence and Analysis Service cautions against compliments on her looks that may be misinterpreted."

"How?" Reinc gave it a thought. Traditionally homosexuality is treated very casually in his country, but in foreign nations... "Oh."

"Also, Representative Cindy Yates seems to have a rather bad reputation," Minister Coralin added. "Again the IAS recommends caution when speaking on related analogies.

Nodding and completely absorbed in thoughts of representing Kiwiland honourably, the Emperor suddenly felt thirsty and took a sip of the tea.

"Nice tea," he commented brightly, before realising that not only had no one else drank yet, they all seemed to be ready to propose a toast.

"Also, Representative Cindy Yates seems to have a rather bad reputation," Minister Coralin added. "Again the IAS recommends caution when speaking on related analogies.

ooc: ...wha? She has a reputation? Cool, what is it? :D

ooc:

[B][FONT="Lucida Console"]...Cindy said, a litle wary of the fact her sex life has been mentioned by the governments of every nation in every meeting she's been to since she began travelling.

;)

[ooc: woops, I guess I forgot to get everyone drinking...]

The Emperor politely acknowledged all remarks rendered to him:

"I am glad to receive your blessings, and we reciprocate the same wishes of prosperity and longevity. I reciprocate the same respects to each of your countries, and to the continued health of our great lands!"

Emperor Gwangmu took his cup of tea and drank it slowly, having toasted to introduction to the tea time.

[ooc: woops, I guess I forgot to get everyone drinking...]

The Emperor politely acknowledged all remarks rendered to him:

"I am glad to receive your blessings, and we reciprocate the same wishes of prosperity and longevity. I reciprocate the same respects to each of your countries, and to the continued health of our great lands!"

Emperor Gwangmu took his cup of tea and drank it slowly, having toasted to introduction to the tea time.

ooc: I love tea so much ::is currently drinking home brewed black tea from a mason jar.::

IC:

With the toast complete, Cindy, Dreff, and 4 of the 5 moderators downed their tea in a single gulp, the 5th moderator required only a second sip to finish off the cup. They then politely requested more tea.

[ooc: glad you like :D]


The Gauthic delegation was apt to drinking plenty of tea, and the attendants were keen to keep their cups filled. The Emperor, however, drank his tea slowly, to enjoy the moment, and find some solace the fine aroma surrounding the room. There was plenty of harmony in the moment, and its peace gave the Emperor assurance of success.

>>>bump<<<

Slowly tasting the delicious foreign tea, Emperor Reinc Eluys gave himself a moment's thought as he submerged in the pleasant aroma, before turning to the Gauthic representative.

"Hello," he nodded in what he hoped was a friendly, relaxed manner. "I've heard many good things about the beauty of your land from our tourism agents."

He had no idea why he said that, but a little compliment surely won't hurt. "My Minister of Trade is a particularly keen traveller. I'm sure he'd want to go there sometimes."

With that, Emperor Reinc hoped a subtle message for trade had been conveyed elegantly. Behind him, the Foreign Minister claped his forehead in dispair.

[ooc: this is going no where fast, so we're cutting to the case]

The Emperor finished his tea, and as the last of the conversations ended, he rose to his feet and announced to the delegates:

"I bid you welcome to Hanseong, the ancient and venerable capital of Joseon. We have come here today on prompts from intrusions of foreign states into domains not of their own, and it is our common resolve to prevent their action from intervening in the affairs of our own region - the Orient, near and far. The Han Empire has, for the most part, remained out of these squabbles of the Western expansionists - but increasingly, they have found their way to us. Recently, the Russians renewed vigor on their quest to expand east into domains of Kiwiland and Gashgalbrad [he probably doesn't exist anymore, but anyways, it makes for a great argument]. In addition to our obligation for the protection and defense of the ancient Yuan Dynasty [i.e. RL Mongolia], it is part of our role to defend against these threats to our neighbors in the Orient. Furthermore, it has been revealed that in spite of actions from our Arabian friends, the West will continue to expand into regions not of our their own and to the detriment of those inhabiting the territories.

Therefore, it has been decided in the Han Empire to found a new organization, devoted to the principle of protectionism - the opposed and true principle to expansionism. As the Orient, we have demonstrated on numerous occasions that our form of society is superior to the Western forms - they have sought our technology [paper, gunpowder, silk...], they have sought our lands for wealth, they have sought to learn of our customs [mainly Jesuits who also wanted to convert people to Catholicism...], and they have sought to make us their own. Our government - despite numerous clashes in the past - has existed for over 700 years, claims ascendancy from the One Empire 2000 years ago, and finds its roots in cultures developed distinctly 4000 years ago and beyond. The Orient has since expanded beyond simply the ancient Qin [Qin Dynasty] domains and likewise shares several connotations of cultural superiority to the West. The Indians invented numerals; the Arabs cultivated them [i.e. mathematics]; and we have all sailed the seas in pursuit for greater prizes than territory and wealth. If these do not demonstrate our superiority, then no man can clearly claim to be the superior in this world.

But I digress. We have shown our ingenuity in separate lines. If we are to show solidarity against Western expansions, we must band together and prove ourselves the superior in mind against Western expansions. Therefore, we open our table to this discussion, so that we may find the way to a peaceful and strong resolution in this manner."

Cindy was feeling a little bit restless during the long, awkward silence while everyone sat sipping tea. She was enjoying the way the hot, green tea slid down her throat, and occaisionally glancing over at the UASR leader and wondering how to approach her and her 'friend' with a few, totally inocent questions. Questions she hopes never reach the media and further the stereotype of the female government official.

