China

The People's Republic of China is a rising power and ally of the New United States in the early 21st century.

Second Civil War (1990s - 2000)
The runaway success of Deng Xiaoping's reforms had resulted in a corrupt government and a corrupt form of robber baron capitalism in China. In response in 1992, an ex-high school teacher (Hua Yuchi) preached a return to hardcore Maoism and an agrarian policy. Soon 2 million joined his movement, most of them peasants. The Maoist Loyalist Cabal (MLC) moved against the government, starting the Second Civil War.

By 1995, the MLC had conquered Guangzhou. The People's Liberation Army found themselves fighting a war on three fronts. In the west, they faced a great Tibetan uprising. In the northwest, Muslim extremists funded by the Soviet Union and its megacorp SovOil. In the south, the Maoist Loyalist Cabal (allied with the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia).

In 1997, Hong Kong was turned over to China from Britain and the MLC spilled over into the new territories and swept through the countryside to Kowloon Bay. Riots in Hong Kong started breaking out in 1999, with the MLC starting to battle the Triads and corporate firms in the region. Not long after, martial law was declared. The Triads and corporations formed an alliance, while the Neo-Hong Kong army reorganized to repel the invasion of the city.

Wheat crops were wiped out worldwide in 2002, which resulted in famine in northern China leading to a flood of refugees into southern China. By 2005, the MLC practically controlled all of southern China. Meanwhile a corporate war began in the South China Sea between SovOil and Petrochem, and since China was in disarray they were unable to intervene and protect their interests in the South China Sea.

In 2008, the Chinese Republic of Taiwan was finally formed with aid and support of Japan to back them. China during this time was busy with the Civil War to respond to the independence declared. However due to fear of the MLC eventually invading, the Taiwanese government hired the Arasaka Corporation to plan a defense force.

China, under the leadership of General Jiang Xiaxi, signed the China-U.S. Mutual Aid Pact, after which Militech formed a joint-venture with CITIC, and the United States supplied China with arms and equipment. Several years later in 2013, a cyber strike team assassinated Hua Yuchi. The PLA liberated city after city and province after province, in rapid succession. By 2014, the PLA had reclaimed all of southern China except for the province of Hunan, the stronghold of the MLC. The uprisings in Tibet and Xinjiang had also been crushed. There are still cells of the MLC hidden, having gone underground.

When Hua was assassinated in 2013, the Neo-HK army raced across Victoria Harbour and fought their way through Kowloon. They did find long-standing pockets of resistance to the MLC between themselves and the PLA, who retook Canton. After Liberation, the Neo-HK army ghurkas privatized; the Triad-Corp alliance disbanded, and everyone went back to their old system of covert trade.

Fourth Corporate War (2021-2023)
During the Fourth Corporate War, China was in a strange position, politically. The government was worried about the recruiting efforts within Korea and Taiwan; they believed Arasaka was attempting to use troops against Militech assets within the country, or use them against China.

However these worries were not considered much longer due to the revenue received by funding the war. Their space program was deeply in the black, selling satellite lifters to Arasaka for their artillery/killsat web. Their munitions industry was also making profit; China's arms were considered inferior to Japanese weapons, however the Chinese weapons were the only ones available during the war.

2045
By 2045, the Chinese government had been exhausted by the fierce battles in the Mongolian Plateau and South China Sea for access to those regions' strategic resources. China also had not fully recovered from the loss of Hong Kong, the victims of biological terrorism. The city was surrounded by a 100-ft wall, built by China to contain the plague and it had become a stronghold of Alt Cunningham the AI.

2077
In 2077, China became the first country to ban human driven vehicles. Instead, AI driven ones would be issued by the government and people would be forced to get rid of their personal vehicles. Any personal bicycles owned by the public would also need to get tracking devices issued at government facilities.

India signed a trade deal with China in order to strengthen relations between the two neighboring countries.

