Republic of Canton
 | This article contains information pertaining to a simulationist micronation, micronationalist or other element of micronational society or culture. |
"Republic of Canton" redirects here. For the Chinese province, see Guangdong.
Republic of Canton 大粵民國 Dàyuè Mínguó Daai4-yuet4 Man2-gwok2 | |
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 Flag
 Emblem
| |
| Motto: 「受益開明道」 "Benefit the Enlightened Path" | |
| Anthem: 《愛國歌》 "National Anthem of the Republic of Canton | |
.png) | |
| Capital | Sai Kung |
| Official languages | Standard Mandarin |
| Recognised regional languages | w:Cantonese language |
| Official scripts | Hanzi |
| Ethnic groups | 93.6% Han 6.4% others |
| Demonym(s) | Citizens of the Republic of Canton |
| Government | Unitary parliamentary republic |
• President of the Republic of Canton | Irene Cheung |
• Prime Minister of the Republic of Canton | N/A |
| Legislature | Parliament of the Republic of Canton |
| Formation | |
| 30 April 2016 | |
| Area | |
• Total | 623 km2 (241 sq mi) |
• Water (%) | 411.5 |
| Population | |
• 2016 estimate | 406,442 |
• Density | 3,000/km2 (7,770.0/sq mi) |
| HDI (2016) | ▲ 0.763 high |
| Currency | Canton dollar (CN$) (Canton dollar (CND) |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (CST) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+8 (not observed) |
| Date format | yyyy-mm-dd yyyy年m月d日 (CE; CE+2697) or 民國yy年m月d日 |
| Driving side | left |
| Calling code | +886 |
| Internet TLD | .ct .粵國 |
Canton (hanzi: 粵國; pinyin: Yuèguó; jyutping: Yuet4-gwok2) officially the Republic of Canton (hanzi: 大粵民國; pinyin: Dàyuè Mínguó; jyutping: Daai4-yuet4 Man2-gwok2), is an self-declared sovereign state constituting the Eastern New Territories, Hong Kong. Located on the southern coast of China at the Pearl River Estuary and the South China Sea, neighbouring states include Hong Kong to the east, China to the north, and Taiwan to the east. The Hanzi that make up the Canton's official name mean "Republic of the Great Yue", and Canton is often called the "Land of the Yue".
The country's landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from mountainous and urban areas to subtropical forests in the wetter mainland. Canton has approximately 42 islands, with the mainland itself which already makes up about ninety per cent of Canton's land area. The country is divided into four provinces: Sai Kung, Nam Kwan and Bak Kui; each represented by a council which advises the government on local matters such as public facilities, community programmes, cultural activities, and environmental improvements. Sai Kung has been the country's capital since the establishment of the republic in 2016.
Canton is a unitary parliamentary republic, with a Westminster system of unicameral parliamentary government. The Conservative Party has won every election since the declaration of the Republic of Canton in 2016. During the late 2010s Canton transitioned from a military dictatorship with a one party system of governance dominated by the Conservative Party with universal suffrage. About 10% of the country's claim is mostly claimed but uncontrolled by the Cantonese authorities.
The country's history goes back since the Treaty of Nanking. Irene Cheung has declared the Republic of Canton to be the successor to British Hong Kong that ceased to exist in 1997. Today, most of the country's political influence is based on the former British colony.
Entomology
The official name of the modern country is the Republic of Canton (hanzi: 大粵民國; pinyin: Dàyuè Mínguó; jyutping: Daai4-yuet4 Man2-gwok2). The common Mandarin names for the country are Yuèguó (Hanzi: 粵國, from Yuè, natives of Canton, and guó, "state" or "states", and in modern times, "nation") and Dàyuè (Hanzi: 大粵), although the country's official name has been changed numerous times by modern governments. The term Dàyuè appeared in various ancient texts, such as the Classic of History. The term, which can be either singular or plural, referred to the group of states or provinces in the central land, but was not used as a name for the country as a whole until the nineteenth century. The Cantonese were not unique in regarding their country as "central", with other civilizations having the same view of themselves.
History
Imperial China
From the mid-Tang dynasty to early Ming dynasty, the territory that now comprises Hong Kong SAR and the Republic of Canton was governed by Dongguan County (東莞縣/ 東官縣). In Ming dynasty, the area was governed by Xin'an County (新安縣) before it was colonized by the British Empire.
The earliest European visitor on record was Jorge Álvares, a Portuguese explorer who arrived in 1513. Having founded an establishment in Macau by 1557, Portuguese merchants began trading in southern China. However, subsequent military clashes between China and Portugal led to the expulsion of all Portuguese merchants from the rest of China.
