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Peitoa Пеитоаку | |
|---|---|
District | |
| Location of Peitoa District in Namor Location of Peitoa District in Namor | |
| Country |  Namor |
| Controlled by the Republic of Namor | NMR 2284 |
| Designated as District of the People's Republic | August 20, NMR 2369 |
| Government | |
| • Premier | Yong Kang (PF) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 14,381.6 km2 (5,552.8 sq mi) |
| • Land | 10,302 km2 (3,978 sq mi) |
| • Water | 4,079.6 km2 (1,575.1 sq mi) |
| Population (NMR 2360 census) | |
| • Total | 1,300,532 |
| • Rank | 14th in Namor |
| Time zone | ST +6 |
| • Summer (DST) | observed |
| Area code | 07 |
Peitoa (Пеитоа) is a district of the People's Republic of Namor. It is the smallest district in Namor by both size and population, with a total area of 14381.6 square kilometers (5552.77 square miles) and a population of 1,300,532 people. Situated 250 km (155.3 miles) off the coast of Southern Namor, Peitoa is the only Namorese district that consists entirely of islands, owing to its geographic isolation from the Namorese mainland.
The present-day district of Peitoa consists of the Peitoan archipelago, the Vanhotoa Archipelago, the island of Meitoa and parts of the Sonlang Archipelago that were previously controlled by the Republic of Namor; the rest of the Sonlang archipelago is under the jurisdiction of Southern Namor District.
Peitoa was first settled by Namorese fishermen, with the earliest records of settlement dating back to the second century AD. Settlement in the archipelago increased around the time of the Akka Dynasty, when the imperial government designated the islands as a penal colony and sent thousands of convicts there to perform hard labor. The islands continued to serve as a penal colony since, with the Antelopian Dynasty and Republic of Namor having both exiled numerous prisoners, especially dissidents. Due to the harsh conditions some prisoners faced, there were occasional anti-government uprisings in and around Peitoa; most of them were brutally suppressed by ruling authorities.
During the Template:SGWE, government forces stationed on Peitoa were forced to vacate the islands as they rushed to assist the central government on the mainland against the Choreans, and the islands came under the rule of locals who remained loyal to the central government in name but administered independently from it. Peitoa gained brief attention after a Chorean attempt to occupy the islands was thwarted by local militias in the Battle of Peitoa.
When the war ended in NMR 2294, the Namorese government retook control of the archipelago from the locals. This was subsequently followed by a period of unrest fueled by tensions between locals and the returning Namorese Republican regime. Tensions were exacerbated by the Namorese Republican flight to Peitoa, which became one of the few parts of Namorese territory that didn't come under Liberationist Namorese control following the establishment of the People's Republic of Namor.
The Republic of Namor on Peitoa ruled by emergency decree, with many rights guaranteed in its own constitution "temporarily" curtailed so long as the PRN on the mainland remained in power. The archipelago was rocked by internal disturbances, from sporadic leftist militancy to threats of a mainland invasion. Nevertheless, Peitoa achieved economic prosperity and its citizens were generally well off during the NMR 2310s and NMR 2320s. Peitoa began to decline starting the NMR 2320s with the aftermath of the 1980 recession, though the government stayed in power.
Peitoa's capture of a mainland Namorese ferry and its attacks on an Aininian warship resulted in the Changlang Crisis and a PRN ground invasion of Peitoa which dislodged the Republican regime from power. Peitoa was officially designated a district of the PRN on August 20, NMR 2369.
Name
Peitoa literally means "northern island (北島 in Namorese Tzihan)." This seems strange to some, as the archipelago is south of the Namorese mainland; however, some historians believe the name was devised by fishermen from the Southwest, where Peitoa is considered to be located in the northeast rather than the south. As such, southwestern fishermen are believed to have been the first ones to settle on Peitoa.
History
Early Settlement
For much of ancient history, Peitoa was mostly uninhabited. The earliest documented settlement on Peitoa occurred around the second century AD. The Records of the East Sea stated that around thirty people, all of them fishermen, arrived at the shores of the archipelago and settled there, hoping to escape the First Period of Anarchy. Little is known about whether some of the settlers eventually returned to the mainland, and, if so, how many stayed behind.
Penal colony
Interaction between Peitoa and mainland Namor grew during the time of the Akka Dynasty. As the fishing industry became increasingly popular and the Namorese invested more into maritime exploration, more and more settlers arrived at Peitoa, possibly to avoid bureaucrats on the mainland and taxes. Taking note of this, the imperial government in Namo became determined to assert its authority over Peitoa and other offshore islets.
In NMR 1734 (AD 1394), Emperor Hulang decreed that all offshore islands in the East Sea (including Peitoa) were to become a penal colony for convicts and subjects disfavored by the throne. Because Peitoa was the largest of all East Sea islands under Akka control, it became the center of the penal colony. Hulang dispatched Hu Ping to Peitoa; Hu became Peitoa's first official governor.
For the remainder of the dynasty, the Akka moved hundreds of prisoners to Peitoa. On the main islands, four prisons were built - one on each island, with each prison holding around 200 prisoners at the time of its completion.
