NationStates Jolt Archive

Things were not going terribly well in parliament lately. Issues such as the preferential allocation of funding to northern chinese provinces (and a whole host of others such as foreign policy) were continuing to cause tension between the main partners of the ruling coalition goverment, the Social Democrats and the Chinese Nationalist Party. So much in fact, the President and the Vice President were no longer on speaking terms. Many political observers wondered why such a government had managed to almost last a full term - the ideologies of the two parties were vastly different anyway. The public were starting to yearn for the political and economic stability of the Zhang era again, overlooking the many flaws of his Quintonnia-modelled theocracy including dictatorship and an unpopular foreign policy.

Parliament

"...and it is clear, President Hu, that this policy of preferential funding is not intended to bolster the economy of the northern provinces, nor to shore up infrastructure, but it is merely to fund wasteful public works to create employment and buy votes," the Nationalist-aligned Fujian MP retorted.

His statement met with broad approval throughout parliament. Many MPs representing the southern provinces had already expressed disdain, even United China Party MPs from Taiwan.

President Hu had bad day ahead. So he was quite happy when his PA sent him a text on behalf of a major party supporter requesting an urgent meeting.

"Sir, I have retorted and explained why this funding allocation is necessary. I will not waste time defending it again and again. Parliament will finish for the day."

He headed out the door in a flash, relieved the grilling from his coalition partner was over, and ignoring the reporter asking him to explain how he felt after his approval rating hit an all time low in the southern provinces. He did not notice that Zhang had also recieved a similar text in parliament was heading along the same road as his limosine.

Chinese workers union building, Beijing

Zhang recoiled in slight shock as he met his political rival by the entrance. The two men and their bodyguards glanced uneasily at each other as they entered the lift, avoiding eye contact and making small talk about parliament, the weather, and the vice president's political antics. The two were greeted by a young man.

"Good evening gentleman, President Hu, Jonathan Zhang...."

Zhang took a good look at this mysterious gentleman. He had donated some $20m to his campaign anonymously, yet this was the first time he had seen him face to face. He was dressed in Xiannese colours, not a terribly popular look these days. President Hu also noticed the photo of the young man posing with Premier Li mounted on a wall behind him, and glanced warily at Zhang. The man had also anonymously sponsored President Hu's Social Democrat Party to a similar amount.

"It's good to meet you in person at last," Jonathan Zhang said. "I've been wondering who the person behind that account number was...so tell us a bit about yourself."

Chang's Beijing office

"...Obviously this situation cannot be allowed to continue. The question I need to ask you : Am I still as well respected in the military as back in the day?" Chang said.

"Haha, there's no doubt about it. We are still tight!" one of his generals said.
"Thank you. Then it would be prudent to proceed with the operation we spoke about earlier. Start moving the valuables back to Guangzhou."

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia: Xiahua International Congress of Exiles
"Mr. Jia, please begin with the report." requested Lu. The former congressional speaker Lu was very eager to return to China for his family has been stranded across the border for years now. The growing tensions between the economies of the region and the added economic downfalls of the North has worried many exiles that the former glorious Xiaguo would become another historic memory.

"...particularly Northern China, the economic status of the region has been quite unstable with high unemployment with an unsteady amount of money flowing out of the region. Several cities have enacted price ceilings that had actually..." Mr. Jia Ming Tian was a former economic professor at the Taiping (Shenyang) University before his escape to Mongolia with thousands of Royalists and Christian exiles.

As the meeting came to a close, an emergency phone call was received and Lu was called over to answer.

A few minutes later, Lu would come back calling for an overnight session.

"Our chance!" he exclaimed as the doors were locked shut.


Taiping Municipal Building, Downtown Taiping (Shenyang)
"I haven't been paid for three months now! I don't think I am willing to mend these damn roads if the government holds back our paychecks!" as a local road maintenance worker voices out his anguish.

"That man is right, buses do not drive themselves, and food doesn't automatically show up on my dinner plates!" exclaimed a woman in the back.

"Here, here, I think it is time we voice our concerns to the government once in for all. Today, we are hear to call upon all the major labor unions in Taiping to march to the Governor's Mansion and the congressional assembly building to make demands. If the government is able to give us a job, we expect them to pay us as well!" said Qian. Qian was the grandson of the late Qian Jun Hui, who was a general under the Ye administration. Qian now works as the organizer of the Government Workers Union.

Similar demonstrations were already being organized in Harbin, Jilin, Beijing, Xian, and Qingdao. The demonstration at Jilin and Harbin have been going on for several days now with more people joining day by day.