The Soviet Union and China competed to secure a major arms deal with Arasaka that would put the losing country at a severe military disadvantage. The secretary general of the Soviet Union hired Mikhail Akulov to personally spearhead negotiations with Arasaka on his behalf. The fixer brought Shelma to monitor Chinese activity on the local Net, conceal his purpose in Night City, and check the status of China's talks with Arasaka.

Government
Heading the government of China is the general secretary/premier. Though they are two different positions, they can be held by the same person as is currently the case. He leads the Committee of Communist Party Politburo (CCPP), which has 25 members. It overseas the central committee, the state council, and several communist groups.

The central committee is in charge of deciding foreign policy, making the laws, and establishing investigative committees. The CCPP will accept or reject whatever the central committee recommends. It has 210 members whom are provincial party leaders and/or young cadre members.

The State Council has 4 vice-premiers, 10 councilors, and the ministers of the 45 ministries. It develops the internal quotas, controls the finances of the state, and runs the daily machinery of governing.

Within the institutions of China (the army, universities, hospitals, and industry), the CCP has created a parallel hierarchy. It monitors and acts as a check on the regular hierarchy within those institutions.

Law and Order
China is still a communist police state. It just has a more relaxed business sense than the strict Maoists. As a dictatorship, political dissidents and democracy seekers are still put in psych wards and work camps for "counter-revolutionary activities" to make sure that everyone follows the infinite rule. Permits are required for everything - from opening a shop to buying a TV to traveling abroad. And even though you pass all the tests, you still may not get it, as more backdoor guanxi is needed to cut the Orwellian red tape.

Even though the MLC is dead in the water, China is still under semi-martial law. Capital punishment is used for everything from murder to theft. Public security often acts like judge and jury, especially if the offenders are only refugees. Real people might make it to the courts before they are hung or beheaded, but cadres can usually walk off with a party reprimand for anything short of murder (and sometimes even then). Public executions are the norm, with the bodies displayed afterwards as a warning to others. Those who aren't executed may be put in prisons, work camps, or prison factories to make goods for export. Like the Chinese say, "Make one thing serve two purposes." The most popular place for prisons is in the "Three Furnaces" area in Xijian, where the extreme heat keeps the inmates sedated. All Chinese prisons are high security.

Weapon laws are also very strict. For civilians, nothing more than a 10-round capacity handgun and minimal (SP 10) body armor is allowed, and just cause must be shown; i.e., you're a cadre. Most cadres and some corps are allowed pistols. Peasants, merchants, and most others must by theirs illegally.

Currency
China tries to control its currency. The country uses the yuan and mainly uses paper money. The official exchange rate is 1 Eb = 4 YY. The actual rate is about 12 yuan for a Eurodollar. All Chinese companies must pay their people in yuan. Most businesses in China deal only in yuan script only in the big cities, in the international banks and Gwailo hotels have CTDs and can change Eb, American Dollars, or yen. Two hours into the countryside and the locals may not even recognize a yen note. Shanghai bank, Sumitomo, and American Express-World, have offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Chengdu. China would like to establish a cred system, but the logistics of cred chipping over a billion peasants is nightmarish, and most people make too little to bother. The only ones who have cred chops now are the cadres and corps, and some rich army personnel and merchants.

Military
The People's Liberation Army has 10.5 million men and women under arms, a force more than five times as large as the combined assets of the Neo-Soviet regular armed forces and corporate forces. Unlike the European Community, the United States, and Japan, it continues to practice industrial scale warfare.

The army's equipment is a couple of generations behind that of Militech and only slightly inferior to the equipment of the NUSA army. It prefers using long-range artillery to soften up the opposition before sending in the troops. PLA soldiers are effective on various types of terrain and far better than American soldiers at hand-to-hand combat.

The navy has numerous ships, but most of them are surface vessels. Its equipment is on par with that of the NUSA navy. Due to their rivalry with Japan, the need to deal with Taiwan, and kick SovOil out of the South China Sea, the Chinese are starting to build more submarines.

