Wing Sing

Wing Sing (Singlish 永勝), formally Technocratic Republic of Wing Sing (Singlish 永勝技術民國), is a technocratic oligarchy in East Cathay. Formerly a part of the Jizhou Empire, Wing Sing was ceded to Batavië following the Second Oriental War.

Wing Sing has a complex history of colonialism, mass immigration and real and imagined foreign invasion that has resulted in a complex relationship with the League of Free States and a unique political system. The Technocratic Republic of Wing Sing has never been in a state of war and generally maintains a neutrality policy toward foreign conflict.

History
The Technocratic Republic of Wing Sing was established in 1939, replacing the Principal Colony of Willemstad. Wing Sing endured rapid changes in Cathay during the 20th century, many of which resulted in significant immigration waves and even threats of invasion. The Technocracy today is known as an enclave of stability, prosperity and relative social freedom in the Oikawasphere.

Government
The government of the Technocratic Republic of Wing Sing was founded on the Constitution and its Four Principles, a document strongly influenced by the government of Warre, which establishes that "[Wing Sing] shall be a meritocracy, in which the right to participate is granted not by the possession of a pulse, but by willingness to sacrifice for the community." Wing Sing does not have universal suffrage. The right to vote is granted upon completion of at least two years of civil service.

Chairman
The head of state is the Chairman, who is formally elected by the Legislative Council every five years in accordance with the Constitution. In practice, the position of the Chairman has very little power, with the Constitution vesting most executive authority in the Legislative Council. The Chairman of the Technocratic Republic, therefore, stands largely as a figurehead. The two important powers of the Chairman are to declare martial law and to declare war. Foreign ambassadors present their credentials to the Chairman.

Chief of Legislative Council
The Chief of the Legislative Council of Wing Sing is noted by the Constitution as the head of government of the Technocratic Republic. However, the Chief has no special powers over any other member of the Legislative Council. The Chief has the unique responsibilities of informing the Chairman of the Technocratic Republic of the affairs and desires of the Council, of affixing his signature to treaties and special legislation, and of "liaising with the citizens of the Technocratic Republic." The Chief of the Legislative Council is also responsible for issuing passports to citizens, a task typically delegated in other countries to ministers of foreign affairs.

Legislative Council
The Legislative Council is the highest organ of power in Wing Sing, elected every five years by the Citizens' Assembly. The eight-member council acts in both legislative and executive fashion, with each councilor responsible for leading an executive department (except for the Chief). The immense authority of the Legislative Council has led to Wing Sing being dubbed an oligarchy, a title the Singlish have embraced. The National Anthem of Wing Sing, for example, is titled '寡頭政治' or Oligarchy.

Geography
The Technocratic Republic of Wing Sing is located between mainland Cathay and Serindia. A group of 43 islands, centered around the largest and most heavily urbanised Wing Sing Island, the country is a humid subtropical climate. The Tan Tok River, the widest and longest fresh water system in Wing Sing, has its source in the aptly-named Watershed District, flowing into Central, the business district and historic site of Batavië's first trading port. The Tan Tok River feeds directly into the Chaai Hwan Bay, a natural landform harbour instrumental in Wing Sing's development as a Batavian colony and subsequent development as a trading center.

Wing Sing Island has undergone significant land reclamation projects in the second half of the twentieth century. The demand for more living space in the urbanized area has led to the reclamation of three historic bays: Daalen, Kwok and Tai Po. Other reclamation projects are still ongoing.

The highest point in Wing Sing is Taai Ping, on the island of the same name. The tallest on Wing Sing Island is Lou Fung, at 550m tall. While Taai Ping is largely uninhabited, Lou Fung is home to many houses of worship. Cingsaan Monastery, the oldest functional building in Wing Sing, is at the foot of Lou Fung.

Economy
Wing Sing has a highly developed market-based economy, which has historically revolved around manufacturing, but more recently depended on extended entrepôt trade. The economy depends heavily on exports and refining imported goods, including significant electronics, petroleum refining, chemicals, mechanical engineering and biomedical sciences sectors. Wing Sing has one of the world's busiest ports and largest trading centres. Wing Sing's economy has been ranked amongst the world's ten most open, competitive, innovative and business-friendly. Wing Sing sees hundreds of thousands of foreign expatriates working in multi-national corporations. It is an important centre for international finance and trade, with one of the greatest concentration of corporate headquarters in the region. In addition, Wing Sing's gross domestic product, between 1960 and 2000, has grown by 200 times while per capita GDP rose by 90 times.

Tourism
Wing Sing is a popular travel destination, contributing to the importance of its tourism industry. About eight million tourists visited the Technocratic Republic in 2009. So-called 'vice industries' like gambling and prostitution and even limited recreational drug use are permitted in Wing Sing under careful regulation of the central government. Still, the legal availability of such frequently-restricted activities attracts tourists from around the Oikawasphere and beyond.

Currency
The currency of Wing Sing is the Singlish Guilder, represented by the symbol Sƒ or the ISO abbreviation WSG. The central bank is the Monetary Authority of Wing Sing, responsible for issuing currency, under the National Department of Finance.

Foreign Relations
Wing Sing maintains diplomatic relations with most of the world's nations, though for cost and manpower reasons does not maintain an embassy in many of those countries. The only international deliberative body of which the Technocratic Republic is a member is the League of Free States. Wing Sing strongly values its reputation for non-involvement and neutrality. The country has never applied for membership in the Council of Nations.