Slowly tasting the delicious foreign tea, Emperor Reinc Eluys gave himself a moment's thought as he submerged in the pleasant aroma, before turning to the Gauthic representative.

"Hello," he nodded in what he hoped was a friendly, relaxed manner. "I've heard many good things about the beauty of your land from our tourism agents."

He had no idea why he said that, but a little compliment surely won't hurt. "My Minister of Trade is a particularly keen traveller. I'm sure he'd want to go there sometimes."

With that, Emperor Reinc hoped a subtle message for trade had been conveyed elegantly. Behind him, the Foreign Minister claped his forehead in dispair.

The Kiwiland Emperor snapped her out of her train of thought, thank the Creator on his golden throne for that. She smiled wide to him, feeling a bit complimented by his suggestion, "That'd be great. We'd be glad to show him and whatever delegation that comes with him around our islands."

The pleasantries were then cut short when Emperor Gwangmu got to the point of this meeting. Darn, just when it was starting to get fun...

Makes a very long speech containing much important information about the current situation.

Several of the Moderators took out their PDAs and began cross referencing everything the Emperor said. Cindy looked over the shoulder of one seated next to her to see the map of the pacific, along with a few notes on current western expansion.

Dreff had advised that this meeting hadn't concerned them too much, but it seemed that may not be the case for very long. She took out her own PDA and began planning a responce, as well as texting to Torsten what may be the best course of action. She'd wait and listen to the responses of the others here first before speaking, for sure.

*bump*

Reinc barely had time to thank the Gauthic representative before Emperor Gwangmu started off on today's meeting.

As he listened intently, Reinc recalled the huge plasma map hanging in his office, showing Kiwiland and her neighbours. The long southern border with the Han Empire, and blotches of disputed territories with Russia, are the culprits behind his numerous headaches.

If the Han Empire attacks us, our forces will be cut off at all front.... Reinc shook his head. The East must become united no matter what. Still, the vast collection of cultures in the East had by no means been best friends.

Emperor Gwangmu finished, and no one else seemed quite ready to make their moves. Coughing, Reinc spoke up.

"As His Majesty have well said, we here in the East must be united for the common good. My government proposes that the organisation we have come together to form today guarantees the territorial integrity of every nation in Asia.

"Of course, we have to be careful that promises of security does not result in less well-mannered members of the East to embark on colonial expansions of their own, or to adopt provocative policies that simply invites trouble.

"Well, I suggest we come up with a name first? What about Asia-Pacific Treaty Organisation?"

Laying back to sip at his cup of tea, Reinc whispered to his foreign minister, "Who the hell came up with that name? I hope no one from NATO would sue us for copyright infringemen...."

"Er, I'm sure copyright laws doesn't apply to things like this," the minister whispered back belatedly.

The Gwangmu Emperor nodded - he could sense some apprehension from the Emperor of Kiwiland, and it seemed evident that the security of Kiwiland was more direly pressed than it had been perceived.

"Your acknowledgments are indeed noble," the Emperor replied. "But we ought not concern with the names of our intentions, but rather the function of our aims.

"It is the unequivocable will of the Han Empire to maintain a delicate harmonic balance, unaltered by the expansionist policies of any country, particularly in the Orient, which is our homeland. Long ago, the Han realized that we could not conquer the world, and indeed it became obvious that we neither needed to conquer the world nor had any incentive to do so. Rather, as was the policy started by the Gojong Emperor [circa 1863], it was more profitable to make friends with other lands, and to have peaceful cooperation with those lands instead of controlling them directly. The logistics of maintaining this Empire is awfully excessive at times, and the Empire can only afford so much to maintain its state. Imagine if we controlled the Orient - our ambitions would be cut by the costs of maintaining that Empire, a lesson well learned by the Yuan Dynasty [the Mongols]. Therefore, the Han Empire has since the Gojong era pledged non-expansionism, and in fact proposed an opposite policy to the previous standard - protectionism. Instead of controlling those territories, we instead vow to insure the safety and protection of our neighbors and friends. This policy was not far off the old standard of expansionism, but instead of using protectionism as a recourse to controlling the policies of those states, we opted to hold and check the powers of the West from expanding into territories not of their sovereign right.

"As has been the case in numerous times in history, times change, and we realize that our homeland has since grown beyond Weitnam [Indochina] and the Yuan [Mongolia]. We have inherited the problems of restless neighbors who will threaten the balance in the Orient as a means to attaining global hegemony and expand into our own lands. We have had feuds in the past, indeed. Kiwiland and Han share a mutual history of shared aggression against each other at numerous points in our history; the Han have been aggressive and expansive in our time; and no doubt other countries have had their share of receiving some trouble blows from the Qin and the Yuan. However, our cultural objective is the same - our political objective likewise the same. It is common sense that our domains should unite in the banner of protectionism, to check the expansions of the West in our homes, and hopefully to come, in those abroad. With a harmonic balance in the world, the Orient can better profit from the numerous neighbors and states by sharing the wealth of our peoples to cultivate a better humanity than the humanity of expansionism.

"However, we realize some problems - notably with those states that are either unable to comprehend the idea of protectionism or to govern their state. And it is hopeful that in time, we can come to conclude some policy on these actions. Whereas the Han Empire iterates its stance to avoid and reject expansionism as our standard of foreign policy."

The Gwangmu Emperor let the stand open once again, to permit others to speak.

A careful messenger entered the room - bearing a message for the Emperor:

"Imperial Highness, we have received startling news from the world, which I feel is of use to your Highness in conference."