General Lin Da Wei's Office, Beiyang Army and Naval Command Center, Liaoning
General Da has been busy for the past few weeks. His brother and his family had jumped to their deaths in downtown Beijing after losing both their house and a their downtown businesses. General Lin has in anger denounced the current administration during press conferences in regards to the role of the army now that funding for the Beiyang regional detachments were so low that soldiers had to purchase their own uniforms.

"General Ma, Admiral Feng, thank you for being here today. I have already contacted the offices in Ulaanbaatar, and they're already proceeding with further steps in the plans. I am very grateful both of you are willing to do the unspeakable. Our fathers and those before them suffered under regime and regime and finally prospered under the Xiahua Unitary government. It is not the case anymore. Our brethren barely make enough to support themselves and it doesn't seem like the government has solved this issue with the consideration that people are starving and my men ain't even equipped with the hair on their backs."

Their conversation laster for another hour and it was a done deal. They're only some phone calls away.

Raipur's on and off attempts in recent years to improve relations with the Chinese have, despite minor successes, certainly done little to furnish Soviet India with an insider angle on China's internal politics. The concerted and brutal campaigns of the former Sionese junta against Indian assets and sympathisers left the Commonwealth working from square one in a brand new set-up, and though news from the north is closely scrutinised, even GSIC has a poor track record when it comes to predicting significant changes in the Middle Kingdom.

For now the Commonwealth continues to purchase not insignificant quantities of staple foodstuffs from the Chinese north, as the end of the bad harvest has only been met by the start of War Communism, under which military manpower and steel production have become priorities ahead of agricultural regeneration. Disturbances in the food-basket of China resonate strongly in Raipur, but even more so in the Calcutta headquarters of the scheming Supreme War Soviet. Indian ears are pricked-up, to say the least.

[/tag]

History: The Triads were started as a resistance to the Manchu Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. In the 1760s, a society called the 天地會 Tian Di Hui ("The Society of Heaven and Earth") was formed in China. Its purpose was to overthrow the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty and restore Han Chinese rule. As the Tiandihui spread through different parts of China, it branched off into many groups and became known by many names, one of which was "Sanhehui" (Chinese: 三合會; pinyin: sānhéhuì; Yale Cantonese: saam1 hap6 wui2), literally "Three Harmonies Society", referring to the unity between Heaven, Earth and Man.


Tian Di Hui Secret Headquarters, Tianjin
"First bow...second bow...kow tow...salute!" barked an old man in the front as the room began to fill with members, they began the ceremony in honor to the late Yeh Zhao Feng.

His large portrait in the front was adorned with poetic scrolls with trinkets of all sorts. Minister Ye served as the Prime Minister of Xiaguo for several years until the unification of China under General Liu. Ye had died a few years after the unification of a heart attack, but he is survived by his son who still heads the society his father had fisted into the first revolution.

"We are here to make our respects to our great helmsman Yeh. We are called here today by Chairman Yeh Ming Zheng. Chairman.."

"Let us pray that God may fill our heavy hearts today, I have dreamed for several nights of my father riding a dragon down from heaven to give me a dagger. I have finally realized the prophetic intentions of my dream. I have received word from the Ulaan offices that Xiaguo is readying for our taking. Admiral Feng has contacted me about a successful meeting with the Beiyang greats. Oh, and we should thank Mr. Quan for traveling city by city these past few weeks to incite the demonstrations. What we need is confusion, and with confusion comes turmoil, and with that, areas will be opened for fresh stabs and that my friends, will be our finest hour..." as Yeh began to deliver his plans for the future.

[Feel free to take over Hu Jin tao and Jonathan Zhang and finish off the meeting scene.Hu Jin Tao is still the President but unfortunately he is about as effective as President Bush at the moment. Jonathan Zhang has major support in the church and in Quintonnia.]

Discrepancies in treasury accounts : Finance minister under suspicion
(Xinhua)

Another scandal hit President Hu's already unpopular government yesterday after Treasury announced it had found discrepancies in government account of "substantial magnitude".

"The Serious Fraud Department has been contacted and we are investigating several key finance personnel."

The Social Democrats have not released a comment yet, but already political commentators are fuming. The Guangzhou Stock Exchange fell 4.7% on the news. Labour unions, usually among Hu's chief supporters, have fallen silent. Tales of late wage payments and major discontent amongst his political heartland are circulating forums and blogs worldwide.

