Republic of Candor

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Republic of Candor
瓊頂共和國 (Chinese)
Motto: 
"受命於天,既壽永昌" (Chinese)
"Having received the Mandate from Heaven, may we lead a long and prosperous life"
Anthem: 
卿雲歌
"Song to the Auspicious Cloud"
State Seal
瓊頂國璽
"National Seal of Candor"
State Seal of Candor
CapitalNone (de facto)
National language(s)[b]Chinese[a] and English
Demonym(s)Candorian
GovernmentUnitary assembly-independent directorial republic
• State College
9 officers of state
Tsz-kai W.
• Secretary of State
Tsung-kee L.
LegislatureDiet
Establishment
• Founding committee
21 September 2022
• Declared
11 November 2022
• Current constitution
November 2024
Population
• Estimate
9 citizens[c]
13 members (2024)
HDI (2024) 0.960
very high
CurrencyHong Kong dollar ($) (HKD)
United States dollar ($) (USD)
Candorian currency certificates
Date formatdd/mm/yyyy
Internet TLD.rc (proposed)

Candor, formally the Republic of Candor, is a micronation[1] based in East Asia and Europe. As a self-declared soveriegn entity, it has no defined territories. Although it formerly covered a region with a total land area of 0.12 km2 (0.046 sq mi) when it was declared on the territory located in Kowloon, Hong Kong; as members of the original founding committee lived in separate places, the territorial claim was soon relinquished as it served no practical purpose other than being the meeting place for the group, later being reorganized into what is now the State College. The country soon took the form of an international lobby group and a fraternity, with members that know each other closely but living in very distant places. The republic was officially declared after the signing of the constitution on 11 November 2022, since the day was Remembrance Day, it became a tradition to wear red poppies[2] on the national day in tribute to the ones who lost their lives in both world wars.

Candor is a directorial republic, with the State College as the collective head of state and the prime minister as the head of government. The legislature is the Diet, a unicameral legislature formed from the Council of Councillors of the old National Council, the legislature before 2024. Candor is highly developed, with an estimated Human Development Index (HDI) of more than 0.960, it would rank at least third in the world if confirmed. Candor advocates for the idea of a transcontinental, non-territorial dependent nation-state.

Etymology

The name "Candor" was derived from the word "Kadoorie" which is the name of the location where Candor was declared, called the Kadoorie Hill. The hill was named after the Kadoorie family who were originally Mizrahi Jews from Baghdad established in Mumbai, British Raj India, having their business subsequently centred in Shanghai and later in Hong Kong from the 19th century and the 20th century onwards.[3]

In English, the word "candour" means the quality of being honest[4] and frankness. It is widely considered a positive word thus it is said to be the alternate cause to the naming of the nation. The Chinese name of Candor "瓊頂" stands for "jade peak" depicting Candor's prior claims were laid on a hill, jade is an ornament also traditionally associated with immortality in East Asia, especially in Chinese culture.

History

Kadoorie Hill in development during the 1930s.

Pre-independence

The location upon which Candor was declared is situated on the Kadoorie Hill, an area of higher altitude in Kowloon, Hong Kong. The region had been part of many Chinese dynasties since 206 BC[5] following formal conquest by the Han dyansty. In October 1860, the Kowloon Peninsula was officially ceded to Britain after the signing of the Convention of Peking[6]. Since the early 20th century, most properties located on the Kadoorie Hill was owned by the Kadoorie family, thus the hill was named after them. Large portions of the hill still consists of properties including low-density apartments and a school.

The poppy worn by Tsung-kee L. on 11 November 2022, during the Remembrance Day and proclamation ceremonies. Poppies are the national flower of Candor.

Prelude and first republic (2022-2024)

In September 2022, the Committee for the Constitution of the Provisional Government (臨時政府立憲委員會) was established, it was also known unofficially as the "Ministry of Propaganda" (宣傳局) of the Committee of 9M. The drafting process of the first known constitution began in November 2022, and was implemented on 11 November 2022, the day on which the republic was declared. The proclamation ceremony began with a Remembrance Day ceremony, and was followed by the Consuls, John L. and Kai W. saluting the poppy wreaths. This signified and was equivilent to an oath of office. Kai W. then proclaimed the constitution, effectively declaring Candor's sovereignty. Throughout the day, most if not all officials participating in the ceremonies wore a red poppy due to the occasion, this later became a tradition to wear a red poppy in formal governmental occasions. The poppy also became the national flower.

The first republic had a different directorial system. It was modelled after the Roman Republic and had two Consuls acting as heads of state and the Secretary of State as head of government. The first two Consuls, Tsz-kai W. and Tsung-kee L., who later became the first Prime Minister and Secretary of State respectively following the constitutional reform, were nominated by the constitutional committee, instead of being decided by a general election due to the lack of candidates. The first Secretary of State was Louis W., he was appointed by Tsz-kai W. to office but later became inactive in the community. The National Council was opened after the proclamation ceremony, the first President of the National Council was Lorcan L., who also became inactive later. The continuation in inactivity within the core government caused the downfall of the first republic. This was interpreted as a need to reconstruct the system of the government, which led to the constitutional reform in 2024.