The Gwangmu Emperor noddded: "Speak for us all, and make known the developments around the world."

The messenger bowed (kowtow...) and held out a scroll, crafted of fine computer paper (acid-free for longevity) and with freshly printed ink - a "modern" scroll. Having done so, he read aloud the announcements - "It will please His Imperial Majesty and his Exalted Guests to realize the following events have occurred around the world. In the East European Union, unruly protesters opened fire upon police, inciting a massacre in Kiev. The calamity has come from supposed supporters of anarchy in the West. More details will follow when His Imperial Majesty's intelligence operations can procure better information."

The messenger then departed the room, with the details fresh on everyone's minds. The Emperor pondered on these matters, considering if his Ministries have adequately dealt with the matter in his absence.

OOC: assuming that the war in Iceland is coming to fruition...

IC:

The messenger had hardly left the room when he re-entered with a new scroll. The Emperor simply nodded and the messenger announced the details:

"It will please His Imperial Majesty and his Exalted Guests to realize the following events have occurred around the world. In Iceland, the foreign forces of Ezlatia have committed to attack and invaded the sovereign Scandinavian State of Futuris. Their intentions in such an attack is unknown, but it can be assumed that conquest is their aim. The Scandinavian State of Futuris does not share the same manpower of Ezaltia, but if the Americans can be convinced to entertain conflict to preserve the balance in Iceland, they may yet be preserved against expansionist aggressions."

The messenger left the room, and Emperor Gwangmu stood again, speaking quickly on the subject - "This is the culture of the West; conflict and expansionism. We have much to accomplish with our aims to stand together, even as the West seeks to expand against itself. They demonstrate their weakness in political ideology, and therefore, it is our noble pursuit to preserve harmony."

Reinc addressed the conference again.

"These are grave tidings indeed. They clearly illustrates the need for us to arrive at some sort of formal agreements swiftly, before expansionist great powers begin taking us one by one.

"I suggest we start by drafting a charter for APTO - if no one objects to that name, of course, for we do need one out of convenience - and proceed with the details.

"Here are some lines that I have written up in order to express Emperor Gwangmu's ideals, and some points my government deems important for all of us. However I did not include the word protectionism, but this is purely out of concern for possible confusions steming from that term's usage in economics."

He pulled out a piece of paper and begin reading.

1. In recognition of the inherent, equal and inalienable rights of every nation, large or small, the governments assembled through their representatives here in Hanseong do hereby establish the Asia Pacific Treaty Organisation.

2. Reaffirming our faith in the faith of national self-determination and peaceful development, the Parties condemn expansionism as an instrument in the policies of state.

3. Declaring that in our view, a sovereign state possesses immutable dignity by virtue of their existence, the Parties denounce the use of, or threat of using, force to resolve international territorial disputes.

4. Accordingly, territorial or political expansion into the regions of Asia and Pacific, by any means other than the freely given consent of a majority of the population, shall be considered attacks on all of the Parties to be resisted by any means they deem necessary, including the use of force.

5. To pursue the goals laid out above, the Parties will consult each other if any one of them perceives the territorial integrity or political independence of any sovereign state in the Asia and Pacific region to be under threat.

"Is this acceptable to the representatives here?" folding the piece of paper away, Reinc asked in finishing, and let the others consider his proposed treaty. Having done that, he leaned back and tilted his head towards his foreign minister Lus Coralin, who didn't make him wait.

"The Intelligence and Analysis Service believes that the Kiev Massacre was an attempt at destabilising the Eastern European Union, and recommends stating sympathy while focusing on blaming and arresting that Vladimir.

"The Defence Intelligence Agency reports that Iceland will quickly fall without outside help. However, the Ezaltians appear to boast of invasion forces several times larger than what their economy should be able to reasonably afford."

Reinc pondered. This seems to suggest that the Ezaltians are incredibly militaristic.... and right next doors. "Make a press release about the Kiev Massacre following the IAS's recommendations, and issue a statement of support to Iceland."

"Right away, " Lus relayed the orders, and looked at the Emperor worriedly. "Your Majesty, Iceland has been a traditional friend..."

"I know. But we have to know more first."

"Excuse me, if I may interrupt," al-Badr said through her interpreter, "But it seems you have renamed the proposed organization. I was under the impression that this was to be called the 'Gwangju Cooperation Organization.' I don't particularly care about the name as long as our goals are achieved, but 'Treaty Organization' to me echoes an imperialistic Cold War alliance."
She would have said more, but Shahrzad, after getting a message through her earpiece, whispered in her ear in Farsi, "We've confirmed what the Emperor's aide has been saying is going on. What do you want to tell President al-Katib to do?"
al-Badr drummed her fingers on the table for a few seconds, tapping out the beat to Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" as she did. Then, she whispered back, "I want a full condemnation of Ezaltian actions in Iceland. Tell Malik not to say anything about the 'Kiev Massacre' just yet, although if it begins to result in the persecution of socialists..."
"...our borders are open," Shahrzad finished, "I'll step outside and convey those messages."
Before the SSD operative could do that, the Premier pulled her in for a long kiss. When they broke, Shahrzad informed al-Badr that, "she had the patience of a four-year old on methamphetamine."
"You never complain," al-Badr said to herself, gulping down more of the tea. Didn't want the stuff to go to waste...

"Err.... Was it?" Reinc replied. "Sorry, Kiwiland has not been informed of this at all. We assumed it was a nameless cooperative organisation, because everyone seemed to be refering to it as the 'organisation'.

