Tseng

The Republic of Tseng (Chinese: 曾島民國; pinyin: Zēngdǎo Mínguó, Tsengian pronounciation [d͡zə́ŋ taw mín kwə̀]), also called Zeng, is a sovereign state located in East Asia. The capital and largest city is the eponymous Tseng City.

Austronesian ancestors of Tsengian indigenous peoples settled the islands 3,000 years ago. On 400 BC, Chinese migration began, creating five kingdoms. The Ming dynasty later arrived in 1405, destroying the kingdoms in a huge war. Starting in the late 16th century, European nations arrived in Tseng, creating huge chaos accross the islands. Because of the chaos, the Treaty of Geneva was signed in 1765, splitting the islands into British, French, Dutch, Chinese, and indigenous sections. After the Qing dynasty left in 1894, modern-day Tseng was under full European control, as the natives lost their land and Qing Tseng was annexed by the British. An attempted Japanese invasion in 1934 caused the territories to merge into the United States of Tseng, however it was annexed by Japan in 1938. Tseng was liberated from Japanese rule in 1944, with British Tseng and French Talasides merging into the AFJAT. Tseng later became independent on July 17, 1946.

Tseng is a member of the, , , , and (although not a member or observer) cooperates with.

Etymology
The word Tseng meant "high" or "add" in ancient Chinese. It came from the ancient Chinese state of. After the state of Ju annexed Zeng in 578 BC, a few citizens escaped, eventually going to Tseng Island.

In everyday Chinese, "曾" means "once" or "already" (曾经/曾經) and is pronounced "Céng". However, the surname and the country name is pronounced "Zēng". In the colonial times the Europeans used the romanization system, and the Wade-Giles translation is "Tseng". Many people with the surname Tseng joke about how they are the "founder of Tseng" and that a country is named after them. Because of this some people want the country name to change.

Early settlement (-1405)
Tseng was joined to mainland, until it split off in the 26 century BC. Around 5,000 years ago, the first people came from Sakhalin, which are the ancestors of Tseng's indigenous peoples. Their languages belonged to the Austronesian language family.

Han Chinese settlers began settling in 400 BC, and they started to create their own kingdoms and countries, enslaving the native people in the process. There were five main kingdoms from 400 BC to 1364 AD, which makes historians call this period "the Era of the Five Kingdoms". The Five Kingdoms continued to have peace (with the exception of minor conflicts) with each other until the Ming Dynasty of China arrived in 1405.

Colonization (1405-1795)
The Ming dynasty of China arrived in 1405, destroying the Five Kingdoms one by one in a huge war. Indigenous peoples such as the Fu'lang, Hazaki, and Tanan tribes were heavily discriminated and they were assimilated into Chinese culture even more.

In 1593, as part of the Age of Exploration, an expedition from the United Kingdom led by Charles Sterling, with the intention of a sea route on the Pacific coast, arrived in modern-day Tseng. They set up a settlement (Fort Elizabeth), and started exploring the area, finding several Chinese settlers. They were forced to leave because of a native uprising in 1597, but they returned in 1605.

In 1616, France arrived, competiting with other European nations. They also set up a settlement (Louis-Ville) on the southeast end of the island. By 1635, if it wasn't chaotic enough, the Dutch came, and for the next few centuries the four nations along with the native tribes clashed.

Peace (1795-1894)
The five groups on Tseng coexisted peacefully over the next few years. France was forced to leave in 1790 because of the French Revolution, and later the Dutch left in 1795 due to its occupation by France. This left the British Empire, the Qing Dynasty, and the indigenous tribes, but the Dutch would return in 1805 after it ceased to be a cilent state of France.

France would return in 1884. The Qing dynasty left in 1894 due to rebellions and disorder, and its land was annexed to the British Empire.

European Tseng (1894-1946)
Finally, in 1894, the Treaty of Geneva was signed, officially dividing the island into English, French, Dutch, Qing, and indigenous sections.

On March 31, 1894, the UK established British Tseng, a crown colony of the UK. France renamed its territory to the Talasides on June 28, establishing the French Talasides (Talasidés français). The Dutch would transform Dutch Tseng (Nederlands-Tseng) into a constitutent country of the Netherlands on February 14, 1903. With the exception of Dutch Tseng, the colonies had harsh treatment of non-Europeans. The Talasides were the worst offender, with dictator Jean-Gabriel Loisè creating apartheid-like laws to separate the races.