During the beginning years of the Antelopian Dynasty, Peitoa - as were many places in southwestern Namor - became a hub for Akka loyalist activities. Emperor Kaiguang (Antelopian name Nguyen Thuan) ordered General Dương Trai (Yang Lai) to take over the archipelago. Dương's forces captured the islands by promising prisoners that anyone who helped them would be freed and allowed to return to the mainland. This excited Peitoa's prisoners, who then rose up against their Akka overlords. Outnumbered and outmaneuvered, the Akka governor Gu Fu (a descendant of Gu Ping) surrendered to Dương.
As promised, the Antelopians freed most prisoners on Peitoa, but reinstated it as a penal colony years later and continued the Akka practice of sending prisoners there. But unlike the Akka, the Antelopians also brought hundreds of non-prisoners to ensure that the prisoners couldn't successfully rebel. By the time of the mid-18th century, around 80,000 people lived on Peitoa - 45,000 of them were prisoners, and the rest were civil servants, soldiers and other non-convicts.
Things remained stable on Peitoa up until the decline of the Antelopian Dynasty. Word spread of the Yutobang Rebellion on the mainland, which incited locals to revolt. The First Peitoa Rebellion, as the revolt was called by later historians (despite the fact that numerous small-scale revolts happened before), lasted for several weeks, with some of the prisoners hiding in the forests and engaging in guerrilla warfare against local authorities. The Antelopians ultimately suppressed the rebellion with the help of Harald Göran, a skilled Gulstadian mercenary, who managed to discourage people from revolting by promising to free those who joined the side of the government. The Emperor rewarded Göran by naming him governor of Peitoa. Göran thus became one of the few non-Monic officials of the Namorese imperial government.
The Göran era
Göran invested much towards Peitoa's development, holding the belief that by improving living standards the chances of a rebellion would be naturally reduced (unlike his counterparts in Namo who had no interest in improving the quality of life on a penal colony). Under Göran, the islands' infrastructure was restructured so that it centered around civilian settlements rather than prisons. Many rural settlements on Peitoa island were consolidated to form one single city from which the government can rule from (Göran called the city "Novi Namor," implying that the city deserved to be emulated by cities on the mainland). Rather than focusing on deterrence of prisoners, Göran allowed prisoners to "remake" themselves through performing several years of labor before releasing them. He also tried christianizing the local population, building churches and inviting missionaries.
Göran's changes led to mixed results. On one hand, crime rates on the islands decreased and the prisoner to non-prisoner ratio dropped from 1:5 in NMR 2220 (1880) to 1:10 in NMR 2240 (1900). On the other hand, however, Göran was despised by many locals due to his Inledan background and his attempts at turning them to Christians. He was pejoratively called "Loge (老鬼, Old Demon)" by critics, and many failed attempts were made at assassinating him. Göran died in NMR 2235 (1895) and was succeeded by his son Ulrik Göran (whom locals called Sho Ge, Little Demon). Ulrik was not governor for long before his family fell out of favor by Namo due to the First Namo-Luziycan War. Emperor Rungchi ordered Ulrik to step down and let a Kannei Namorese take over as governor, and Ulrik complied. However, this did not prevent the Göran family from losing its influence over Peitoa, as Ulrik's relatives dominated the local fishing industry, which Peitoa depended on. In fact, immediately after stepping down Ulrik Göran plotted to retake power through an armed rebellion.
In NMR 2249, Ulrik struck back and organized an army of mercenaries led by Göran family members against the local government led by Governor Shi Te. Caught off guard, Shi Te was overthrown and executed by Ulrik's forces. Having taken power, Ulrik declared himself President of the Republic of Peitoa, declaring independence from the Antelopian Dynasty. He then sent representatives to Gulstad to try negotiate the annexation of Peitoa into Luziyca, but before negotiations could begin Peitoa's locals turned against him, beginning the Second Peitoa Rebellion. Ulrik and his family were forced to flee to Gulstad, where they lived for the remainder of their lives. On Peitoa, the "Göran era" ended and a provisional government was set up. Having repudiated the declaration of independence, the provisional government lasted for another two years until the Republic of Namor was formed and Peitoa joined it.
Pre-Civil War Republic of Namor
Little of much significance happened on Peitoa during the first few years of the Republic of Namor. The government no longer referred to Peitoa as a penal colony, and most of the prisoners on the islands have long been freed since the overthrow of Ulrik. The number of settlers from the mainland sharply decreased, and wouldn't rise until the NMR 2290s.
Things took a turn during the NMR 2270s when the Template:SGWE broke out, with Namor and Chorea going to war. To aid Republican Namorese forces in fighting back the Choreans, soldiers of the Republic of Namor Armed Forces stationed on Peitoa returned to the mainland, leaving Peitoa with no real authority. A local council that remained loyal to the RON but ruled independently took over. As Chorea was initially concentrated on securing control over mainland Namor, little concern was given towards Peitoa, which remained one of the few specks of "Free Namorese territory" in the East Sea region during the Chorean occupation.