"If I may ask, what does Gwangju refer to?" Foreign Minister Lus Coralin asked, feeling slightly bemused by the name and annoyed by the Premier's public display of affection. "It seems wierd to name an pan-Asian..."

Reinc cut him off. "More importantly, can we have some input on the charter's draft?" Strengthening his country's position is his top priority.

The Gwangmu Emperor then stood again, hoping to deter the conflict from something so trivial.

"As I stated earlier, we ought not argue over the appellation of our project. I had invited the UASR to this conference with the intention of establishing a new security organization based in Gwangju {RL Guangzhou}, primarily because of its relative proximity to the center of the Orient. Gwangju itself boasts a vibrant economy involving many foreigners, as has been the case for nearly 400 years. Additionally, the naval, aerial, and ground access to city is well protected, and is readily accessible all the same. For this reason, modeling on other possible organizations, we had proposed the idea of a Gwangju Cooperation Organization - based in Gwangju, that is - to the Arabian delegation earlier. And while a new name is not out of our prospective, we do not wish to entertain arguing and finding discord simply because of a name. For certain, the Han Empire wishes to establish this Organization - whatever it is to be called - in Gwangju - for these reasons that I have just elucidated.

"But as our purpose here is to determine the functions of this new organization, I feel our time would be better spent discussing how it will operate. And the Emperor of Kiwiland proposes some valid points.

1. In recognition of the inherent, equal and inalienable rights of every nation, large or small, the governments assembled through their representatives here in Hanseong do hereby establish the <<<*>>>.

2. Reaffirming our faith in the faith of national self-determination and peaceful development, the Parties condemn expansionism as an instrument in the policies of state.

3. Declaring that in our view, a sovereign state possesses immutable dignity by virtue of their existence, the Parties denounce the use of, or threat of using, force to resolve international territorial disputes.

4. Accordingly, territorial or political expansion into the Orient, by any means other than the freely given consent of a majority of the population, shall be considered attacks on all of the Parties to be resisted by any means they deem necessary, including the use of force.

5. To pursue the goals laid out above, the Parties will consult each other if any one of them perceives the territorial integrity or political independence of any sovereign state in the Orient to be under threat.

(OOC: I've replaced mention of "Asia and Pacific" with "Orient," as the word has many different connotations, notably among those include "to guide")

"As to the first point, I wish to say 'In recognition of the sovereign rights of every state - large or small - the representatives of the same sovereign governments convened in Hanseong do hereby establish this organization for the purpose of securing the sovereign rights of all countries in the Orient: to protect the weaker states from expansionist ambitions, to deter aggression from expansionist governments and powers, and to improve the well-being and prosperity of peoples all in the Orient.' This is an adaptation of the same statement, and while we could argue that they are the same, I feel that the latter statement offers to us a more definitive purpose of our convention, through which subsequent statements will determine how we will accomplish these goals. It might be better explained what the sovereign rights of a state include, but I feel that it is well apparent in the Confucian ethic, that to recognize what is sovereign by your own standard, to infringe what is perceived as sovereign on your behalf upon someone else is impermissible and otherwise uncivil - we can recognize that in recognizing that every state has a sovereign right, then we can avoid discussing what of those sovereign rights we wish to discuss.

"To the second point, I agree whole-heartedly. It might be best expanded, but if we do to much to it, we dilute its meaning, and a simple condemnation of expansionist policy is as concrete as we can provide at the moment.

"To the third point, I wish to state that denouncing the use of force is somewhat an infringement of sovereignty. Perhaps, we can better state that the threat of force and subsequent use of it is at best a condemnable act, and that at worst is an expression of expansionist policy. But we can discuss better.

"To the fourth part, I think that it is best stated that states which are not able to maintain the sovereign rights ordained by the people who form that regime are unfit to govern and thus, it is best that a state that can demonstrate proper government of those people should be permitted sovereignty over those people. In this manner, we include the right of a state to accept the sovereignty ordained by its people, and secondarily, we permit states to attain sovereignty over territories, in which the population demonstrates a clear inability to govern itself in a manner that in concert to this agreement. However, I realize that this does create a fine line between what is protectionism and what is expansionism. After all, not all countries demonstrate a clear ability to govern themselves, and in those cases, the people may not have the ability to govern themselves and their representative voice is doused by oppressive regimes. In such cases, I see it is right to liberate such territories - but we must discern when those people are truly oppressed or it is simply our perception of their oppression under a regime that is not appreciated by our own cooperative governments.

"To the fifth part, I likewise agree. It is simple and self-evidently defined; an expansion of its meaning may compromise our intent.

"Is there anything that we can add this or remove from this draft? Otherwise, we are making great progress to defining the role of protectionism in the Orient."

al-Badr held in a snort. What they had been told? This whole organization had been a suggestion of the President of the UASR's brother, and that same brother had gone over to Hangyeong to present it.
Of course, the emperor...of Han, that is, was right. There was no reason to be arguing over something stupid like the name. Time for the business at hand.
"I do not believe that there is anything more that needs to be said about this draft," al-Badr said, pushing her glasses up on her nose again, "However, there are obviously more things that needed to be expanded upon, outside of the mission statement, which is currently what we have written down. As it stands, this organization is not very organized."
"Having said that, if there are any further comments on the current draft of the charter, then they should speak now, before we move on," she said,

"What does the Arabian delegation wish to add to the discussion?"

While the other representatives are gathering their thoughts, Reinc coughed embarrasingly. "It seems like I've made a tiny grammatical error," he told them sheepishly. "Article 2 should read '[r]eaffirming our faith in national self-determination' rather than 'in the faith of'.

