Asian Pacific Islands

The Grand Constitutional Monarchy of the Asian Pacific Islands is a tropical island nation in The East Pacific region, on the planet Urth in the Pacific Ocean. It is surrounded by The Oan Isles on the north and west and East Polynesia to the east.

Politics

The politics of the Asian Pacific Islands take place in the framework of a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy. It shares a monarch with the 3 other members of the Polynesian Union, the Emperor of Polynesia, currently Oaloanu. He is represented by the hereditary Viceroy of the Asian Pacific Islands, as he resides in the Oan capital, La Rochelle for most of the year. Although the authority to govern emanates from the Crown of Polynesia, the democratically elected government has the sole power to govern.

The law making branch is made up of the bicameral Parliament. The Parliament is a reflection of the social hierachy and ethnic diversity of the country. Prior to the Islander Civil War, political power lay firmly in the hands of tribal chiefs and nobles. The Parliament established by the new Constitution divided that power between two houses, the House of Commons and the House of Lords, to include the common people in a process from which they were excluded for a long time.

The two chambers are equal. Bill may originate from either house and require the approval of both houses to become law. The lower chamber, the House of Commons, can override the House of Lords if it repasses the law through a ⅔ majority. The House of Commons is made up of 200 seats that are contested every four years through party list proportional representation. The Islander First Party (IFP) has 120 seats and is the majority party; the Islander Democratic Front (IDF) forms the opposition with 80 seats. Through the 80 tribal chiefs who have lifetime seats in the House of Lords, the nobility is represented in the political process.

The head of government is the Prime Minister. He is elected by the Parliament for four years and serves concurrently with that body. He nominates judges to the Supreme Court, who require the approval of the Parliament. He is the leader of the government and influences the legislative agenda as the leader of the majority party. He appoints the Cabinet. The Cabinet forms the executive branch. It runs the country.

Tribes are given limited autonomy over their own affairs particularly those concerning the environment and custom. Otherwise, the country is divided into regions, which are further divided into counties. These are units through which the will of the Cabinet is imposed, as a result of which they are helmed by officers appointed by the Cabinet.

Economy

The Asian Pacific Islands has a nominal GDP of 300 billion SHD and a nominal GDP per capita of 15,000 SHD. It has a PPP GDP of 400 billion SHD and a PPP GDP per capita of 20,000 SHD. The economy receded during the second half of 2017 by 5%. This occurred due to the Islander Civil War. The economy contracted due to decrease in production, damage to property and infrastructure, divestment and political instability. The Oan Isles will provide low interest credit of 100 billion dollars over 10 years to revive Islander industries.

The economy is driven and propelled by foreign investment, exports and a resilient private sector. The main sector of the economy is the services sector. This includes financial services and tourism. The second largest sector is the strong manufacturing sector. It includes electronics, textiles and consumer goods. It has a sizeable extraction industry. This includes petroleum and natural gas extraction. The primary sector is considerable. This includes exports of fruit, rice and coffee, and fish.

The Oan Isles is often attributed as an economic oppressor. The Oan Isles has always had a prominent presence in the Islander economy. This influence increased after the war. Businesses moved to the Oan Isles. Oil refining was moved to the Oan Isles. The government accepted low interest credit in return for economic concessions. Industries were monopolised or dominated by Oan companies, and assets and companies were sold to entities in the Oan Isles. This has been a cause of political and social opposition.

The Oan dollar is mutually interchangeable with the Islander ang. The currency lost a lot of its value. The Oan dollar was allowed to circulate along with the Ang. The country is a major source of water and energy for the Oan Isles. Both countries depend on the stable and consistent supply of energy. This includes coal and hydroelectric power.

There is a highly stratified distribution of income. Although the economic model conforms to free market capitalism, the legacy of feudalism remains unchanged as tribal chiefs and nobles remain significantly wealthier than the rest of the population. Attempts to promote income equality through tax increases for the rich and select breaks for the poor and the establishment of a widespread welfare system are lacklustre and slow. Through financial interventions, the Oan National Aid Agency (colloquially known as Oanaid) donated millions of dollars in food, medical care, educational resources, amenities and other things.

Because the Asian Pacific Islands supplies a sizeable portion of the water food, energy and fuel of the Oan Isles, it has an influential voice in that country and within the Polynesian Union at large. Although largely isolated in the past, the Islander government has planned to open up trade links with other countries especially The Gordic Council, the Auroran Continental Assembly, the Atlantian Alliance and the Kuthernburg Commonwealth System. The Polynesian Union remains, by far, the largest trade partner that the Asian Pacific Islands has.

Demographics

The demographic composition of the Asian Pacific Islands reflects political and economic ages of prosperity and growth. The term "Islander" is a term that encompasses 30 indigenous cultural and ethnic groups. These groups are extremely closely related. This is why they are grouped together as a unit. The largest sub-ethnic group are the Ainu people, who make up a third of all Islanders. They are followed by the Lao, Viet, Han, Siam, Nihon and Pino groups. Islanders make up 80% of the population. Nearly 20% of the population is made up of foreigners i.e. Oans, the indigenous people of The Oan Isles. Through centuries of migration (with a rapid increase in the 21st century), the Oan people came to call the Asian Pacific Islands, a second home. This diversity in practices and beliefs tends to create friction in the social order. Some xenophobic attacks have been reported on Oan nationals over the years. Competition for resources fuels the fire.

The largest religion is Buddhism. 60% of the population adhere to this complex faith. 20% of the population ascribe to a set of spiritual beliefs collectively called the Islander Folk Spirituality. The Oan immigrants brought their own religions and beliefs as well. 12% of the population adheres to the Polynesian branch of Protestantism. 8% of the population follows Oan Folk Spirituality. Interestingly, religious adherance is divided along ethnic lines. The religious adherance is strongly followed. It influences the national identity and national politics. For example, the Birthday of Siddartha Gautama (who became the Buddha), is celebrated annually.

The change and growth of the population is affected by immigration and emigration, birth and death. Immigration is much higher than emigration. In spite of the Islander Civil War, birth rates are much higher than death rates. This has allowed the population to grow at a remarkable rate of 5%. With sizeable amounts of water, fuel, food and energy being exported to The Oan Isles, resources can become strained and competition can occur.

In spite of the war, the state has remained buoyant on its commitment to supply every citizen with water, food, shelter, power and sanitation. Although strained by war, it has effectly cared for the whole nation. Every citizen has access to decent sanitation and waste removal, electricity and other public services. Due to the uneven distribution of income, some people have better access to services and resources than others. Many people in the rural areas have more limited access to decent sanitation and electricity than people in the city. In fact 40% of citizens live in rural areas, while 60% of them live in urban areas.

The distribution of gender has been slightly more lobsided than in other countries. Women outnumber men. 56% of the population is made up of women and 44% is made up of men. This process has been attributed to a strange phenomenon in the process of conception that has been studied immensely. The balance of children to adults, especially in the wake of a war, is a cause for concern, as there is an equal amount of adults and children. Family planning has been introduced to mitigate the propensity of people, especially the poor and rural people, to have large families.

The official language is Islander. It has many slight variations, that are called dialects. The dialect that is widespread, used by the state and considered the standard one is the Ainu dialect. All people can speak some dialect of Islander to some extent, including Oan immigrants. Oan is the lingua franca. It is taught as a second language in schools, and is spoken by more and more peoppe due to an increase in the number of Oan people and access to Oan entertainment and media.