Chorea eventually turned its attention towards Peitoa as it engaged in several naval and air battles with the Aininians in and around the East Namor Sea. The Imperial Chorean Navy sent a squadron of ships to invade Peitoa. While the Choreans quickly occupied Novi Namor and adjacent towns, much of the archipelago remained under the control of Namorese fighters who actively resisted Chorean rule. Chorean-occupied territories in Peitoa waned in size, until the entire Chorean army was encircled and annihilated in NMR 2283. The victory against Chorea brought Peitoa briefly back into national attention and was widely celebrated by Namorese.
Because the islands' previous status as a de facto self-governing territory, it never came under full Republican Namorese control in the years between Chorea's surrender in NMR 2284 and the Republican retreat from the mainland in NMR 2290. Until the Liberationist takeover, the Republican government did not have any interest in assuming full authority over Peitoa; thus besides appointing the governor it rarely intervened in Peitoa's local affairs. As a result, Peitoa enjoyed somewhat of a degree of political freedom that wasn't existent on the mainland. Peitoa-centric and left-wing parties were allowed to assemble and take part in the local legislature, but openly Liberationist and Communist organizations came under suppression as the civil war progressed. Since neither the Liberationist Party of Namor nor its allies that made up the March 28 Alliance had any substantial presence on Peitoa, the archipelago was mostly spared from the violence witnessed on the mainland, although sporadic clashes between authorities and locals did occur.
In spite of the relatively unrestricted political atmosphere in postwar Peitoa, there remained growing tensions between the government and locals, especially as the Liberationists gained the upper hand in the civil war and the Republicans began contemplating the transfer of its military and capital to Peitoa. Corruption was rampant and there were numerous cases where officials abused power. Problems like these helped strengthen support for the local opposition, much of which consisted of left-leaning groups.
Post-Civil War Republic of Namor
Jung To administration
As Liberationist forces closed in on Republican forces in the southern Namorese coast, the Republicans began evacuating themselves to Peitoa. Certain divisions of the Republic of Namor Armed Forces were evacuated to Peitoa starting NMR 2289 while the remaining divisions were left for capitulation. The soldiers were followed by citizens loyal to the regime. By the time Jung To himself arrived at Peitoa to reestablish the dismantled government on the mainland, around 200,000 people had fled to Peitoa. The migration had major demographic impacts on the archipelago; locals who previously lived there made up a a smaller percentage of the total population. As a result, competition for jobs intensified, unemployment increased, and, with that, dissatisfaction with the government.
Anti-government protests broke out as soon as the RON relocated itself, demanding that the government tackle corruption and cease preferential treatment towards mainland loyalist emigres. Fearing that the mainland Liberationists could use the protests as an opportunity to subvert what he considered the "last fortress of Free Namor," Jung To invoked the Emergency Rule Act, declaring martial law over Peitoa and authorizing the military to crack down on dissent. General elections were restricted so that only the Republican Party and "patriotic" independents may participate; in addition, the President was allowed to serve an unlimited number of terms until the lifting of martial law. Martial law was not expected to be lifted until the Republic of Namor was restored to power on the mainland. These measures effectively turned the RON on Peitoa into a full-blown military dictatorship under the guise of a constitutional republic.
Soon as martial law was declared, the government started cracking down on protesters. This, however, provoked an angry response; after armed police shot and killed 11 protesters in Wangatoa Island, the Worker's Party of Peitoa, Liberationist Party of Namor - Peitoa Branch and several other opposition groups merged to form the Peitoa Revolutionary Front, or the PRF. The PRF advocated the violent overthrow of the regime and attacked military bases throughout the archipelago, seizing military equipment along the way and initiating the Third Peitoa Rebellion. The PRF initially made significant gains, controlling multiple towns and villages in the countryside and remote areas, but at the same time their use of terrorism and threats to wipe out the "bourgeoisie" alienated them from middle and upper-class Peitoans as well as those supportive of political reform. Public support for Jung To steadily increased, and in NMR 2298 the rebellion was proclaimed to be over after the PRF's commanders surrendered to the army, although a low-level insurgency continued to prevail. Thousands of PRF insurgents as well as non-violent dissidents who were viewed as sympathetic towards the PRF and the Namorese Liberationists were incarcerated in Peitoa's renovated prisons. Public executions were also frequent.
Jung To was reelected president without any opposition in NMR 2295. In NMR 2297 he extended a presidential term from five to ten years, meaning that he wouldn't run for reelection until NMR 2305. In the meantime, his regime formed an alliance with East Luziyca and Qianrong; the two countries would become the RON's closest diplomatic and military supporters, Jung hoped to use the military alliance to help the RON restore control over the mainland. In preparing for reelection in NMR 2305, Jung suffered a stroke and died. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Jung Ki.