"Regarding the Han Emperor's comments for Article 3, I believe we can resolve this by modifying it slightly to: Declaring our conviction that a sovereign state possesses immutable dignity by virtue of their existence, the Parties express reproval for the use of, or threat of using, force to resolve territorial disputes in place of diplomacy.

"Other than th, the only suggestions I have is that we ought to split the expanded first article into two articles or two paragraphs." Reinc paused and felt more embaraased. "You know, just to make it easier to read."

"At the very least, there needs to be some sort of dedicated bodies within the organization for the areas in which our nations are to be cooperating in," al-Badr said, putting her arm back around Shahrzad as the Iranian woman came back into the room, "For example, on the front on which the Westerners seem all too eager to make us cooperate in, defense, there could perhaps be a body through which our respective defense ministers could discuss issues relevant to defense and security of our nations, and the Orient in general."
"Of course, this is to be a Cooperation Organization, not some sort of dedicated military alliance," she continued, "So, there would be bodies beyond that one. Ministers of Culture, Economy, Foreign Affairs, Transportation...all of them readily come to mind."
"As for the third paragraph, I would suggest adding something along the lines of 'the Parties express reproval for the use of, or threat of using, force to resolve territorial disputes in place of diplomacy as anything other than a last resort.'"

"The dialogue is moving well. The Arabian suggestion for the formation of separate committees would be useful as well. It will be much easier to coordinate our cooperation in separate designations. Of course, the Empire has no official Minister of Culture, or of Economy and Transportation specifically, but we can accommodate those changes by electing special representatives to see through our obligations to this organization.

"Might I also suggest an annual sumit between the heads of states of all members in this organization, as an invitation to sponsoring and cultivating good-will between our respective leaders? Something as we have now, since I'm presuming that we are also heads of state, in some form or another. And we could meet in each country on a rotating basis, so as to also promote active diplomacy and discussion wherever and whenever, also promoting the local tourism of the sites visited. (something like the G8...)"

Cindy Yates had been taking in everything that was said, drafting her response on PDA and texting it to Dreff Torsten for revisions. She was determined to say something despite his objections, objections that dissapeared once a formally drafted charter was presented...

Cindy was momentarily distracted by the kiss between al-Badr and Shahrzad, but she ran a few mantras from military academy through her head and got herself back on track.

And now here we were, in just 15 minutes a simple effort to stop western expansionism seemed to be turning into a tight knitted alliance. And here was the first problem with it...

Cindy chimed in with, "This is supposed to be a cooperation, as well stated by the Premier. I beleive a charter of any type is not the best idea at this time. One major flaw in it is the glaring lack of a definition of what expansionism is, something this conference has yet to define and it was beleived would seek a definition of. The west is threatening our economies more then anything, and we should continue to focus upon that. How can we protect ourselves from the economic and extra-legal manuvering of an unscrupulous west?

"Indeed, the last thing we need is yet another bureacracy backed by a piece of paper that says something so re-intrepretable as to render itself either useless or all empowering. Our own nation has recently had a population explosion due to the problems the west has created and we accept that we might be their next target, as the nations of the west look to exploit their former citizens.

"How they attack next could be almost anything, but we cannot congele ourselves to an organization with a charter that says 'to stop anything' or it can soon encompass everything."

Cindy finished, and took a sip of her tea, hoping her statement was clear.

Cindy Yates had been taking in everything that was said, drafting her response on PDA and texting it to Dreff Torsten for revisions. She was determined to say something despite his objections, objections that dissapeared once a formally drafted charter was presented...

Cindy was momentarily distracted by the kiss between al-Badr and Shahrzad, but she ran a few mantras from military academy through her head and got herself back on track.

And now here we were, in just 15 minutes a simple effort to stop western expansionism seemed to be turning into a tight knitted alliance. And here was the first problem with it...

Cindy chimed in with, "This is supposed to be a cooperation, as well stated by the Premier. I beleive a charter of any type is not the best idea at this time. One major flaw in it is the glaring lack of a definition of what expansionism is, something this conference has yet to define and it was beleived would seek a definition of. The west is threatening our economies more then anything, and we should continue to focus upon that. How can we protect ourselves from the economic and extra-legal manuvering of an unscrupulous west?

"Indeed, the last thing we need is yet another bureacracy backed by a piece of paper that says something so re-intrepretable as to render itself either useless or all empowering. Our own nation has recently had a population explosion due to the problems the west has created and we accept that we might be their next target, as the nations of the west look to exploit their former citizens.

"How they attack next could be almost anything, but we cannot congele ourselves to an organization with a charter that says 'to stop anything' or it can soon encompass everything."

Cindy finished, and took a sip of her tea, hoping her statement was clear.

The Emperor was somewhat taken aback by the comments of the Gauthic delegation. They seemed to be extremely apprehensive of their purposes here - or perhaps confused. Nonetheless, he felt that this was something important to address:

"Your concerns on the definitions of expansionism are somewhat ill-founded. Whereas we are presuming that we share the same definition of expansionism, I shall explain the Han Empire's definition. It has been in operation for over 100 years, since the reign of the Emperor Gojong. In his doctrine opposed to expansionism - the reckless expansion of one state into the sovereignty of the local population by means of force through arms or political coercion - the Emperor Gojong adopted a limited policy of protectionism - the defense and protection of those states whose sovereignty is being infringed by the reckless of expansion of another state. It has been thus far successful, but in the rise of the modern era, it has become evident that this task has become likewise much larger than what the Empire can and will handle on its own.