The first republic briefly became inactive in 2023. Following the inactivity, talks began to reform the nation. Drafting process for a new consitution began in early 2024. The new system of government was presented in June 2024, and removed the original diarchic system from the drafted constitution. It was agreed that a directory should be a collective head of state instead.

Second republic (2024-present)

The second republican era began in October 2024, more specifically from 28-29 October 2024, when the new provisional government was finalized and put in place. The new constitution created the "Three Principles and Six Ministries" system that was incorporated into the new Collegiate directory. Tsz-kai W. was selected the first Prime Minister under the new constitution on 2 November that year, and to be inaugurated along with Secretary of State Tsung-kee L. on 2 January 2025.

Government and politics

Tsz-kai W.,
Prime Minister since 2024
Tsung-kee L.,
Secretary of State since 2024

Candor is a unitary state and a directorial republic with an assembly-independent directory, the College of Peers, as a collective head of state. Executive power is vested in the Prime Minister and his cabinet; while the College serves as a supervisory body that has the power to appoint the Prime Minister and, in times of emergency, initiate rule by decree to bypass the legislature. The College is represented by the Secretary of State in the Diet. The current Prime Minister is Tsz-kai W., having been selected by the provisional College in 2024 after implementation of the second constitution.

State College

The College of Peers (Chinese: 中書), commonly known as the State College or simply the College, is an assembly-independent cabinet appointed by the Senate on the advice of the prime minister. The College acts as the head of state and is responsible for the administration of the state. It is composed of the nine Great Officers of State, this includes the leaders of the three principle offices and the six ministries. The system of the College is derived from the Secretariat-Chancellery (中書門下) of the Song dynasty that was first created in 1129, this institution was a collective of the secretariat and the chancellery that was established in the Tang dynasty. The institution advised the Emperor and was collectively the cabinet that led the central government. It also incorporates the system of the Three Departments and Six Ministries (三省六部), while alternating the elements of the system to fit the government needs.

Great Offices of State

Chart of the government of Candor, according to the 2024 Constitution.

The Great Offices of State, or the Three Principles and Six Ministries (三司六部) is derived from the system of the Three Departments and Six Ministries of ancient China. It consists of the three principle offices, the State Secretariat, the Financial Secretariat, and the Judicial Secretariat; and are headed by the Secretary of State, the Financial Secretary, and the Judicial Secretary respectively. The six ministries are the Ministries of Defence, Education, Foreign Affairs, Home Affairs, Labour, and Personnel. The three principle offices are modelled after the three principle offices of Hong Kong (三司).

The State Secretariat is one of the three principle offices, it is headed by the Secretary of State (布政司). The secretariat implements the foreign and home affairs of Candor and hence oversees all of the six ministries. The Secretary of State serves as the chief foreign representative and ambassador of Candor, as well as advisor of the prime minister. The Financial Secretariat is led by the Finance Secretary (財政司), and oversees the finance of the state, as well as implementing economic policies. The Judicial Secretariat is led by the Secretary for Justice (律政司), and oversees the judicial matters of the state, and interpreting the law.

Six ministries

The Ministry of Defence (國防部) is headed by the Chief of Defence Staff and manages the defence of the nation, as well as implementing the armed forces, which are largely ceremonial. The Ministry of Education (文部), implements education, culture and examination. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (外交部) implements foreign policies and manages the non-home affairs of state. In contrary, the Ministry of Home Affairs (民政部) manages internal affairs of state, including security and welfare. The Ministry of Labour (工部) oversees the industries and labour of the state. The Ministry of Personnel (吏部) implements ceremonial practices of the state, such as honours of individuals.

Cabinet

The Prime Minister (國務總理), is the head of government of Candor. The office is elected by universal suffrage every two years, and each office holder can hold no more than two consecutive terms. Candidates for the office must be a member of the Diet. The Prime Minister is accountable to both the College and the Diet, he reports to the College while being simultaneously responsible to the Diet. Upon taking office, the Prime Minister must take an oath of office in front of assembled members of the College and the Diet. The Prime Minister serves as an advisor to the College and a middleman between the College and the Diet. He presents legislation of the Diet to the College, the College then approves of the legislations, effectively passing and implementing them into law. The Prime Minister appoints a cabinet comprised of the six primary ministers, as well as other governmental figures like the deputy Prime Minister and Chiefs of Staff.

Diet

The Diet is the supreme legislature of Candor. It is a unicameral legislature consisting of 20 seats. The Diet was previously known as the National Council before the implementation of the 2024 Constitution, and Senate shortly after its reconstruction. It originally consisted of the Council of Aristocrats (upper house) and the Council of Councillors (lower house). The former became the College while the latter became the present-day Diet.

