Renaldo Chang
Renaldo Chang | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| 1st Governor of Folia Tail | |
| Assumed office 26 March 2019 | |
| President | Wyatt Baek Chelsea Chen Emma Bunnell |
| 8th Deputy President of Gapla | |
| In office 3 October 2023 – 30 January 2024 | |
| President | Emma Bunnell |
| Preceded by | Chelsea Chen |
| Succeeded by | Connor Holdsworth |
| 2nd Speaker of the National Assembly | |
| In office 31 March 2023 – 2 October 2023 | |
| President | Emma Bunnell |
| Preceded by | Wyatt Baek |
| Succeeded by | Wyatt Baek |
| 6th Counciliar Assistant of Gapla | |
| In office 28 February 2021 – 2 February 2022 | |
| President | Wyatt Baek |
| Preceded by | Bright Li |
| Succeeded by | Scott Chiang |
| 4th Secondary Assistant of Gapla | |
| In office 3 February 2022 – 31 August 2022 | |
| President | Chelsea Chen |
| Preceded by | Vera Sy |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Fountain Valley, California United States of America |
| Citizenship | |
| Political party | Free Rightist Party |
| Residences | Dragon City, Folia Tail Federated States of Gapla |
| Alma mater | Royal Gaplastovian Academy Woodbridge High School |
| Religion | Protestant Christianity |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Federated States of Gapla |
| Battles/wars | Gaplan Revolution Northern Emeralkia Conflict |
Renaldo Chang, styled as His Royal Highness Renaldo I, Prince of Folia Tail in the Monarchy of Gapla, is a Gaplan conservative politician who served as the 8th Deputy President of Gapla. He is known for his state, Folia Tail, which he created and grew, as it is one of the largest and most influential in Gapla, along with its rivals Elemental and Emeralkia. In addition, he is also known for his contributions to the Gaplan Revolution, and has been honored with the title of Auxiliary Hero of the Gaplan Revolution for his bravery and opposition to Michael Hubbard. He is also credited for being one of Gapla’s first financial donors, supporting its projects and goals.
Politically, he is considered to be an important figure in the Gaplan right, and is known for his far-right views on issues such as the LGBT community and abortion. He also considers himself a Folia Tail regionist as well as a Gaplan nationalist. He is known to argue with several left-wing members of Gapla on these issues, and has attracted a substantial conservative following.
However, he is not very popular within the general public in elections due to his perceived right-wing extremism, and has had limited electoral success. Despite this, he has achieved a landslide electoral victory against Connor Hetner in the 2023 Gaplan general election, becoming Deputy President of Gapla. Many state this is largely in part due to Connor's views, which many consider far-left, Connor’s absence of an endorsement from Chelsea Chen, a popular moderate figure on the left, and lower voter turnout.
Personal history
Renaldo was born in Fountain Valley, California on October 18, 2008. In 2018, he was accepted to the Alternative Program for Academically Advanced Students (APAAS) at Deerfield Elementary School, and was placed in the class that the Federated States of Gapla was founded in.
Following the success of the newly formed Federated States of Gapla after its union with Emeralkia, he created the "Grand Kingdom of Chickenopolis" in early March 2019. While the Gaplan government had repeatedly reached out for him to become a Gaplan state, he refused. However, unlike Emeralkia, Chickenopolis did not gain much traction and class micronationalism was dominated by Gapla.
On a rainy day where PE class was replaced with indoor yoga in the MPR, Wyatt Baek, the then-President of Gapla, successfully convinced Renaldo to have Chickenopolis join Gapla as a state. The state was later renamed to "Delsgade" and is today Folia Tail.
Micronational career
Before rise to power
Foundation days
During the foundation days, Chickenopolis participated in interstate sessions, albeit without much success. Vera Sy named her state after Chickenopolis (Syopolis). The state wasn't very active yet wasn't inactive. Renaldo was also not an important figure at this time.
Gaplan revolution and renaissance
Renaldo applied for membership to Hubbard Sucks and was accepted as a member. He was not a major figure in the organization or in Gapla until his rise to power in the Gaplan Renaissance and his second, very dramatic rise in the next school year.