In 1934, Japan invaded Tseng. Quickly the territories and native land merged with the consent of the European colonial governments and became one country, the United States of Tseng (UST). The UST managed to fight off Japan two more times before it was overwhelmed and on April 30, 1938, Tseng became a colony of Japan. If it weren't for the protests and riots against Japanese rule in Tseng, during World War II, Japan would have invaded Aritonesia and mainland North America (because of Tseng's proximity to America) and maybe would have won. In 1944, with the help of the Allies, Tseng was liberated from Japanese rule. After World War II, Tsengians wanted a united country. But the British and French refused, which angered the Tsengians. In 1945, France and England decided to merge their colonies into one to have more power over the Tseng independence movement, creating the AFJAT (Anglo-French Joint Administration of Tseng). That would prove to be a fatal mistake, as Tseng nevertheless declared independence on July 17, 1946.

In 1949, Tseng, along with, were countries to escape to, as Mao Zedong and his communists had won the.

Contemporary era (1946-present)
The first election was held on July 22, 1946. Pierre Huang-li of the National Prosperity Party (NPP) was elected. Huang-li immediately expanded the economy. Huang-li then won the 1950 and 1954 elections (the latter of which he ran unopposed). Fearing Huang-li would become a dictator (even though Tseng was becoming richer every year he was in power), organizers from the Opposition planned a coup d'etat on Huang-li. On August 1, 1954, a few weeks after the election, Huang-li was assassinated by Johan Lee, a member of the Tongzhi Wing, a radical militant sect of the rival People's Democratic Party (PDP).

In the 1960s, Tseng was in political turmoil. After Frederik Bao came to power via a coup d'etat in 1962, politically-motivated attacks became more common as right-wingers hated Bao and communism, while left-wingers fought against oppression under the conservative government. The years known as the Luanzheng Era were violent, and there were 4 new governments in 6 years, culminating in the Tsengian military junta of 1968. The famous Wu'ao oil refinery explosion of 1964 was caused by an angry socialist. Many people think it is the worst decade in Tsengian history.

However, in the 1970s, the economy rapidly grew, and Tseng became a developed country. This period is known as the Wanxia Miracle, after the Wanxia, a river in southern Tseng. The NPP ruled Tseng uninterrupted from 1980 to 2016.

During the 1990s, Tseng saw many social reforms that changed the country. Gay (illegal) and disability rights (previously nonexistent) were recognized, and gender roles (which were strictly enforced) were relaxed. One of the lasting changes was the end of Anti-Communist Day (反共日) which was on September 30, and a public holiday. In 2008, there was a constitutional crisis due to then-President James Huang and his administration accepting bribes and refusing to resign. In the end, they eventually resigned.

By the end of 2021, there were 8,510 cases and 190 deaths of COVID-19 in Tseng.

Geography
Tseng is a rectangular, bone-shaped landmass in the Pacific Ocean 2130 km (1324 mi) southeast of Tokyo, Japan. At the north end of the island there are Van Wittek Mountains. The north is misty and rainy and cold. The average in January is -10 C (14 F). The central and east part is mostly forest. That was the land that the Treaty of Geneva gave the natives. Southern Tseng the area is beachy, hilly, with cliffs and canyons in the area known as the Callendres Coast. The west part is mainly of plains and hills. That's where the capital, Tseng City is.

In the Sandao area, the Sanjiao island is mainly made up of foothills, hills, and small mountains.

Climate
Tseng experiences a, which means it has hot and humid summers, and cold to mild winters. Sometimes, in Beifong Island (the island northwest of Tseng Island), there can be snow, although snow is rare in other parts of Tseng. On January 23, 2016, due to the, Tseng City was welcomed with snow and temputures as low as -4.5 °C (23.9 °F), the lowest since 1983.

Islands
There are 257 islands of Tseng, but there are five main ones. These are (from clockwise):


 * 1) Tseng Island
 * 2) Sanjiao Island
 * 3) Beifeng Island
 * 4) Qingshan Island
 * 5) Jingwu Island

Natural disasters
Because Tseng is in the Ring of Fire in the Pacific Ocean, the islands are prone to natural disasters, specifically typhoons and (more commonly) earthquakes. The most deadliest earthquake was the 2006 Taihua earthquake.

Economy
Tseng has a diverse capitalist economy.

Exports are fruits and fish. Manufacturing and agriculture are also popular generators. Tourism accounts for 5% of Tseng's economy. The GDP nominal of Tseng is $825 billion and the GDP PPP is $1.5 trillion. Tseng was relatively unhit during the 1997 Asian financial crisis due to its conservative financial approach and its entrepreneurial strengths. The unemployment rate in Tseng was an all-time low 5% in 2019. It has since grown due to COVID-19. The automotive industry in Tseng is also popular, being the 20th largest in the world.

Science and technology is also important. Since the Wanxia Miracle it represents a large part of the economy.

Oil was struck near Wu'ao, Nankou, in 1956, however after the 1964 disaster the resource is rarely used.

Currency
The official currency of Tseng is the Tsengyuan. It has been used since 1950.