While the air force itself is small and dated, it does possess a vast arsenal of missiles, including nuclear armed ones. China has cruise missiles with a range of 2,000 km and Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile capable of covering most of the Soviet Union.

When it comes to the elite forces of China, it is where the Chinese shine. Their special forces have Militech equipment and training. They are selected at a young age, from either elementary or middle school. Chinese elite troops are the equal of the NUSA special forces.

CITIC
The China International Trust & Investment Corporation (CITIC) was set up by the PLA in the late 1980s. For all intents and purposes it is China's megacorporation, a state-owned megacorp and the only one in China. Its divisions make most of the goods for internal use in China.

They have a joint venture with Militech, the American military-industrial megacorp, called CCMMC which arms and equips the PLA. Militech provides the People's Liberation Army with tech support and bulk discounts. China in turn gives Militech plenty of testing space, a low overhead, and cheap labor. Though the equipment the PLA receives is not as good as those carrying the Militech label, it's far cheaper.

Society
China has a pyramidal society consisting of the cadres, military/corporate, artisan/merchant, peasant, and refugee classes:


 * Cadres: Party members and government workers. They are card-carrying members of the party who get special privileges, control the bureaucratic ministries, and the political machine. Perks include credsticks, good food, cars, free education, and spacious housing.


 * Military: Receive a free education and military housing. They also get food and good medical treatment.


 * Corporates: They get company vehicles and housing. It is they who deal with the foreigners and run the joint-venture businesses.


 * Merchants / Artisans: Run the stores and food shops. They make the rugs, baskets, statues, and so on. Some of the farmers, the successful ones, are in this class. Members are allowed to keep some profits and live somewhat independently. If they make enough money, they are able to pay for their kids' education.


 * Peasants: Make up the great majority of the population and work in the state-owned factories. They are organized into work units and live packed in rooms in the factory complexes. Peasants receive minimal state health care, minimal schooling for their children, and low quality food. Minorities in tribal lands are included in this group.


 * Refugees: Belong both to this class and to any of the aforementioned classes. Their privileges and opportunities are based on what other class they are part of.

China Zhong Guo
The history of the Martial Arts in China is probably the longest in the world. Certainly its civilization is the oldest Because of the vast size of China, it may have numerically more styles than Japan. But many Arts rise and fall without leaving any physical traces.

There is no obvious evidence of when Martial Arts developed in China. Maybe even from prehistory, hitting styles like Boxing and Karate, or grappling styles like Sumo were being used. This is like Sumo and Koppo, but much earlier.

Evidence points out that mast modem Arts are connected to the Shaolin Temples. Shaolin Kung Fu was developed after exposure of the Buddhist priests to the Indian Arts, like Kalari, etc. This is the root of the modern Choi Li Fut. Choi Li Fut is found mainly south of the Yangtze river, and so is a "Southern Style." Chinese Southern styles focus on physical power, quickness. and rapid combinations.

Tai Chi Chum Pole of the Whole Nature) is also related to Shaolin Kung Fu. Tai Chi belongs to the 'Northern Styles", end stresses personal power, balance of energy, and the smooth flow from stillness to action, and vice versa.

Animal Kung Fu was developed around the 12th or 13th centuries, the origins are not clear. It has many sub-styles, using the actions of animals as a model. Some sub-styles are Southern, and some are Northern. The distinction between Southern and Northern is for convenience's sake, These are only the beginning point; the Styles have been spread and changed throughout the world. The two streams unify at the Master level. Beginners tend to focus on the stressed techniques of each style, but Masters use both Southern power and Northern balance for incredible effects.