In other news, Vice President Chang has signalled the possibility of dissolving the coalition goverment. He was extremely blunt in his criticism.

"We do not want to be involved with a bunch of corrupt champagne socialists. Entering a coalition goverment with Mr Hu in the first place was regrettable."

Chang's Beijing office

"...in short, we are proposing a new political structure which would protect the rights of local authorities and allow greater autonomy on a provincial level. A new golden age for the China. Will you support this proposal?" Chang declared, flicking through another powerpoint slide.

The entire room stood up in applause. Amongst them were the MPs for almost all the disadvantaged provinces (mainly southern china), leading military personnel, and a group of reporters.

In military circles, an announcement has been made regarding accelerated maintenance schedules in which equipment and key personnel would be sent back to Guangzhou.

A communique was sent to General Lin, pledging funding from the military budget for back wages and inviting him to Chang's Beijing office for "a talk". No one from the Chinese Nationalists really knew what he was up to.

Reply from the Presidential Palace
The Presidential Palace has announced the dissolution of the coalition government. The coalition government will be terminated as of the end of next week.

[OOC: A bit of a ramble on Sino-Lyongese history, culture, and what have you, as I try to put my thoughts in order before momentous events occur. It’s rather long-winded for a post in which nothing at all happens, but hopefully sets the scene for figuring out reactions once Chinese break-up starts to become public reality].

Since the founding of the August Empire, China had loomed large in the minds of the Lyongese... the links of geography and culture were obvious to even the casual observer, while linguists had concluded that Lyong's language had drawn some sixty percent of its vocabulary, and the entirety of its writing system, from the Han. Relations had not always been positive, but the Middle Kingdom had remained in Lyongese vision as the centre of the world, the birthplace of civilization. What happened in Europe or in India might matter, but what happened in China mattered.

And so, political instability there occupied the attentions of the Lyongese, who were not comforted by the uncertainty swirling around Beijing. The unification of China had been a long-awaited event, a sign that the perhaps the world might return to a proper path and the barbarians who had dominated the world these past centuries might be once more taught respect for true civilization (already, signs had been declared… for example, Chinese brilliance was shown in having chosen a submarine navy over large surface combatants, years before the Battle of Cap Vert had brought the rest of the world’s naval planners to present similar recommendations). But the divisions that remained in the country still left Lyong wondering what course it ought try to encourage in its neighbour.

On the one hand, the north of China was heir of Great Helmsman Mao whose theories of revolution (if not of economics) had inspired the works of Shiwen-daisu, and where even now was practiced a comfortable form of democratic socialism. The Party had economic interests there too, having invested in Manchurian railways and eagerly sought to purchase cheap foodstuffs to feed its urbanized populace as its own agricultural production receded (and the Hudecian raid on Liaodong had allowed Lyongese ports to make a tidy profit from container ships trading with Xiaguo, forming business relationships they had attempted to strengthen even after reconstruction…not that such gains stopped them from raising the ghosts at Dalian when speaking to the Chinese on the evils of the West). The Party had even openly favoured the Xiannese over General Liu during the war which had led to unification, going so far as to provide anti-ship missiles, though never direct assistance… foreign intervention in such an internal affair had been seen as likely to provoke a nationalist backlash amongst the Chinese populace, and possibly the descent of Sinoese weapons onto the cities of Lyong (though officially the policy had been due to a belief that interference in internal affairs would be little different from the interference with Korean unification perpetrated against the Drapoel by ‘imperialist forces’).

Southern China, with its more rabidly capitalist economy and anti-Socialist history that was legacy of the Armed Republic, would not seem a likely friend of Lyong… General Liu had kept a tight grip on his state, and trade had been limited to indirect transactions via North American dealers, and after crackdowns against Indians in Sinoese territory few had dared set foot there. Even after China achieved unification, most in the Party seeking to invest in China had preferred to remain in the north. But the southern Chinese had shown themselves possessed of something which their northern compatriots lacked… Xiaguo had been prone to petty wars and quick withdrawals, snapping at Nepal and muddling messages along the Yalu before eventually caving in to Liu’s final assault when the battle was still far from lost. The South had, under Sino, lead China in its war against the Federal Republic of Bonstock, and post-unification had continued backing embargoes against the Tsar while the northerners whined about financial loss. For all their flaws in the realms of politics and economics, they seemed to have the spirit which the Lyongese expected from China, that suited the realm at the centre of the world and the birthplace of civilization. If the barbarians were to be forced back into their proper place, it was this spirit, not the waffling of the northerners, that would be needed.