Culture
"See also: Culture of Tseng and Indigenous Tseng culture"The culture of Tseng is mainly Chinese culture with minor Western influences.

Cuisine
"Main article: Tsengian cuisine"Depending on where you're at in the country, there are many distinct cuisines in Tseng. In the north, foods like sausage and Hollandse Nieuwe are common. In the west, because of Chinese, Japanese, and British influences, fish and chips, beef noodle soup, ramen, or even combinations of those three cultures are common. Fusion food is popular too. The unofficial national dish of Tseng is prawn cracker gua bao (a gua bao where instead of pork, the meat is beef, braised in a soy-cilantro based sauce and there are crushed prawn crackers with cilantro and sesame seeds inside).

Sport
Table tennis, baseball, and soccer (football) are popular sports. The National Association for Football is the premier league in soccer. It's the equivalent of the Premiership in Tseng. Martial arts are also very common in Tseng, with the most popular being karate, tai chi chuan, and kung fu; many people of all ages and genders practice tai chi every morning.

Music
"Main article: Music of Tseng"

Personal naming
There are three types naming customs in Tseng.


 * 1) Chinese name: Surname in front, given name in back. The most popular type of name. Most Tsengians with Chinese names also have a European name. Many people pick European aliases as early as attending English classes in kindergarten, or as late as attending foriegn language classes in university, but the European alias is never used in official documentation.
 * 2) European name: Given name (usually a European one) in front, surname in back. This is mostly used for people with mixed European ancestry.
 * 3) Tsengian name: An exclusively Tsengian custom, this name has a European given name in front and a Chinese compound name in the back. A famous example of this is Pierre Huang-li. This is often done if the Chinese surname is generic or "cursed" (for example, the last name 死 means "death" in Chinese, so the parents will use this type of name to stop the family curse). It can also be created by combining the parents surnames together and a given name in the front. For example the last name Chang-wong is created from the parents' last name, who are Chang and Wong. Since the 1960s, those types of names are extremely rare.

Romanization of Chinese and Tsengian names are usually a type of pinyin called Tsengian Pinyin, which is nearly identical to except there's hyphens and minor differences, but there is no official romanization for names.

Politics
Tseng is a unitary semi-presidential constitutional republic. There are three branches of government. The legislative, the executive, and the judicial.

The legislative branch is unicameral and represented by the National State Assembly (also called the Legislative Yuan). There are 159 seats available. Currently the PDP is leading, with 90 seats for them. The Opposition, led by the NPP, has 69 seats.

The executive branch is led by the President, who is John Cheng of the PDP. The President lives and works at the Presidential House. Under the president is the prime minister, Francis Qiu (PDP), and the vice-president, Wang Qing-lai (PDP).

The judicial branch is the Supreme Court, sometimes called the Judicial Yuan.

Political parties
"Main article: List of political parties in Tseng" The main two parties are the conservative NPP and the liberal PDP. Other major parties are the third way New Republic Party (NRP) and the left-wing Power to the People Party (PPP).

Administrative divisions
"See also: States of Tseng" Administrative divisions are called states (省) in Tseng. Each state is divided into counties or hsiens (縣), or cities. Each county is further divided to towns or villages, and in cities they are divided into districts. There are 18 cities in Tseng.

List of presidents
"Main article: List of presidents of Tseng""See also: List of prime ministers of Tseng "

Land
The A1 highway, from Tseng City to Douet, is the busiest highway in Tseng. It traverses the island from west to east. There are plans to upgrade the highway into a motorway with no at-grade intersections, however there are concerns for wildlife. Other highways are: A2, A3, A4, A5, A6 and A7, with many other expressways and freeways. Odd-number highways go east-west, while even-numbered highways go north-south. These freeways are called National Highways.

State highways go from 1 to 200 and are usually two lane highways. They fall below national highways and above local highways.

Another popular mode of transportation is by rail. The first railway in Tseng, the Beizhen Railroad, was built in 1860 and ran from Tseng City to Pushan. Now, there are many railways across the country. The web of railroads are called the Tseng National Railway.

Large cities like Tseng City and Huanzhou have their own metro systems, and in 2005 the Capital-Houwu High Speed Line began operations.

Airports
The largest and most busiest airport is Zengzi International Airport in Tseng City. Others are Huanzhou Airport and Taihua-Linfen Airport.

Sea
Tseng is a popular choice for cruise ship travelers. Ferries connect the main island to outlying islands. The largest port is Tseng City Harbour.

Television
98% of Tsengians own a television. The first TVs were brought over after World War II. Until 1996, the only news network available was the Tseng Broadcasting System (TBS). Now, there are three. With the TBS, there are the Tseng Television (TTTV), and the Pacific Broadcasting Center (PBC). There are (as of 2021) about 110 cable channels in Tseng. As with other countries around the world, streaming services like and  are popular. Popular television genres are dramas, comedies, and thrillers.