Beijing - 34 million
Beijing, China's sprawling capital, has history stretching back 3 millennia. Yet it's known as much for modern architecture as its ancient sites such as the grand Forbidden City complex, the imperial palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Nearby, the massive Tiananmen Square pedestrian plaza is the site of Mao Zedong's mausoleum and the National Museum of China, displaying a vast collection of cultural relics. In the year of 2045 air pollution in Beijing was dominated by coal-combustion and motor vehicles.

Tianjin - 20 million
Tianjin is a major port city in northeastern China. Following the 1858 Treaties of Tianjin, several Western nations established concessions in Tianjin. The European-style houses, municipal buildings and churches in Wudadao (Five Great Avenues) are legacies of that period. Standing in contrast are the city's many modern skyscrapers, including the iconic 415m-tall Tianjin Radio and Television Tower.

Shanghai - 37 million
Shanghai, on China's central coast, is the country's biggest city and a global financial hub. Its heart is the Bund, a famed waterfront promenade lined with colonial-era buildings. Across the Huangpu River rises the Pudong district's futuristic skyline, including 632m Shanghai Tower and the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, with distinctive pink spheres. Sprawling Yu Garden has traditional pavilions, towers and ponds. Shanghai is the most successful city in China, and bares a resemblance to Osaka and Kobe. The military does its best to keep out the negative influence of the rest of the country, with that comes clean air, expensive skyscrapers, and punks from all over.

Domestic Environment
Though the countryside looks like that of ancient China or a Third World nation, the cities are modern with the Net, cars, and public transportation. Like the cities in the West or Japan, the skylines are made up of skyscrapers. There is a privileged class, rich, a middle class, and the poor. Technologically, the government and corporations have access to technology roughly comparable to what most of the developed world uses.

In China, only the cadres (and some of the corporates) are allowed to wear minimal body armor and to own a pistol (up to 10 rounds). Licenses are needed for cyberware, and only the military and the rich have cyberware. Most foreigners do their business in China via joint-ventures. The partner of choice for most of them is China's megacorp, CITIC. While in the cities there are a good number of foreigners, they are extremely rare in the countryside and are therefore fascinating to peasants.

China has a huge thriving black market where you can get guns, satellite dishes, sex, imported food, cyberware, and Japanese braindance. The centuries-old Triads are active throughout China, running criminal enterprises that are involved in the black market, smuggling, and vice. Within China there are also gangs, some of which evolve into Triads. Fortunately due to the restrictions on cyberware, these gangs are nowhere near as dangerous as the gangs in the United States or Europe due to them being far less lethal and less psychotic.

Due to the continuing existence of MLC cells, the nation is under semi-martial law. Capital punishment can be the penalty for crimes as minor as theft, except for the cadres who have much more leeway. If one is not executed, you are sent to work camps, prison factories, or a regular prison. Democracy activists and political dissidents are sent to either psych wards or work camps.

The Chinese Black Market
Almost everyone uses the black market from time to time. There you can get almost everything from imported food, to guns, Cyberware, satellite dish, sex and Japanese braindance. There is, of course, a thriving illegal money trade. Fixers buy foreign currency or Token chips, and sell them to other Chinese. The buyers use the cash to buy foreign goods from companies that won't accept the yuan, or for imported/smuggled goods.

The rates aren't as good as at the 'banks, but if its 11 p.m., and all you have is a 400 Eb and the merchant only takes yuan script, the Black market money changers become real convenient. There are also quite a few Face Banks set up in the Hong Kong and Shanghai net nodes, and are Triad affiliated. The techs and hackers in HK also do chopping, but Bangkok is better for that. Another hot item is black market language chips. In mainland China, the only legal language chips are Mandarin Chinese, English, and Japanese. However, there are illegally produced chips for most of the minority languages such as Lijiang, Turk, and Tibetan. It is rumored that some of these chips have lethal programs written in them and are released by the government.

Transportation
Most of the transportation is by train. yes, by electric or (more usually) diesel or coal! Although in Beijing, Shanghai. and Hong Kong you can see normal people with small cars or motorcycles, in mast cities, buses, pedicabs and bicycles are still the norm. Big ME and AVs are resewed for cadre members, or military usage.