Still, while Lyongese Party members obsessed over China, the weight of culture and history which formed their thinking may well have ceased to be relevant. The time of Lyong’s majority in the Party Congress had passed years ago, and the momentum of others was beginning to overtake the wishes of those who had once formed its core.

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/2239/strainistsignaturelb6.jpg (http://z7.invisionfree.com/A_Modern_World/index.php?showtopic=12&view=findpost&p=13773433)

On first rising to power just a few years ago, the young Depkazi Caliph who claimed for himself the title of Khagan -Khan of Khans- and adopted the name of Mongolia's most famous -or infamous- son, had not been slow to hurl envoys at that nation's west, where Kazakhs, Tuvans, and other Turkic peoples were most abundant. A gradually mounting interest in the potential of Xiannese exiles to directly or indirectly serve the Caliphate's ambitions in China, however, has facilitated a switch in focus, which is mirrored to the south of Mongolia where Caliphal diplomats and intelligence agents have become increasingly bold in seeking relations with Xiaguo's fallen figureheads.

Neither the wider world nor the bulk of the Samarkand elite are likely to consider realistic Chingiz Khagan Depkazi's desire to bury China's New Frontier and resurrect a Caliphally-aligned Khanate in East Turkestan, but the Great Khan of Khans forges boldly ahead with seemingly little care for the dangers, which he as shrugged off in the past when confronting both China and Armand while also hurling abuse at Russia.

Xinjiang's mountainous frontiers once again heave with Caliphal visitors preaching Turkic nationalism and Muslim brotherhood, and Samarkand is defiantly frank about its preparedness to work with any serious Chinese rebels, such as Xiannese nationalists, who would be prepared to admit the truth and rightness behind the Holy Caliphate's claims in the Uyghur Autonomous Region in exchange for Samarkand's absolute support elsewhere.

OOC:Sorry, my internet is down and I only manage with much effort, to go on a few times for a few minutes during the day. I've posted some things that will spark some more posting before I can get my internet working again. This weather in California isn't doing my internet it's money's worth. =D


The current state of Xiaguo is full of despair. Starvation was common, and corruption was a burden to the masses. Rumors have already spread fast like wild fires across the region that the transportation of military supplies and equipment to the south were taking place under the noses of the populace. On top of that, thousands of of wheat and food supplies were also traveling south.

The Hua Xia Daily reports:
"The government is being moved south, and they are taking as much as they could from this desolate land that the people are barely living upon. These lands may be worthless to the government, but must they endanger the lives of millions?"


More and more people line the streets in hope of finding petty jobs. Union officials are focusing their demonstrations on the government rather than the employers now.

Even the exile government has began issuing strong criticisms of the Unitary government.

"We, the legitimate government of the Chinese people strongly disagree with government's handling of the situation in China. The dissolving of the party will weaken the heart of unity in China..."


Secretly, this exile government of more than 320,000 members worldwide has been negotiating deals with foreign governments. The benefits of a strong China is an incentive that is hard to walk past.


[Tochi Residential Area]
The Tochi exile region was an area the size of Hokkaido that is located in Eastern Mongolia right at the border with China. This region contains about 100,000 exiles alone. The royal palace, now a three story business complex in the downtown district houses the remainder of the imperial family. Most were either executed, or jumped in the great sea when the Sinoese forces stormed the Kingdom of Wen-Yu where many relatives of the imperial family lived.

The death of the heir apparent, Yu Jian Ming meant a quick change of heirs. Yu Tian Guan, the fifth nephew of the first emperor of Xiaguo became the new heir apparent and was coronate the same day the unitary party in China was dissolved.

The emperor was simply a figurehead, but a figurehead was like the portrait of the revolution. The emperor of just 32 years quickly headed to the palace of young Depkazi Caliph to negotiate a set of alliances between this exile government, with the blessings of the Xiannese of course.


[Lyongese Border with China]
"You, come over here, stay close..These soldiers are not of our colors. Remember, when they ask for your papers, show them.."

"Show them the ministry badge.." replied the stoutly man. His name was Zhu Gui Xing. He was a worker for the ministry of transportation in Tiajin.

"Yes, but explain to them you're traveling to Lyong to inspect railway companies." Fan said. Fan Yong Qi was an operative from Ulaanbataar.

As the two men walked pass the inspection point and caught a comfy seat on board the Lyong-Xiahua express, they began contemplating and focusing on their mission.

We need those damn weaponryMumbled Fan as he looked across the station as military cargo trains began their journey south.