Radio
Car radios are the most popular type of radio in Tseng. Radio stations have a variety of genres, like Top 40, adult hits, rock, oldies, etc. Most radio networks are owned by television broadcasters, for example TBS Radio, the main radio broadcaster, is owned by TBS.

Cinema
The cinema of Tseng is quite popular in Tseng and East Asia. There are the "Big Three" film companies: Jincheng Pictures, the National Film Production Centre (NFPC), and Taoshan Pictures.

Demographics
Censuses are held in Tseng every 5 years. The first census was on December 14, 1946.

Population
The latest census on November 1, 2020 showed that 30,384,193 people lived in the Tseng Republic. Of those, 15,830,164, or 52.1% are female and 14,554,028, or 47.9% are male.

Race
Han Tsengian is still the most populous group in Tseng, although now that number has decreased. In the 2000 Census, Tsengians represented 94.5% of the population, in 2020, that number is 92.1%. 3.2% of people are of indigenous ancestry, which includes groups like the Fu'lang, Tanan, Hazaka, and Kanding, while 4.7% are from other countries like Taiwan, China, and Japan.

Language
"Main article: Languages of Tseng"The most spoken language and lingua franca in Tseng is Tsengian Mandarin, the variety of Mandarin Chinese spoken in Tseng. Hokkien is the most spoken native language in Tseng, spoken by 72.41% of the population. English is the most widely spoken European language in Tseng. A significant percentage of schools in Tseng teach the English language, and 75% of the population can speak it.

Life expectancy
In 2020, the life expectancy in Tseng was 80.63 years old for males and 85.15 for females, for an average life expectancy of 82.90.

Education
Education is mandatory for children aged 5 and up since 1951. Because of this, Tseng has a 99.4% literacy rate. Schools are operated by the government. Once a student reaches Grade 12, he/she can choose to go to university or graduate. If the student chooses university, he/she will have to take entrance exams on math, science, language, and history. What the student gets on those exams will determine his/her chance of getting into which university. The most prestigious one is the Huang-li University in Tseng City.

Military
The Tseng Armed Forces are the military of Tseng. The president is the head of the military, and the Minister of Defense (Paul Hsien-tung) is under him.

Military service is mandatory in Tseng. Conscription usually occurs after finishing higher education or high school. Minimum years for being in the military is 2 years. Punishment for not going to serve in the armed forces were usually jail time or fines. After that the person would be forced into the armed forces. Execution was also a punishment (it was only used one time). Both men and women can serve in the army.

Police
The Tseng National Police is the national police service in Tseng. Along with the TNP, almost every other city and town have some sort of law enforcement.

Intelligence and security
The Security and Intelligence Agency of Tseng (SIAT) is the official intelligence service of the Tseng Republic. Plagued by scandals and controversies in the 1960s and 70s, it has since cleaned itself up and become one of the most effective security agencies in the world.

Crime
The crime rate in Tseng is low, however it still exists. Some crimes are bombings, assassination attempts, murder, etc.

Laws
"See: Constitution of Tseng"

Punishment
Capital punishment (execution) is the highest-level punishment in Tseng. Crimes for execution include murder, rape, trafficking (any kind), treason, and espionage. Prisons are for lesser crimes. After a trip to Norway in 2015, then-president Marc Tseng remodeled the prisons of Tseng into more restorative justice-orientened.

Time
"Main article: Time in Tseng" There are two time zones in Tseng: UTC+10 and UTC+11.

Daylight Saving Time was observed from 1950-1962, 1965-1966, 1975, and 1979-1982, when it was permanently adopted standard time in 1982. In 1995, the country of Tseng split into two time zones, which were:


 * Tseng Standard Time (TST). Includes all of mainland Tseng including Sanjiao and Beifeng Islands. It is UTC+10:00.
 * Eastern Islands Standard Time (EIST). Includes Jingwu, Dahu, and Qingshan Islands. It is UTC+11:00.

Flag
The flag of Tseng is a horizontal tricolour. The colours are: Red, white, and blue. Red represents freedom, blue represents determination and hardiness of the indigenous tribes, and white represents purity. This flag has been used since the 1000s.

Netherlands and Luxembourg flags
The Tseng flag is similar to the Dutch and Luxembourg flags, however, it is simply just a coincidence. The only difference is that the red and blue are switched around and the blue is darker (lighter for the Dutch flag). However, it has not stopped people from advocating the change of the flag.

State and city flags
Unlike most countries in the world, states and cities in Tseng do not have their own flags. This has led to fiery debates, with pro-flag saying that it promotes identity and culture, while anti-flags argue that having states and cities having their own flags would destroy national unity and that "the society is more important than the individual."