Jung Ki administration
As president, Jung Ki repeated his father's mantra of retaking the mainland, but in reality he shifted the regime's focus from militarily undermining the Liberationists to developing Peitoa's own infrastructure. As he began doing so, Peitoa faced another internal crisis when far-left sympathizers inspired by the Green Fever instigated a riot, triggering a period of unrest that became known as the Fourth Peitoa Rebellion. Unlike the previous rebellion, the fourth rebellion was primarily led by localist groups with little or no affiliation with the mainland government (Pro-Namo groups, while still existent, were declining by this point). The localists merged to form Sovereign Peitoa (Sovpei) which supported Peitoan identity and armed revolution against the "foreign" Republican regime. Sovpei was responsible for a strong of deadly attacks against civilians, soldiers and policemen. Although the government successfully quelled Sovpei-instigated riots in Novi Namor and most towns, the insurgency would not die out until the NMR 2310s, when it broke up with allied pro-Namo groups and suffered its own power struggle.
In response to the unrest, Jung Ki introduced a doctrine known as Prosperity Under Liberty (Jiyujung Fanrung), in which he stated that in improving its standard of living, Peitoa can serve to mainland Namor as a model worth emulating, thus bringing about the disintegration of the Liberationists whom he believed were "hell-bent on oppressing the people with socialism." Jung believed that an expanded middle class was an effective deterrent against Liberationist-inspired subversion from within.
Throughout the NMR 2310s and NMR 2320s, Peitoa followed a state capitalistic model. It actively encouraged foreign investment, increasing trade with countries in the Velkias and Nautasia. Peitoa experienced an economic boom - the GDP would increase continuously until the NMR 2320s, and its standard of living greatly surpassed that of mainland Namor. The main islands of Peitoa underwent urbanization and suburbanization, with nearly half the population living in urban or suburban areas by NMR 2315. Peitoa's economy shifted from one excessively dependent on the fishing industry and agriculture to one based on the service sector.
While the economy boomed, the political climate remained unchanged. The Republican Party remained in power, martial law remained in place, and opposition was banned. However, Peitoa's economic performance kept citizens complacent with the regime; in a decade of prosperity, support for radical revolutionaries and anti-government groups dwindled.
The period of prosperity ended with the onset of the Recession of 1980, which had profound impacts on Peitoa. The Bank of Free Namor failed, promoting businesses to fail and unemployment to increase. The government responded to these measures by cutting back on spending, raising taxes and signing free trade agreements with East Luziyca and Qianrong.
Around this time, Peitoa began reconsidering its policy towards dealing with mainland Namor. When Jung Ki first came to power, he vowed neither to recognize nor negotiate with the People's Republic; however, as Peitoa's economy waned and mainland Namor was beginning to adopt political and economic reforms, an addendum to "Prosperity Under Liberty" was adopted which stated that the goal of the Mainland-Peitoa trade was to open Peitoa to mainland investors who would then experience the islands' freedom, thus encouraging political change on the mainland itself. While this did not happen, trade with the mainland did stabilize Peitoa's economy and decreased Peitoa's dependence on Luziycan and Qianrongese markets.
Jung Ki suffered from illness and fell into a coma in NMR 2328. His duties were transferred to Vice President Hu Sheng, who took the presidency the following year when Jung Ki died.
"Decade of obscure rulers"
The NMR 2330s in Peitoa was marked with political crises and short-lived presidencies, hence the name "Decade of Obscure Rulers."
Hu Sheng initiated unprecedented political reforms. Citing improving relations with the PRN, in NMR 2331 he returned power from the military to the civil government, ending 41 years of martial law.
The first general election after the lifting of martial law was held in NMR 2334. Chen Huijung, a member of the Republican Party's localist faction, became the first native-born Peitoan to be elected president by the National Congress, unlike past leaders who were born on the mainland and moved to Peitoa. As president, Chen deviated from the party's "Pan-Namorese" ideology. Unlike past leaders who adhered to the One Namor policy, Chen maintained that there were two Namors - the People's Republic on the mainland and the Republic on Peitoa, each having a right to coexistence. The "Coexistence Doctrine" was especially controversial; Chen argued that it was pragmatic since the RON no longer had the capability to restore power on the mainland, conservative Republicans argued that it was a blatant deviation from the party's original ideology.
Tensions between the PRN and Peitoa peaked right after the Third Namo-Luziycan War, when Chen approved of the construction of a Luziycan military base that was supposed to exceed LAFB Yucheng in size, becoming the largest Luziycan military base in the East Namor Sea. The PRN began a naval blockade against Peitoa, threatening to launch a ground invasion if the base proposal wasn't discarded. After the Namorese Liberation Army seized a few islands that were considered to be within Peitoa's territorial waters, Chen agreed to not pursue the base but invite Luziycan military advisers to the archipelago instead.
The move was regarded as cowardly among both Chen's supporters and detractors within the party, and in NMR 2337 he was removed from power in a coup. General Sui Yuan named himself president, disbanded the Congress and put the National Peace Council (NPC) in its place, reinstating martial law. But the coup was met with protests across the archipelago demanding that Chen be returned to power. Sui's decision to quell the protests which led to the Novi Namor Massacre caused many of his supporters to defect to the opposition. Eventually, Sui was removed from power by the NPC in NMR 2338, and was replaced by General Nang Ha. Nang negotiated with the opposition and agreed to disband the NPC and hold elections as soon as possible.