In the mid-16th century, the Haijin order (closed-door, isolation policy) was enforced and it strictly forbade all maritime activities in order to prevent contact from foreigners by sea. From 1661 to 1669, Hong Kong was directly affected by the Great Clearance of the Kangxi Emperor, who required the evacuation of coastal areas of Guangdong. About 16,000 people from Hong Kong and Bao'an County were forced to emigrate inland; 1,648 of those who evacuated were said to have returned after the evacuation was rescinded in 1669.
British Hong Kong
Hong Kong was given by the Qing Dynasty to the British Empire in 1841 under the Treaty of Nanking. Kowloon was added to the area of Hong Kong in 1860 under the Convention of Peking, and New Territories was added in 1898 under the Second Convention of Peking. In 1941–1945, Hong Kong was ruled by the Japanese Empire during World War II. In 1984, People's Republic of China and the United Kingdom agreed under Sino-British Joint Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong that Hong Kong was to be returned to China on 1 July 1997.
New micronation
Due to the Hong Kong independence movement, instead of supporting the either the colonists or the independence supporters, the Cantonese Provisional Government decided to declare Eastern Hong Kong New Territories independence under a new state entity. Around May 2013, the Provisional Government instructed its followers to canvass support for the creation of the Republic of Canton. The Mingtian Provisional Government moved forward to separate the Eastern New Territories from Hong Kong, thus was not approved by the Hong Kong Government.
The Republic of Canton was proclaimed on 30 April 2016, with Irene Cheung as the first president and founding mother. She was heavily criticised as a ruthless dictator, who extended her rule by creating a new constitution, which gave the president sweeping (almost dictatorial) powers and permitted her to run for an unlimited number of six-year terms. However, the Cantonese economy developed significantly during Cheung's tenure and the government developed the micronation-wide expressway system, the Sai Kung subway system, and laid the foundation for economic development.
Government and politics
The Republic of Canton is a parliamentary republic with a Westminster system of unicameral parliamentary government representing constituencies. The country's constitution establishes a representative democracy as the political system. Executive power rests with the Cabinet of the Republic of Canton, led by the Prime Minister and, to a much lesser extent, the President. The President is elected through a popular vote, and has veto powers over a specific set of executive decisions, such as the use of the national reserves and the appointment of judges, but otherwise occupies a largely ceremonial post.
The Parliament serves as the legislative branch of the government. Members of Parliament (MPs) consist of elected, non-constituency and nominated members. Elected MPs are voted into the Parliament on a "first-past-the-post" (plurality) basis and represent either single-member or group representation constituencies. The Conservative Party has won control of Parliament with large majorities in every election since the republic was declared in 2016.
Canton's governance model eschews populist politics, focusing on the country's long-term interest, and is known to be clean, effective and pragmatic. As a small sovereign state highly dependent on external trade, it is vulnerable to geo-politics and global economics. It places great emphasis on security and stability of the region in its foreign policies and applies global best practices to ensure the country's attractiveness as an investment destination and business hub.
The legal system of Canton is based on English common law, but with substantial local differences. Trial by jury was abolished so that judicial decisions would rest entirely in the hands of appointed judges. Canton has penalties that include judicial corporal punishment in the form of caning, which may be imposed for such offences as rape, rioting, vandalism, and certain immigration offences.
Foreign relations and military
The foreign relations of the Republic of Canton are handled by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Canton participates fully in intermicronational and regional organisations. The country remains an active member of the Asian Micronations. Canton has developed increasingly close ties with other Asian Micronations members: Choseon, Gajajima, Dikameppra, and Hashima, whose foreign and economic ministers hold annual meetings. Regional co-operation is progressing in economic, trade, banking, political, and cultural matters.
The country is one of the founding members of the Micro Asian Tigers. Canton signed a security pact with the United Islands in October 2015. Canton has close economic and military relations with the Woodlands Republic; the Cantonese-Woodlander security alliance acts as the cornerstone of the foreign policy. As a member state of the MAT, Canton has served as a non-permanent Security Council member for a total of 2 years, most recently from 2014 and ongoing.
The Republic of Canton Armed Forces constitute the military of the Republic of Canton. It consists of the Republic of Canton Army, the Republic of Canton Navy, and the Republic of Canton Air Force. It also incorporates various paramilitary forces.
The Republic of Canton Armed Forces has combined manpower of 58 active duty personnel and another 15 active reserve personnel. The head of the Republic of Canton Armed Forces is the President, although this position is only nominal. The armed forces are managed by the Ministry of Defence of Canton, which is headed by the Minister of Defence (a member of the cabinet of Canton) and commanded by the Republic of Canton Armed Forces Headquarters, which in turn is headed by the Chief of Defence Forces of the Republic of Canton.