OOC: Do you plan on doing anything with Jonathan Zhang? He's a pretty influential character.

Chang's Beijing office
"...so if these funds weren't actually spent on infrastructure for northern china at all, then where the hell are they?"
"Sorry my friend, the accounts are an absolute mess. There are hundreds of level three funds and assets that no one really knows how to value. Technically the books balance, but in practice, no one knows what they are doing."
"Thank you for this information."

Chang hung up, and immediately organised another meeting with his provincial representatives.

General Lin's residence
An invitation arrived in his mailbox today, inviting Lin to meet with Chinese Nationalist leader and ex-Vice President James Chang in Guangzhou.

Chang had close relations with his military colleagues in the south, but he had never heard of this General Lin.

The Quinntonian government and her diplomatic corps began to make contact with both governments in an effort to figure out where Quinntonina interests stood. Of course, the first step was to contact Emporer Zhang and ask him his opinion, as perhaps the most trusted person in the nation in the eyes of he USQ.

WWJD
Amen.

OOC: I'm actually unsure what you want me to do with Jonathan Zhang. I'm sorry, haha, I've been gone for a while and these new characters are very different for me. Please TG me about some of the characters. =) I'm trying to give a little info about each person I use in this RP.

Registan, Samarkand, Crossroad of Cultures

Yu Tian Guan arrives at the Caliphal seat in a city estimated by some to be in age comparable to Xīnzhèng, oft said to be the birthplace of China. The city, once capital of the great empire of Tammerlane, has experienced rapid growth in recent years, but has still only some half million residents, who must seem to be almost outnumbered by domes and minarets!

The Registan itself is an imposing site, its oldest elements dating back some six centuries, its beauty only enhanced by well-funded and deeply considered restoration and enhancement under Chingiz Khagan Depkazi. The Xiannese Emperor is first treated to a tour of the city, being shown the site of the grave of Qusam ibn Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad, and the tomb in which is contained remains of the Old Testament Prophet Daniel amongst other historical and religious features, as well as significant military strength including a parade with self-propelled artillery,T-64 battle tanks, and a fly-over by no less than forty MiG-29 fighters!

Yu is introduced at Registan Square to His Holiness the Khalīfah Türkmenbaşy Chingiz Khagan Depkazi, Amir al-Muminin, Malik ul-Mugāhidīn, who appears dressed traditionally in Depkazi silks and head dress, escorted by his lanky rodent-featured Vizier. The Chinese visitor is given a salute by fusilade from a rank of Bactrian soldiers and invited into a palatial complex extending behind the central madrasah.

"It pleases me to be honoured by your presence in Mid Asia. I believe that we have much to discuss. The fates of China and the community of Islam are at stake, and both the Chinese and the Turkmen are requiring of proper leadership and unity, which, I think, we may achieve by mutual aid?.."

OOC: Short on time myself, but feel free to have Yu talk about the Xiannese position in China and regarding the Caliphate if you like.

"We are very grateful to be hosted by the great people of Registan. Our many praises we bring from the Xiannese indeed!" proclaimed Yu to the Registan court.

Later in the day, Yu discussed possible mutual assistance programs and various aid possibilities.

"We only asked of your great people to recognize the sovereign kingdom of Xiaguo, and it's illegitimate governance of China." asked of the Emperor.

With a weakened Chinese government and an eminent secession of the Northern provinces, the exile government began to expand it's interests once again; trying to woo foreign powers was a daunting task indeed.


Meanwhile...
As protests around the North began to grow in size, so did the tension. Several shots were fired in Taiping causing a frenzied dash toward downtown from the capital square. The stampede killed over 220 people with hundreds injured. Some claim to have been shot by the Chinese military police. The outrage led to seperate protests at the military bureau complex in Taiping.

Ningxia, after having it's provincial capital ransacked by dissidents proclaimed itself Zhong Hua Min Guo, The Republic of China and declared a state of marshal law.

Several Western brigades loyal to their native Ningxia have also defected to the provincial government. The provincial government has also welcomed the exile government vowed to protect the Northern way of life.

Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Shandong have pending resolutions that will announce them either an autonomous region, or a total defection from the national government. Shandong's provincial capital has been surrounded by angry mobs and with the governor assassinated yesterday, chaos began to spread.

Several armed platoons of the Tian Di Ming Bing numbering several hundreds took over several armories in the outskirts of Taiping causing Liaoning to proclaim itself Xiaguo for a few hours before order was restored in Taiping Square.