Jung Fa administration
The long anticipated election was held in NMR 2241, but critics said it was illegitimate due to the lack of independent observers and universal suffrage. Nang Ha was said to have quietly appointed intelligence chief Jung Fa, who was also the grandson of Jung To and therefore seen as a unifying figure, as his successor, guaranteeing Jung's victory in the election. Parties had to meet certain requirements in order to legally participate (e.g. the party must oppose leftism and "righteously uphold the constitution"). The Republicans won all seats in the National Congress, and in turn the Congress unanimously elected Jung Fa to office.
Unlike the leaders of the past decade, Jung was able to wield much authority, primarily because he firmly led the security apparatus. According to the Mojing Sibo, Peitoa under Jung Fa became "an authoritarian state where the government is run by the local intelligence," adding that Jung's rule resembles that of Yunglang Antelope in that "everything was centered around him...his decisions." Under Jung, the government advocated "stability over anarchy," using the threats of internal subversion and mainland Namorese aggression to justify restrictions of free speech, expression and thought. Esquarian Human Rights Monitor reported that the incarceration rate under Jung rose to 6%, and more prisons were being built to house political dissidents.
Jung built an elaborate cult of personality centered around his family and himself. Following the NMR 2348 presidential election on the mainland, Jung called the President-General of Namor "illegitimate" and named himself "Lingtonamora (Leader of the Namorese or Leader of all Namorese)."
In 2013, Luziyca recognized the People's Republic of Namor as the legitimate government of Namor while viewing the Republic of Namor on Peitoa as the legitimate representative of the Namorese people. This was followed by a direct summit between Luziycan President Breuvi Shjoraski and mainland Namorese President-General Alicia Wolf. Peitoa condemned the recognition and withdrew from the Esquarian Union in protest; however, it feared exacerbating the situation further and allowed the Luziycans to retain diplomatic presence in Novi Namor. Nevertheless, relations between Peitoa and Luziyca deteriorated as military cooperation between the two polities decreased significantly. The regime redoubled its alliance with Qianrong, which remained firmly supportive of the RON and opposed to the PRN.
Conflict with the PRN
All-out conflict between the PRN and Peitoa broke out following an incident in May 25 in which the Republic of Namor Navy intercepted and captured the Changlang, a mainland Namorese ferry carrying civilian passengers. Jung Fa claimed that the ferry was in fact a PRN spy vessel, despite providing no substantial evidence to support the allegation, and offered to return the ferry to the mainland if the PRN government lifted its embargo on Peitoa and resumed trade with the archipelago. Many believed Jung ordered the seizure of the Changlang to provoke a conflict with Namo, diverting attention from his government's lackadaisical response to Typhoon Arlene which caused widespread devastation across the archipelago.
The PRN launched a naval blockade and missile attacks against Peitoa, raising tensions in the East Namor Sea to a level unseen since the Third Namo-Luziycan War. Peitoa responded by attempting to break the blockade, but was internationally rebuked for its attacks on Aininian warships, bringing Ainin and effectively the whole WETO alliance into the fray. Several other countries did not get involved directly, but nevertheless sent their navies to observe the conflict from a distance. The "Changlang Crisis," as the confrontation came to be called, did not see a PRN invasion of Peitoa's main islands, but the Namorese Liberation Army did launch a ground invasion against outlying Meitoa, quickly seizing it from RON forces. The crisis deescalated after Jung Fa unexpectedly died of "natural causes (it was later found out that he was killed while visiting a museum that collapsed on him)." A caretaker government under Ryan Cha succeeded Jung. On July 12, Cha announced Peitoa's intention to return the Changlang to mainland authorities, ending the crisis.
Conflict between the PRN and Peitoa seemed to died down until Ryan Cha was deposed in a sudden coup initiated by Vice President Ma Yuanchao not so long after an election confirmed Cha's presidency. According to Ma, Cha deserved to be deposed since he was too soft on Namor-Peitoa ties and contemplated reunification under Namo's terms, which Ma deemed unacceptable. The PRN under newly-elected President-General Fu Wen condemned the coup and threatened military action if Ma remained in power. Talk turned into action after Peitoa detained another ship from mainland Namor, this time a fishing vessel which Peitoa claimed was firing at coast guard. Peitoa's refusal to return the vessel led to Fu Wen ordering an amphibious assault on the main islands. The Namorese Liberation Army quickly swept through the archipelago and within days captured Novi Namor. Ma Yuanchao and his close associates managed to seek refuge in Arnborg. The capture of Peitoa marked an end to decades of separation with the mainland as well as the Republic of Namor.
Present-day
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President-General Fu Wen said that the newly acquired Peitoa would become its own administrative district (prior to that, the PRN viewed Peitoa as a prefecture of Southern Namor). A provisional civilian government led by Chang Pingjun, a PRN loyalist from Peitoa, replaced the NLA administration effective August 20, NMR 2369. The first district-wide general election under PRN rule was held the following year. Three of the five seats were won by the People's First Coalition, while the remaining two were won by the Namorese Peitoa Party. Yong Kang of the PFC became the first directly-elected civilian governor of the district of Peitoa.