Foreign relations

Candor categorizes itself as a "pluricontinental nation that aims to promote international identity" and a "global sovereign state". It emphasizes on the idea that national identity and culture should not be subject to a defined physical boundary or physical territory, but a shared value that can be promoted beyond its native regions. Since it creation in 2022, Candor has not established any formal relations with any other entities; however, following the implementation of a new constitution, Tsung-kee L., the Secretary of State, has taken initiatives to increase the nation's engagement within the micronational and international communities.

Culture

Candor is known for its arts and literature culture. It has a 100% literacy rate, where all of its citizens are at least bilingual, with most being able to speak fluently in both English and Chinese, and some being able to speak more than two Chinese dialects. Many government officials write in their leisure time, as well as drawing and painting. Chinese calligraphy is promoted within Candor and is listed as a protected heritage.

Candor, being predominantly Han Chinese, has a unique blend between Cantonese and Jiangzhe cuisine, as well as European cuisine. More specifically, Hong Kong and Zhejiang cuisines are predominant. This is due to families of citizens having both Cantonese and Jiangsu origins, such as Shanghai and Hangzhou.

National symbols

The former coat of arms of the first republic, it featured the tricolour in one of its quarters.

Flag

The national flag was designed by the constitutional committee, more specifically in a common effort of Tsz-kai W. and Tsung-kee L.. A horizontal triband of red, gold and blue, the colours are taken from the first three colours on the Five Races Under One Union flag, used by the Republic of China in its early years; the colours represent fraternity and righteousness (Yi in Confucianism), the element of earth and benevolence (Ren in Confucianism), and liberty and propriety (Li in Confucianism), respectively. It is also said that the triband is derived from the flag of Romania.

Seals

The national emblem of Candor is a poppy with petals arranged in the form that resembles a plum blossom. The poppy is the national flower of Candor while the plum blossom symbolises perseverance and resilience, it is also the national flower of the Republic of China. The five petals each represents the five elements or Wuxing (Chinese: 五行), while the centre point - a black spot mounted by a white ring, symbolises the yinyang. It was originally decided that the centre of the poppy should include the taijitu or a swastika, meaning longevity in Chinese folk traditions and prominent symbols in Daoism, however, the idea was later scrapped as the former was too vague of a symbol and the latter was ruled to be "potentially offensive for modern usage". The emblem was designed by Tsung-kee L. and was adopted as the official emblem on 5 November 2024. Before then, the government used the State Seal as a symbol for the government in official documents.

The State Seal of Candor is the official seal of the state. It features the inscription 瓊頂國璽 ("Seal of Candor State") written in seal script (篆書) vertically in two lines, with the right hand side inscribed with 瓊頂 (Candor) and the left hand side 國璽 (national seal). The seal was created by Tsung-kee L., who practices calligraphy, wrote the inscriptions by hand, the seal script was then digitalized for digital usage; no physical seals were produced, however.

National anthem

The national anthem of Candor is the Song to the Auspicious Cloud (卿雲歌), and uses the melody composed by Xiao Youmei in 1921. The same anthem was used by the Republic of China between 1921 and 1928. The lyrics, in classical Chinese, are based on a song in Commentary of Shang Shu (尚書大傳), written by Fu Sheng in 200-100 BC. The lyrics are said to have been sung by Emperor Shun when he passed the throne to Yu the Great, it is referred to be symbolizing the noble demise system of Chinese emperors relinquishing seats to others before the hereditary system was created in ancient Chinese legends. The anthem hence symbolises the republican system and a government "of the people, by the people, for the people". Auspicious Cloud also represents heaven and good luck in Chinese culture.

The first republic adopted the melody of Le Chant du Départ as its national anthem. There were no official lyrics, and in most cases only the instrumental version is played. The anthem was replaced by the current anthem in 2024.

Notes

  1. There is no specific variety of Chinese that is official, Cantonese is predominantly spoken. The traditional script is preferred over the simplified script.
  2. There is no official language in Candor. English is the de facto working language. New national languages are recognized by the government when citizenship is granted to a person with a native tongue that has not been recognized before.
  3. Only Peers of the College and the Prime Minister are granted citizenship upon assuming office, citizenships are granted for life.

References

  1. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "micronation". Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 Jul. 2019, https://www.britannica.com/topic/micronation
  2. Why we wear a red poppies on Remembrance day https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/why-we-wear-poppies-on-remembrance-day
  3. The Kadoorie family from Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kadoorie_family
  4. "Candour" from Cambridge English Dictionary https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/candour
  5. "Imperial China era (221 BC – 1841 AD)" in the "History of Hong Kong" article from Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Hong_Kong
  6. "Terms" in the "Convention of Peking" article from Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_of_Peking