Several trains were stopped in the middle of tracks after orchestrated attacks on the railway system prevented them from heading south. Because of the sabotages, the Beiyang Army Headquarters ordered all supplies heading South to be halted until further notice.

OOC:

Jonathan Zhang is the son of the former emperor Charles Zhang who served alongside Liu and Premier Li. He applied a Quintonnia-based politcal model and led China for 10 years (referred to by many as China's golden age) before being usurped by current President Hu Jin Tao.

Ningxia, after having it's provincial capital ransacked by dissidents proclaimed itself Zhong Hua Min Guo, The Republic of China and declared a state of marshal law.

Also, the entire nation and the existing government now refers to itself as the Republic of China, so it's not much of a proclamation :D:D

Hu Jin Tao is an ex-communist party member who started his political career in Xiaguo. He's made a total hash of things though so you might want to retire him.

OOC: Haha, it was like, 3 in the morning! Anyway, ROC is an awesome name for a rogue state, drawing parallels! Ah, icic, I will be into rping these figureheads when the weekend hits! =D Thanks for the info! I hope the posts i made recently aren't to jotty, I jsut wanted to move things along.

Registan, Samarkand

Glossing over a translation error calling Xiannese rule illegitimate, Chingiz presses on with talks, which take a fairly serious turn when the Caliph states a willingness to deploy military force into China should it appear necessary or helpful to mutual progress for the Caliphate and Xiaguo.

Samarkand is, says Chingiz, prepared to recognise the Kingdom of Xiaguo as the legitimate government of China, and to offer full diplomatic, political, and military support, if the proper Xiannese authorities can in turn recognise the Caliphal domain of East Turkestan and/or Uyghuristan in place of Xinjiang and co-operate with Samarkand's desire to achieve administration of the territory.

Xinjiang, of course, represents a lot of Chinese territory -around a sixth of the mainland- though only a tiny fraction of the population, perhaps about twenty million. It seems a lot to ask that this be handed over, but Samarkand offers long-term support for the Xiannese should it happen. Chingiz will export natural gas and other resources to the Xiannese and cut-off any rival governments in China if so desired, and will lend military forces to the defeat of Xiannese enemies. Any ethnic Han or non-Muslims in Uyghuristan, the Caliph promises, will be respected if they choose to stay, and not obstructed if they wish to leave.

If Chingiz suspects that Yu lacks real power in the Xiannese movement he at least hopes that the Emperor may serve as a reliable and respected courier for his message. That message in brief seems to be that in return for Xinjiang, the Caliphate will give the Xiannese almost anything they request.

Mountain troops and rapid reaction forces are already being mustered in Depkazia's east at Murghob and Shyirak.

[A big bump for Xiaguo! Where are you?]

Just a bit of explanation for the others : Right now Hu Jin Tao's government is on the ropes, with the Xiannese gaining grassroots support in the north while in Guangzhou Vice-President Chang plots a separate insurrection with the support of the south.

If anyone is wondering about the banking RPing in this thread, I will explain shortly that the money taken from south china's local authorities to spend on northern infrastructure has gone missing...

As for Xinjiang, the economy has only really stepped up with trade ties to the combine and Russia lately, so as far as popular support goes it is anyone's game.

With Kabul and Kandahar being brought under Caliphal control and the beginnings of peace-talks between Samarkand and Constance looking to settle the Afghan question for the immediate future, not to mention the switch of allegiances of the bulk of the Balochistani military, the Depkazi Caliphate gradually shifts more and more resources on to the eastern questions, which is to say the Vale of Kashmir and Sherqiy Türkistan. Depkazi-backed preachers focus ever more on the rightness of accession to the Caliphate and of a realisation of a practical and strong brotherhood, while the Pamir mountains see daily saturation of the Sino-Caliphal border with would-be Jihadis of all sorts keen to establish themselves in in Xinjiang while internal tensions are perceived to be heightening.

It would not be true to say that Samarkand has a detailed understanding of the current complexities of Chinese domestic politics, but the north-south divide is much vaunted in Chingiz's conversations with his Viziers and Generals. If the Caliphate can bring the vast natural resources of Xinjiang under its control along with oceanic access through Balochistan and a secured strategic boundary in the Vale of Kashmir, Chingiz Khagan Depkazi will be able to consider himself the greatest conqueror in the modern world and will turn with boundless confidence on the hated Russians, in pursuit of Kazakh liberation... and further natural wealth.

OOC: In other words, yeah, we need Xiaguo! There's only so many times that I can rehash Calihpal rhetoric :)