After the first election, Peitoa slowly embarked upon the road to recovery from its past conflict with the PRN, but this was immediately met with challenges, primarily due to cultural and political differences between mainland Namorese and Peitoans caused by years of separation. Revelations that Yong had once belonged to the infamous Sovereign Peitoa organization hurt his popularity during the first term of his governorship, and his successful narrow re-election in NMR 2375 sparked protests among the local opposition calling for his resignation and an official investigation into his previous ties with Namo.
Tensions between Peitoans and the central government in Namo peaked when President-General Fu Wen announced a "gradual immersion" policy in which the mainland Tzishin script would be introduced into Peitoa's education system, gradually replacing Tziroma which had been used on Peitoa for over a century. The decision, and the subsequent ruling of the Namo-based Supreme People's Court in favor of the policy led to widespread demonstrations and the occupation of several government buildings, including that of the District Assembly and the Ministry of Education. Police dispersed the protests and no concessions were made on Namo's part. The protests and the immutability of Namo's policies are said to have stimulated anti-Namo sentiment; many Peitoans are demanding for more autonomy from the central government, accusing it of eroding upon their brand of Namorese culture.
Geography
Administrative divisions
The district of Peitoa consists of seven prefectures. Four of them (Bontoa, Vangtoa, Antoa and Jungtoa) are situated in the Peitoan archipelago, while the remaining three are the outlying Meitoa, Vanhotoa and Songlang islands.
After retreating to Peitoa in NMR 2290, the Republic of Namor established Peitoa Province, which encompassed the archipelagoes of Peitoa and Vanhotoa, while Meitoa and the Sonlang islands remained part of Southern Namor Province. On the other hand, the People's Republic of Namor considered Peitoa to be a prefecture of Southern Namor. Following reunification, Meitoa and formerly RON-controlled parts of the Sonlang archipelago were redesignated as prefectures of Peitoa District of the PRN.
| Prefecture | Largest Municipality | Population |
|---|---|---|
| Bontoa | Novi Namor | 467,674 |
| Vangtoa | Tunggang | 405,658 |
| Antoa | Luchin | 334,136 |
| Jungtoa | Kotangyo | 72,339 |
| Meitoa | Vanggachin | 10,343 |
| Vanhotoa | Kianglen | 9,062 |
| Sonlang | Nansin | 1,320 |
Largest Cities
Largest cities or towns in Peitoa
NMR 2370 census | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Prefecture | Pop. | |||||||
 Novi Namor  Tunggang |
1 | Novi Namor | Bontoa | 83,856 |  Yechun .jpg) Yicho | ||||
| 2 | Tunggang | Vangtoa | 61,673 | ||||||
| 3 | Yechun | Bontoa | 58,845 | ||||||
| 4 | Yicho | Vangtoa | 48,592 | ||||||
| 5 | Luchin | Antoa | 42,692 | ||||||
| 6 | Kinzeko | Bontoa | 33,768 | ||||||
| 7 | Sangyo | Bontoa | 30,605 | ||||||
| 8 | Kotangyo | Jungtoa | 20,745 | ||||||
| 9 | Shenmon | Antoa | 13,263 | ||||||
| 10 | Mayo | Bontoa | 10,043 | ||||||
Climate
The Peitoan archipelago is located within the subtropics. Temperatures reach as high as 40°C (104°F) in the summer and as low as 15°C (59°F) in the winter. Heat waves are frequently experienced in the islands.
Typhoons are a common occurrence from late spring to early autumn. Many typhoons that ultimately reach mainland Namor pass through Peitoa first, causing damage to the local infrastructure.
Flora and Fauna
Peitoa is abundant in plants and wildlife. The waters surrounding the Peitoan and Sonlang archipelagos boast a sizeable population of marine life, supporting the district's fishing industry.
The Peitoan archipelago is among the destinations of birds migrating south during the wintertime, owing to its warm climate.
Society
Ethnic groups
A majority of Peitoans are ethnically Kannei. Most inhabitants can trace their ancestry back to Kannei from the mainland who settled in the islands, while some are descendants of mainlanders who relocated to Peitoa following the Namorese Civil War. In the decades following the war, there was conflict between native Peitoans and mainlanders, with many in the former accusing the latter of stealing their jobs and properties. However, this conflict diminished with the emergence of a new generation of mainlanders that grew up in Peitoa.
The Zao, a Kannei ethnic subgroup known for its seaborne lifestyle, has a moderate presence in Peitoa. There are around 1,000 to 3,000 Zao in the district. Upon taking control of Peitoa, the Republican Namorese initially viewed the Zao as a nuisance and tried forcing them to abandon their seaborne lifestyle, but this changed after the Civil War, when authorities found the Zao useful in strengthening Republican claims over the Sonlang islands and carrying out acts of sabotage in the mainland. At the same time, Zao people sympathetic towards the Liberationists served as an intermediary between the government in Namo and anti-Republican figures in Peitoa. Today, most Zao people reside in traditional settlements in the sea, although recent government policies have forced hundreds to live on land.