"I will explain the case of expansionism and how protectionism is the opposed position to it. In one scenario, we have one state that perceives the weakness of another country - it sees an opportunity to coerce that country into submission. It forces concessions from the weaker state at the expense of its own people. It can be equally said that the aggressor state has expanded its sovereignty into the sovereignty of the state being oppressed - it has expanded into that state. The role of the protectionist state is to stand with the weak and oppressed, so as to prevent the aggressor from assuming political and martial authority over the sovereignty of the state.

"In these circumstances, the protectionist state restricts itself from aggressive action. In this manner, it preserves a civil balance that cultivates harmony and peace. The aggressor countries realize that they cannot conquer the world and become satisfied to govern themselves and respect the sovereignty of their neighbors, at home and abroad. And those protected states can become larger and share the wealth of their protectors mutually. And in this way, the protectionist state only wages war when war is forced upon the state by an aggressor state. If the aggressor state makes no attempts at war, then war does not occur. A harmony can be maintained, and the civilized world becomes more cherished because of it."


The Gwangmu Emperor then paused to reflect on his remarks, finding them satisfactory. But he continued.

"It has been decided in the Imperial Cabinet that an alliance would be best to counter the threats from an increasingly expansionist West. As the Arabian delegation has likewise suggested, this alliance can and ought to be more than a simple military alliance, so as to share the cultural, economic, and political prosperity of our respective states to stand as a bulwark against Western expansions. If an alliance is not fitting for your government, I feel that it would be best to provide alternatives that we could pursue in its stead. However, I maintain that the Empire's interest to pursue a protectionist-aligned alliance."

The Emperor was somewhat taken aback by the comments of the Gauthic delegation. They seemed to be extremely apprehensive of their purposes here - or perhaps confused. Nonetheless, he felt that this was something important to address:

"Your concerns on the definitions of expansionism are somewhat ill-founded. Whereas we are presuming that we share the same definition of expansionism, I shall explain the Han Empire's definition. It has been in operation for over 100 years, since the reign of the Emperor Gojong. In his doctrine opposed to expansionism - the reckless expansion of one state into the sovereignty of the local population by means of force through arms or political coercion - the Emperor Gojong adopted a limited policy of protectionism - the defense and protection of those states whose sovereignty is being infringed by the reckless of expansion of another state. It has been thus far successful, but in the rise of the modern era, it has become evident that this task has become likewise much larger than what the Empire can and will handle on its own.

"I will explain the case of expansionism and how protectionism is the opposed position to it. In one scenario, we have one state that perceives the weakness of another country - it sees an opportunity to coerce that country into submission. It forces concessions from the weaker state at the expense of its own people. It can be equally said that the aggressor state has expanded its sovereignty into the sovereignty of the state being oppressed - it has expanded into that state. The role of the protectionist state is to stand with the weak and oppressed, so as to prevent the aggressor from assuming political and martial authority over the sovereignty of the state.

"In these circumstances, the protectionist state restricts itself from aggressive action. In this manner, it preserves a civil balance that cultivates harmony and peace. The aggressor countries realize that they cannot conquer the world and become satisfied to govern themselves and respect the sovereignty of their neighbors, at home and abroad. And those protected states can become larger and share the wealth of their protectors mutually. And in this way, the protectionist state only wages war when war is forced upon the state by an aggressor state. If the aggressor state makes no attempts at war, then war does not occur. A harmony can be maintained, and the civilized world becomes more cherished because of it."


The Gwangmu Emperor then paused to reflect on his remarks, finding them satisfactory. But he continued.

"It has been decided in the Imperial Cabinet that an alliance would be best to counter the threats from an increasingly expansionist West. As the Arabian delegation has likewise suggested, this alliance can and ought to be more than a simple military alliance, so as to share the cultural, economic, and political prosperity of our respective states to stand as a bulwark against Western expansions. If an alliance is not fitting for your government, I feel that it would be best to provide alternatives that we could pursue in its stead. However, I maintain that the Empire's interest to pursue a protectionist-aligned alliance."


Dreff Torsten quietly texted his response to Cindy Yates, which read the following, "Hate to say I told you so, but I did say that very thing was going to happen." Cindy refrained from smacking Dreff and went on to respond to Emperor Gwangmu,

"We are not opposed to an alliance at this time. But I feel the charter is overdoing it. I thank you for the clarification on your definitions of expansionism and protectionism. But we all seem to agree this should go beyond military cooperation and I feel the concentration should be on economics for now."

The Emperor nodded.

"We must not linger too long on one topic or else become settled in that particular interest. What of our economic ties should we focus? The Han Empire has much to share with the world in terms of our economic potential.

The Emperor nodded.

"We must not linger too long on one topic or else become settled in that particular interest. What of our economic ties should we focus? The Han Empire has much to share with the world in terms of our economic potential.

Cindy Yates had made some progress, and Dreff Torsten texted her a congratulations on the save.

"Trade, it suffers from expansionism and is a tool of expansionism. Gauthic is a new and small nation and can suffer the most under unfair trade. We might be economically swallowed by the surrounding nations that circle the pacific rim if we make too much trade, but we depend on trade and that may be used against us. The last thing we need is the Americas extending to us needed trade in exchange for unreasonable concessions."

The Emperor nodded. It was an unfair advantage given to the stronger countries - to suck out the livlihood of the weaker states to make for their own prosperity.