According to the constitution, serving in the armed forces is a duty of all Cantonese citizens. However, only males over the age of 20, who have not gone through reserve training of the Army Reserve Force Students, are given the option of volunteering for the armed forces, or participating in the random draft. The candidates are subjected to varying lengths of training, from six months to two years of full-time service, depending on their education, whether they have partially completed the reserve training course, and whether they volunteered prior to the draft date (usually 1 June every year).
Geography
The Republic of Canton is located on China's south coast, east of Hong Kong. It is surrounded by the South China Sea on the east, and south, and borders Hong Kong to the west, and the Guangdong city of Shenzhen to the north over the Shenzhen River. The total area, 485.05 km² is land and 20 km² is inland water. Canton claims territorial waters to a distance of 3 nautical miles (5.6 km).
As much of the country's terrain is hilly to mountainous with steep slopes, less than 25% of the territory's landmass is developed, and about 40% of the remaining land area is reserved as country parks and nature reserves.
Low altitude vegetation in Canton is dominated by secondary rainforests, as the primary forest was mostly cleared during the Second World War, and higher altitudes are dominated by grasslands. Most of the territory's urban development exists in Nan Lian. The country's Geopark is made up of eight Geo-Areas distributed across the Sai Kung Volcanic Rock Region and Bak Kui Sedimentary Rock Region.
Climate
Canton has a humid subtropical climate. Summer is hot and humid with occasional showers and thunderstorms, and warm air coming from the southwest. Summer is when typhoons are most likely, sometimes resulting in flooding or landslides. Winters are mild and usually start sunny, becoming cloudier towards February; the occasional cold front brings strong, cooling winds from the north. The most temperate seasons are spring, which can be changeable, and autumn, which is generally sunny and dry. The country averages 1,948 hours of sunshine per year, while the highest and lowest ever recorded temperatures at Canton Observatory are 36.1 and 0.0 °C (97.0 and 32.0 °F), respectively.
| Climate data for Republic of Canton | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 26.9 (80.4) |
28.3 (82.9) |
30.1 (86.2) |
33.4 (92.1) |
35.5 (95.9) |
35.6 (96.1) |
35.7 (96.3) |
36.1 (97) |
35.2 (95.4) |
34.3 (93.7) |
31.8 (89.2) |
28.7 (83.7) |
36.1 (97) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 18.6 (65.5) |
18.9 (66) |
21.4 (70.5) |
25.0 (77) |
28.4 (83.1) |
30.2 (86.4) |
31.4 (88.5) |
31.1 (88) |
30.1 (86.2) |
27.8 (82) |
24.1 (75.4) |
20.2 (68.4) |
25.6 (78.1) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 16.3 (61.3) |
16.8 (62.2) |
19.1 (66.4) |
22.6 (72.7) |
25.9 (78.6) |
27.9 (82.2) |
28.8 (83.8) |
28.6 (83.5) |
27.7 (81.9) |
25.5 (77.9) |
21.8 (71.2) |
17.9 (64.2) |
23.24 (73.83) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 14.5 (58.1) |
15.0 (59) |
17.2 (63) |
20.8 (69.4) |
24.1 (75.4) |
26.2 (79.2) |
26.8 (80.2) |
26.6 (79.9) |
25.8 (78.4) |
23.7 (74.7) |
19.8 (67.6) |
15.9 (60.6) |
21.4 (70.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 0.0 (32) |
2.4 (36.3) |
4.8 (40.6) |
9.9 (49.8) |
15.4 (59.7) |
19.2 (66.6) |
21.7 (71.1) |
21.6 (70.9) |
18.4 (65.1) |
13.5 (56.3) |
6.5 (43.7) |
4.3 (39.7) |
0.0 (32) |
| Average Precipitation mm (inches) | 24.7 (0.972) |
54.4 (2.142) |
82.2 (3.236) |
174.7 (6.878) |
304.7 (11.996) |
456.1 (17.957) |
376.5 (14.823) |
432.2 (17.016) |
327.6 (12.898) |
100.9 (3.972) |
37.6 (1.48) |
26.8 (1.055) |
2,398.4 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 74 | 80 | 82 | 83 | 83 | 82 | 81 | 81 | 78 | 73 | 71 | 69 | 78.0 |
| Average rainy days | 5.37 | 9.07 | 10.90 | 12.00 | 14.67 | 19.07 | 17.60 | 16.93 | 14.67 | 7.43 | 5.47 | 4.47 | 137.65 |
| Sunshine hours | 143.0 | 94.2 | 90.8 | 101.7 | 140.4 | 146.1 | 212.0 | 188.9 | 172.3 | 193.9 | 180.1 | 172.2 | 1,835.6 |
| Source: Canton Weather Observatory | |||||||||||||