A very small Luziycan community resides in Novi Namor. They are descendants of Gulstadians who settled in Peitoa after Harald Göran was named governor of the islands. The Gulstadian community thrived under Harald Göran, but after the Second Peitoa Rebellion and the expulsion of Ulrik Göran, it constantly experienced harassment from the native population. As a result, many Gulstadians left Peitoa for Gulstad.
Religion
Compared with other districts, Peitoa has a higher proportion of people who identify as religious. A majority of Peitoans are Txoists while a small minority are Christian, with the predominant Christian sect being Lutheran Catholicism.
Txoist temples are prevalent throughout the Peitoan archipelago, with each town and village containing at least one temple. But the largest temple, the Sister-Goddesses Temple, is located in Kianglen, the prefectural seat of Vanhotoa. Built during the Akka era, the temple attracts thousands of pilgrims and other visitors each year.
The Lutheran Catholic Church maintains a presence in Peitoa through the Diocese of Peitoa. After the Namorese Civil War, Peitoa served as the provisional seat of the Lutheran Catholic Church in Namor, as the Church was effectively outlawed as an imperialist institution on the mainland. While Jung To was not Lutheran Catholic, he blended Lutheran Catholic teachings with Txoism and praised the sect for its "emphasis on faith and hope amidst the state of hopelessness caused by the Liberationists." There are around 155,000 Lutheran Catholics in Peitoa, equivalent to 15% of the district population.
Language
Namorese is the language used in Peitoa. Since Standard Namorese originated from southern Namor, of which Peitoa is considered a part, it is the preferred dialect in Peitoa.
Even so, decades of separation between Peitoa and mainland Namor have widened differences between Namorese spoken in both regions, hence the emergence of a distinct sub-dialect in Peitoa known as Peitoan Namorese. Peitoan Namorese contains words and phrases that had been commonly used on the mainland but were discarded due to reforms of the language carried out by the Liberationists. It also contains loanwords from French and English.
Peitoa is one of two remaining regions in the Namorese-speaking world (the other being Nantai) where Tziroma - a script based on the Latin alphabet - continues to be widely used to write Namorese. Tzishin - the script used on the mainland - was not introduced until reunification. Efforts by the central government to include Tzishin in the Peitoan educational system have been met with resistance from localists, although so far resistance has failed to prevent Tzishin from entering the district. Since NMR 2375, an increasing number of public signs have featured Tzishin along with Tziroma. A study by the University of Novi Namor conducted in NMR 2378 showed that nearly 95% of Peitoans prefer to use the Tziroma script. Among primary and secondary school students, 98% prefer Tziroma over Tzishin, but 76% say they are capable of reading text in Tzishin as well as writing in Tzishin.
Education
Peitoa's education system is similar to that of the mainland's with a few notable differences, namely the continued use of Tziroma in the school curricula and the smaller size of classes. There are 53 primary schools and 13 secondary schools in the district.
Novi Namor University is the only university in Peitoa. Under the Republicans, it was a public university that enjoyed full backing from the government. After reunification, control of the university was transferred to the new district government. The university remains the most popular destination for students in Peitoa, with more secondary school graduates in the district studying there than any other school. Lately, an increasing number of students have been studying in the mainland, viewing the mainland as a source of better education and opportunities. Some localists have accused the central government in Namo of deliberately strangling Peitoa's education system while encouraging Peitoan students to travel to the mainland.
Politics
New Peitoa (12)
New Democratic (1)
Democratic Socialist (1)
As a district of Namor, Peitoa has its own premier and elected legislature. The archipelago experienced its first free election in NMR 2370, held concurrently with local elections across Namor that same year.
Peitoa's District Assembly has 46 members, making it the smallest district legislature in Namor. A half of the members are elected by party-list proportional representation, while the other half are elected by first past the post within their counties.
The Premier of Peitoa is the head of the district government, and is responsible for approving or vetoing laws passed by the District Assembly. Under district law, the premier may serve no more than two five-year terms. The current Premier, Tong Kang, is not eligible to run for reelection in the next local election of NMR 2380.
Peitoa is seen as a powerbase for the right-wing ultranationalist People's First Coalition (PFC). Before reunification, the PFC maintained close party-to-party relations with the Republican Party of Namor. Many Republican officials switched to the PFC after Peitoa came under PRN control, strengthening the PFC's influence in the district. The PFC's opposition to cultural integration with the mainland has earned it support from many voters. During the presidential elections of NMR 2373 and NMR 2378, a majority of Peitoans voted for PFC candidate Kuo Zhang, making Peitoa the only district where Kuo won a majority of votes.
The New Peitoa Party (NPP) is the second-largest party in Peitoa. Considered the leader of the Peitoan regionalist movement, the NPP not only supports the preservation of Peitoa's local culture, but also greater autonomy for Peitoa.
Infrastructure
Road
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Peitoa developed an elaborate network of roads under Republican rule. Much of the island chain's present roads were built by Jung Ki, who saw them as necessary to properly defend Peitoa from Liberationist military aggression. Some of the roads were destroyed during the Changlang Crisis and the subsequent mainland invasion of Peitoa. Since then, the government has commenced a program to rebuild all damaged public roads.