Wing Sing owes its membership in the League of Free States to a close relationship with the High Kingdom of Warre dating to the early 20th century. Warreic advisers strongly influenced the early framers of the Technocratic Republic and ensured Wing Sing's independence from the Oikawan Empire. To this day, Warre is Wing Sing's closest ally and most prevalent guarantor of independence, with the sizable NAME GOES HERE naval base located on Wing Sing's NAME GOES HERE island.

Military
Due to its constitutional obligation to provide an opportunity for national service to all comers, as well as a historical mistrust of neighboring Shinryeo, Wing Sing maintains a more substantial military than one would expect, given its small size and reputation for fiscal restraint.

The Singlish Guard serve mainly as a deterrent force, but are also involved in international peacekeeping operations and humanitarian response efforts. The Technocratic Republic also maintains an extensive network of overseas training grounds, particularly in Warre and other LFS countries, due to its limited available land.

Demographics
Due to the multi-tiered classes of residency and citizenship in the Technocratic Republic, demography in Wing Sing is not as easily defined as in other countries. Literally anyone who arrives in Wing Sing is eligible for civilianship. Conversely, natural born Singlish are not granted citizenship. Furthermore, the government of Wing Sing does not take a census; all demographic statistics are therefore estimates based on data such as the issuing of passports and welfare payouts to citizens.

Demographic estimates are typically broken into two categories: Singlish citizens and Singlish civilians. Both populations are dominated by ethnic Chinese, Han and Hui groups, with Han comprising more than 90% of Singlish citizens. A small but vocal and visible minority of ethnic Batavians and other 'old westerners' called Singers form a significant block of political power and high-income earners.

In civilian categories, the Chinese share shrinks to 70%, with Sinese, Vangalans, Baraturks, Manchus, Aryans and Singers forming significant minorities.



Religion
The immigrant nature of Singlish society means that it is a multireligious society. Due to the prevalence of ethnic Chinese, a plurality of Singlish identify as Buddhist. But Daoism, Chinese Folk Religion, Islam and Christianity are all well-represented in the Chinese population.

Reproduction
The government of the Technocratic Republic practices very strict family planning policies. Article 9 of the Constitution states "Reproduction is a privilege, not a right. All births in the Technocratic Republic are to be properly licensed, all parents to be properly trained, and all children to be properly raised." The tight restrictions on newborn children have resulted in a constant state of demographic peril for Wing Sing. At no point have new births been sufficient to sustain the aging population, employment needs or other factors. The Technocratic Republic therefore relies heavily on immigration from without to provide the country with new blood.

Languages
The official languages of Wing Sing are Singlish and Dutch, with the former being spoken with competence by 99% of citizens and 89% of civilians. Batavian Dutch, on the other hand, is spoken competently by 44% of citizens and 18% of civilians.

The immigrant nature of Wing Sing is such that most Singlish speak neither Singlish nor Dutch natively, with Jizhou Chinese making up a plurality of mother tongues. Other significant mother tongues include other Sinitic languages, Sinese, Vangalan, Turkish and Manchu.

Culture
Due to her history as a colony of the Jizhou Empire for at least one millennium and the twentieth century history of massive Jizhou immigration, the foundation of Singlish culture is said to be Chinese. Wing Sing is often called a mix of cultures, however, considering the influences of Batavian colonization, Warreic political and military involvement and significant immigration from Sinhai, Vangala and other places.

Cuisine
Shopping and eating are said to be the national pastimes of Wing Sing. Singlish cuisine is an example of the country's diversity and cultural mix. Curries, seafood, rice and chicken will all be found in a typical Singlish kitchen. Dishes from southern Jizhou are particularly common and appreciated in Wing Sing.



Media
Wing Sing has a uniquely free media among nations in the League of Free States. The government does not control or censor the press. All media institutions are private enterprises. With notable exceptions such as the Singlish Wireless Service and Serindia Star, most all newsmedia products are for-profit establishments.

Aside from traditional media outlets like television, radio and print, Wing Sing hosts a thriving video game industry.

The Singlish government also permits access to both the League of Free States FreeNet web and the World Wide Web, further enabling the spread of Singlish media around the globe.

Music
Techno music emerged in Wing Sing in the mid 1980s, taking its name from a shortening of the Technocracy. The electronic sounds and futuristic imagery of techno music has since been an integral part of Singlish culture, with thumping beats and computerized riffs being a common ambiance on Wing Sing's streetcorners.

Sport and Recreation
Traditional Chinese recreations like Tai Ji Quan are popular in Wing Sing. The most popular televised sport locally, by a significant margin of viewers, is Warreic Cluiche Dar Siorc, locally known as 鯊球 or "Sharkball."

Ports and Aviation
Wing Sing is a major transportation hub for the Greater Cathay Region and the premier hub for Serindia. The Port of Wing Sing is Europe's busiest transshipment port and consistently ranks among the world's top container ports. The city-state's geographic advantage with regard to its position along major shipping routes also leads many ships to refuel in the port.

Wing Sing's Albertus Brouwer Airport serves fifty airlines in three terminals, with routes connecting most of Europe's major cities.

Domestic
Over 90% of daily travels are on public transport. The domestic transport infrastructure has a well-connected island-wide road transport system which includes a network of expressways. The public road system is served by competing, privately owned and franchised bus companies, as well as a number of licensed taxi companies.

The island also boasts a comprehensive subterranean and elevated rail network, the White Star Rail Company (Witte Ster Lijn), which first began service in 1958. More than four million trips are made on the line in an average day.