During the Gaplan Renaissance, Renaldo sided with the Xadians and Musiclandians. In this capacity, he climbed up the ranks of the State of Xadia to reach a powerful military position. After the fall of Xadia, Renaldo aggressively attacked former Xadian colonies, seeking to be the next Xadia.
However, while his state got incredibly powerful for a little less than a week, he was defeated by an Elementalian task force that had conquered the territory of the other side (Ozzah). With the fall of Xadia and Ozzah, Elemental was left unopposed, and Renaldo wished to counter that. However, he was unsuccessful every time and soon fell inactive.
Rise to power and later events
Return to Gapla and rise of Folia Tail
After falling very inactive for quite a long time, Renaldo largely criticized the Federated States of Gapla, calling it a "fake nation" with "no purpose" and that "Wyatt's police doesn't exist." He repeatedly made fun of the country over Zoom, but was largely ignored by the Gaplan authorities.
However, a few weeks later, Renaldo contacted the Gaplan government on how to be active in Gapla again. Renaldo's previous criticism is likely due to not knowing how to be active and taking an alternative approach. The government welcomed and celebrated Renaldo back, and he soon defended the country in the school Zoom meetings. Renaldo then renamed his state from Chickenopolis to "Delsgade," as he thought it was a more proper name for the state. Notably, Vera Sy was extremely upset at this decision.
In a famous episode of attempted historical revisionism, later tried to deny that the criticism of Gapla at the beginning of the year happened, and then grew ashamed after after he was disqualified for the award of the Leaflet of Gaplan Fortune (LGF), an award dedicated to those who are loyal to Gapla, because of his prior actions.
He eventually renamed his state to Folia Tail after the rise to power, which, through the help of former Xadian states and some hard work, consistently caught up to and even defeated Elemental in a session. Along with Chelsea Chen, he was the first funders of Gapla, buying titles, a crown, Gapla Dollars, and more.
Accusations of Gaplan and Folian nationalism
Renaldo was accused of sending messages that undermine his education, such as "Folia Tail defeating Elemental > Schoolwork" and "Folia Tail > [The rest of] Gapla > School." The effects of this are unknown. Some people have called Renaldo a Gaplan nationalist due to his excessive pride of being Gaplan, and especially a citizen of Folia Tail, however, he is also known to display this for his other citizenships, especially Brazil and Taiwan. He has commented that Gapla should be recognized by the international community and that it is the "best country in the world."
Competition with Elemental and Chelsea Chen
Folia Tail's main competitor is Elemental. As the governors of the two states, he is seen as the rival of Chelsea Chen.
As part of the left-right divide and general interstate competitions, Folia Tail has always been competing with Elemental, its left-wing rival. Renaldo is also prone to arguing with Chelsea and the rest of the Socialist Party, known for posting dozens of "Socialism is Cancer" GIFs in a row in the #socialist-party channel of the Gaplan Discord server.
Political views
Renaldo is well-known throughout Gapla for his right-wing populist and socially conservative political views, including on the LGBT community and abortion.
He is strongly against the LGBT community, and is famous for jokingly proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Gapla that would declare members of the LGBT community as "dumb" and would ban them from the country. Due to his perceived right-wing extremism and social conservativism, he is not considered to be very popular within Gaplan electoral politics.
In addition, he is known to be a strong Gaplan and Taiwanese nationalist, famous for writing messages that many people interpret as disregarding his schoolwork in favor of participation in Gaplan politics. He is known to advocate for Folia Tail regionalist policies within national politics, and is opposed to socialism and communism.
Awards and honors
The following is a list of honors, domestic and foreign, received by Renaldo Chang:
| Awards and Honors of Renaldo Chang |
|---|
   |
Domestic honors
All from the Federated States of Gapla.
- Commander of the Gaplan Revolution (CGR)
- Commander of the Gaplan People (CGP)
Service ribbons
All from the Federated States of Gapla.
- Service Ribbon for Bravery, Second Class (RB)
Foreign honors
From countries other than the Federated States of Gapla.
Renaldo Chang has not received any foreign honors.
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