Timeline
The timeline of China in the world of Cyberpunk.

1940

 * 1945
 * The United Nations Charter establishing the United Nations (UN) was signed at the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center by fifty nations including China.
 * Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: As many as eighty thousand Japanese, largely civilians, were killed in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima by a United States aircraft.
 * Surrender of Japan: Japanese forces in China formally surrendered to Chiang Kai-shek.
 * Surrender of Japan: China regains control of Taiwan from Japan and was proclaimed as Retrocession Day. Chen Yi of the Kuomintang was appointed Chief Executive.
 * Campaign to Suppress Bandits in Northeast China: The Communist People's Liberation Army (PLA) launched a campaign against bandits and KMT guerillas in northeast China.
 * 1946
 * Chinese Civil War: The NRA invaded PLA-held territory en masse.
 * 1947
 * The Constitution of the Republic of China came into force, dissolving the Nationalist government and renaming the NRA the Republic of China (ROC) Armed Forces.
 * 1949
 * Chiang resigned the presidency of the Republic of China due to military failures and under pressure from his vice president Li Zongren, who succeeded him as acting president.
 * Chinese Civil War: The PLA conquered the ROC capital Nanjing. The ROC moved its capital to Guangzhou.
 * Mao declared the establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC).

1990

 * 1992
 * MLC is formed in Human Province by Hua Yuchi.
 * 1995
 * The MLC conquers Guangzhou Special Economic Zone, working its way towards Hong Kong.
 * 1997
 * Hong Kong officially reverts from Britain to China. There are no celebrations, as China is in the middle of a civil war.
 * Middle East Meltdown sends Muslim tribesmen over the border from irradiated areas into Western China.
 * 1999
 * Hong Kong riots. MLC agitators take to the streets in battles with Triads and Corporate security firms. Many corps pull out of Hong Kong. Martial Law is declared.

2000

 * 2002
 * Food Crash wipes out wheat crops worldwide. The North of China becomes deserted as everyone flees to the embattled South.
 * Renewed vigor in the Civil War, as both the PLA and the MLC make money selling rice, seafood, and artificial foods at inflated prices.
 * The PLA forms a Bio-research center to try and neutralize the plague.
 * 2004
 * Golden Triangle drug plantations nearly wiped out by DEA virus attack.
 * 2005
 * MLC effectively controls all of Southern China.
 * Second Korean War ends when Hanguk wins, depriving China of one of its markets.
 * 2007
 * MLC enters Hong Kong in force and start the programs.
 * Mongolia and Northern China food riots break out among those who were forced by the government to stay.
 * 2008
 * The Second Corporate War takes place in the South China Sea. China, formerly the major claimant to the Spratlys, is too tied up in the MLC war to do anything.
 * Taiwan officially declares permanent independence from the mainland, hires Arasaka to retrain their military. Again China is still too involved in internal problems.
 * General Jiang Xaxi is elected to the head of the Chinese Communist Party, and signs the 2008 China-US Mutul Aid Pact.
 * Militech buys into a joint-venture with CITIC.

2010

 * 2010
 * Corps and Triads in Hong Kong-Victoria make an alliance against their common foe, the MLC, which has complete control of the former colony up to Kowloon Bay.
 * 2013
 * Hua Yuchi assassinated by Cyber squad.
 * Brief dispute between Arasaka and Triad boss Big Len, before invasion of Kowloon.
 * 2014
 * The PLA retakes Canton, and its well on the way to victory over the MLC.
 * 2016
 * Sino-Euro-American Treaty is signed, allowing visitors in the various countries to drive on their license for up to six months. Hong Kong was excepted because of a need to keep numbers of cars down by the Triad-backed dealerships.
 * 2019
 * South China Golden Triangle drug lords start producing opium and heroin again from virus-resistant plants.