"The Han Empire can personally assure the Federated States of Gauthic (I would call you by my name, but then you wouldn't know to whom I was referring then :p) that no country will seek to bring economic advantage to your country while stealing away your political autonomy. Unfortunately, there is little that we can manage for your country's self-sustenance - your country is limited by its land resources. Yet, we can still afford to manage maximizing your potential, reducing the need from foreign states to intervene on your behalf, to your advantage or not. After all, if the Han Empire wishes to assume the progenitor of your economic sustenance, we would find ourselves pressed between being a protector and an aggressor. But I think that in extension, we can include economic concessions to provide the self-sustenance for each country, to the most efficient and most beneficial perspective possible. In such a manner, the Han Empire does not expand its economic predominance at the expense of our neighbors - and vice versa. In such a manner, in fact, we can develop a stronger economic union.

"Is this satisfactory to what your government perceives?"

Talks spiralling away from Kiwiland's stratigic visions rapidly, leaving their delegation feeling a little deflated. "Maybe we try foster more links with North America?" the Foreign Minister whispered quietly as the Han Emperor discussed with Cindy at length.

"No," Reinc whispered back. "They're too far to provide real help, and we risk alienating our neighbours."

Then, seeing the topic shifting to economy and trade instead, Reinc interrupted before Cindy answered Emperor Gwangmu.

"On the topic of trade, perhaps we should consider the idea of Balanced Trade? That is, no nation should import more than it exports, so that all maintains a balanced account of payments. That prevents one state from taking advantage of another by trade, stopping economic expansionism."

Talks spiralling away from Kiwiland's stratigic visions rapidly, leaving their delegation feeling a little deflated. "Maybe we try foster more links with North America?" the Foreign Minister whispered quietly as the Han Emperor discussed with Cindy at length.

"No," Reinc whispered back. "They're too far to provide real help, and we risk alienating our neighbours."

Then, seeing the topic shifting to economy and trade instead, Reinc interrupted before Cindy answered Emperor Gwangmu.

"On the topic of trade, perhaps we should consider the idea of Balanced Trade? That is, no nation should import more than it exports, so that all maintains a balanced account of payments. That prevents one state from taking advantage of another by trade, stopping economic expansionism."

"Unfortunately, balanced trade is yet another form of economic expansionism - as it restricts the amount of trade that smaller states can contribute. If Gauthic can only manage to procure $15 billion worth material through trade, and it requires $20 billion to feed its people - not that I suggest that this is the case - the needed $5 billion to feed its excess population would be left to starve because of such a policy. The policy itself only contributes to the disparaging differences between countries, instead of cultivating those countries to becoming self-sufficient. Of course my example is extreme, but while the Han Empire would not be opposed to such a policy, it does not solve the problem of economic expansionism itself.

"It is the right of those more privileged to render their blessings to the weaker, that the stronger may demonstrate his civility by the wealth of his friends than his own wealth alone. As the Loja ("Laozi") once said, 'Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.' In this manner, the Han Empire seeks to establish this organization as a means to perpetuate the civility of our government to the world - by demonstrating its prosperity and useful beneficence. The wise man shares his wealth with the world, and the fool hides it in the ground."

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"Unfortunately, balanced trade is yet another form of economic expansionism - as it restricts the amount of trade that smaller states can contribute. If Gauthic can only manage to procure $15 billion worth material through trade, and it requires $20 billion to feed its people - not that I suggest that this is the case - the needed $5 billion to feed its excess population would be left to starve because of such a policy. The policy itself only contributes to the disparaging differences between countries, instead of cultivating those countries to becoming self-sufficient. Of course my example is extreme, but while the Han Empire would not be opposed to such a policy, it does not solve the problem of economic expansionism itself.

"It is the right of those more privileged to render their blessings to the weaker, that the stronger may demonstrate his civility by the wealth of his friends than his own wealth alone. As the Loja ("Laozi") once said, 'Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.' In this manner, the Han Empire seeks to establish this organization as a means to perpetuate the civility of our government to the world - by demonstrating its prosperity and useful beneficence. The wise man shares his wealth with the world, and the fool hides it in the ground."

"Don't you feel our host is more bent on preaching ideals than actually doing something?" Minister Coralin whispered to Reinc, who shrugged before explaining his balanced trade idea.

"I can see why you may be concerned; however, I assure you fears of expansionism through balanced trade are unfounded. In the hypothetical case of Gauthic needing to import $5 billion more to feed its population than it is able to export, under free trade this means $5 billion flows out of Gauthic every year. As such, Gauthic will progressively become poorer and poorer.

"Balanced trade, on the other hand, prevents economic expansionism by definition, because no nation would be capable of earning a current acount balance surplus at the expense of another - in fact, there would be no current account balance surpluses at all.

"However, at the same time, by enlarging the market we can still accure all the benefits of economies of scale. Again back to the hypothetical example involving Gauthic; the Gauthic economy would be encouraged into expanding by market forces so that it becomes capable of exporting $20 billion.

"Thus, while we prevent economic expansionism on one hand, we also get to salvage some of the advantages of free-trade."

"Perhaps. But it still raises the question of whether a country that can only afford a portion of their needs through trade can still supply their needs. In the case of free trade, while Gauthic is free to spend the required $20 billion to satisfy its needs, it will be progressively becoming $5 billion poorer every year, as you said. However, in the balanced trade system, Gauthic would be unable to procure the needed $5 billion worth of needed material to sustain itself.

"Perhaps it can work as a thwart against expansionism from outside the organization, but we must also realize that the same threats can materialize from within the organization itself, something that the Han Empire wishes to minimize. The one scenario that I wish to avoid is making such an organization dedicated to promoting protectionism and bringing harmony to the Orient is turn the same organization into a puppet organization that the Han Empire or any other state controls effectively as an extension of its political power. I hope that this explains our apprehensions."

"Perhaps. But it still raises the question of whether a country that can only afford a portion of their needs through trade can still supply their needs. In the case of free trade, while Gauthic is free to spend the required $20 billion to satisfy its needs, it will be progressively becoming $5 billion poorer every year, as you said. However, in the balanced trade system, Gauthic would be unable to procure the needed $5 billion worth of needed material to sustain itself.

"Perhaps it can work as a thwart against expansionism from outside the organization, but we must also realize that the same threats can materialize from within the organization itself, something that the Han Empire wishes to minimize. The one scenario that I wish to avoid is making such an organization dedicated to promoting protectionism and bringing harmony to the Orient is turn the same organization into a puppet organization that the Han Empire or any other state controls effectively as an extension of its political power. I hope that this explains our apprehensions."

"Well, if Gauthic needs to import $20 billion, then a working balanced trade system should create conditions encouraging the Gauthic economy to produce $20 billion of exports, too.

"I think the confusion stems from the idea that balanced trade is not a blanket rule dictating how much a country may export or import. Rather, it should be a system that makes minute adjustments so that a country ends up with no surpluses or deficits.

"For example, if Gauthic has a trade deficit of $-5 billion, then the system may adjust the currency exchange rates so as to make Gauthic export products more advantageous on the market. This will drive Gauthic exports to grow, reducing the amount of money flowing out of their country due to foodstuf imports.

"There are other ways to achieve this, of course, like quotas or import/export duties, but the important part is the principle."

"If it is the intent of a balanced trade system to make no obligations, dues, and debts for any country, then it is a laudable idea and should be analyzed and pursued. However, imagination does not permit me to see the idea clearly, as it may be understandably clear to you. But we can make things work in this manner.

"If the aims are as such - to prevent and avoid trade imbalances - then it is agreed. But we would like to discuss the possibilities of discussing free trade. It is often cited as a barrier to warming ties, and as such, cooperation will require as many mechanisms as possible to cultivate strong ties to each of our countries. In fact, we have much to discuss - as I have realized. In military affairs, we should revisit the ideas of mutual defense and also the use of force and its implications. On economic affairs, we should continue pursuing mechanisms to create no imbalance of wealth and power among any one particular state or group of states - perhaps exploring the concepts of unitary currency, free trade, and perhaps even mutual industrial development. Then, we must decide how best to organize our organization. Unless we have serious objections to the proposal, this organization should be seated in Gwangju {RL Guangzhou} - yet how it shall be managed and how we shall maintain its functions remains to be seen."

"If it is the intent of a balanced trade system to make no obligations, dues, and debts for any country, then it is a laudable idea and should be analyzed and pursued. However, imagination does not permit me to see the idea clearly, as it may be understandably clear to you. But we can make things work in this manner.

"If the aims are as such - to prevent and avoid trade imbalances - then it is agreed. But we would like to discuss the possibilities of discussing free trade. It is often cited as a barrier to warming ties, and as such, cooperation will require as many mechanisms as possible to cultivate strong ties to each of our countries. In fact, we have much to discuss - as I have realized. In military affairs, we should revisit the ideas of mutual defense and also the use of force and its implications. On economic affairs, we should continue pursuing mechanisms to create no imbalance of wealth and power among any one particular state or group of states - perhaps exploring the concepts of unitary currency, free trade, and perhaps even mutual industrial development. Then, we must decide how best to organize our organization. Unless we have serious objections to the proposal, this organization should be seated in Gwangju {RL Guangzhou} - yet how it shall be managed and how we shall maintain its functions remains to be seen."

"Excellent. As long as we are in agreement of the principle ideas, the deatils can be left to experts more specialised in economics. I suggest we established a committee that can review international trade in the area.

"What does the other delegates think of trade?"

The Emperor nodded, seeing that the debate had perhaps diverged off of what the other delegates had wanted to speak. It seemed that the debate was only interested too few at any point in time, and that the others were usually left to ponder to themselves what to speak - if to speak at all. Seeing this, he raised his hand, and a gong resounded through the hall. Instantly, three women entered the room with silver covered platters. A man followed them and presented some wine - cultivated from mulberries. Having presented the plates, the ladies unveiled the food for a generous serving for the course. The Emperor then stood up, and bade his guests, still sitting: "It has come for a meal, and I invite you to stay at my table, where I can ensure that our hospitality well caters to your needs. This debate has certainly exhausted us, and we ought to freshen the atmosphere or otherwise fall ill to being winded into fruitless debate. When our stomachs are full, our minds are clear to think of what matters than to think of what needs to fill them."

Having had his cup ready, he proposed a toast in the Han tradition: "May we all find prosperity and success through our trials together."

ooc: because something bigger is happening

IC:

The attendant entered the room, just as the conference was beginning to eat. He spoke quickly, rushed and anxious: "May it please His Imperial Majesty, we have received information detailing the destruction of Moscow and St. Peterburgs by anarchists in the RSFSR! The Russians have claimed the blasts incurred a loss of 6 million civilians and perhaps many more. They have furthermore blamed the people in Chechnya, and are preparing for war with them."

The aid left, leaving the Emperor to ponder whether maintaining the conference was now prudent.

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all Oriental countries are invited; just post an entrance!

bumping again, hoping that someone cares to continue this.