National Expressway K12, also known as the "Peitoa Ring Expressway" due to its looped shape, is the only national expressway in Peitoa. This makes Peitoa the only region in Namor that doesn't have an Interdistrict highway, although there are plans to establish one in the future. Formerly constructed under the Republicans and called the "Jung To Memorial Highway," Expressway K12 runs along the coast of the island of Bontoa, beginning and ending at Novi Namor.
The four main islands of the Peitoan archipelago are connected by tunnels. Tunnels are prevalent in Peitoa since the Republicans viewed bridges as capable of being destroyed in the event of a Liberationist attack and preferred tunnels as a secure means of linking the islands. The Jung To Tunnel, which opened on the centenary of Jung To's birth in NMR 2324 and connects the islands of Bontoa and Jungtoa, is 30 km (18.6 mi) long, making it one of the longest tunnels used for road transportation.
Train
While there is no railway system connecting the entirety of the Peitoan archipelago, island-wide rail services exist in all four main islands in Peitoa. In addition, there is a railroad circling Meitoa Island and Nan-Nulontoa, the southernmost of the Vanhotoa islets.
Air
Peitoa is home to a number of airports and airbases. However, only one - Bontoa International Airport - is an international airport, while the others are regional airports serve flights to either other parts of Peitoa or mainland Namor.
The prefectures of Meitoa, Vanhotoa and Sonlang all have their own airports. Prior to reunification, they served as military airbases, but after reunification they were transferred to civilian use. Presently, both the Meitoa Vanggachin and Vanhotoa Kianglen airports have flights to both Bontoa and destinations in mainland Namor, while the Nansin Airport in Sonlang serves flights to Bontoa only.
Maritime
Peitoa has always had a significant maritime industry. Almost all of its major cities are ports capable of carrying ferries that travel to other parts of the district. Ferries are the second most popular mode of transportation among Peitoans after motor vehicles.
For most of Peitoa's history under Republican rule, maritime travel directly to and from mainland Namor was illegal due to tensions with the Liberationists. But when relations with mainland Namor slightly improved, restrictions to maritime travel were lifted. Restrictions were reintroduced during the Changlang Crisis and were not lifted until after reunification.
There are ferry services to Meitoa, Vanhotoa and Sonlang.
Economy
Historically, Peitoa's economy has been dominated by the local fishing industry due to the island's abundance in maritime life. It is estimated that up to 40% of Peitoa's population fished for a living in the NMR 2290s; as the service and manufacturing sectors strengthened in subsequent decades, that proportion declined to 25%. Nevertheless, fishing remains a major source of revenue for many Peitoans, especially those residing in Meitoa, Vanhotoa and Sonlang. Over 65% of Zao people list fishing as their occupation.
The NMR 2310s and early NMR 2320s were known as the golden age of Peitoa's economy. At the time, Peitoa had a higher total GDP than mainland Namor and it enjoyed a stable network of trading partners. However, as the recession kicked in and trade relations with mainland Namor soured, Peitoa went on a downward spiral. Under the administration of Fu Wen, mainland businesses were encouraged to establish a presence in Peitoa and employ Peitoan workers. The influx of major mainland corporations such as Namelectric and Monic contributed to the post-reunification economic recovery in Peitoa that saw the unemployment rate drop to 5%, compared to 15% under the Republicans.
Culture
Music
During the NMR 2300s, the Republican government heavily promoted traditional music, considering it a cornerstone of Namorese culture being eroded on the mainland. Namorese opera was also very popular in Peitoa at the time, while on the mainland it was viewed by the Liberationists as traditionalist and suppressed.
In the NMR 2310s, pop music made its debut and gained widespread popularity such that Peitoa became known as the cradle of N-Pop. Artists such as Tzang Jeli, Yu Haiying and Gu Sang became known throughout the Namorese-speaking world, although their works were censored in the mainland up until the late NMR 2320s. Many of Tzang's songs promoted civil liberties and are said to have inspired political reforms in both mainland Namor and Peitoa in the NMR 2330s. Gradually, Peitoan pop lost its influence as mainland-based artists grew in popularity.
Media
Peitoa has a relatively small media industry compared with the mainland. Under the Republicans, all media were state-owned; although state supervision wasn't extremely tight during the NMR 2320s and early NMR 2330s, press freedom returned to martial law-era levels under the administration of Jung Fa. Most media outlets formerly owned by the Republicans have been privatized since reunification, save for a few radio and television channels.
NTV (Namorese Television) is the public broadcaster of Peitoa. Launched in NMR 2293, it is the first broadcaster in Namor. Initially, its programming largely consisted of pro-Republican and anti-Liberationist propaganda, but the NMR 2320s saw an increase in light entertainment and drama series.
Peitoa is home to a few print media publications. The largest is the Peitoa Sibo (Peitoa Times), formerly known as the Jiyunamora Sibo (Free Namor Times). It served as the mouthpiece of the Republican Party and was staunchly supportive of the Jung Fa regime. Since reunification, it has dropped its support for the Republicans while taking on a pro-localist editorial line. Other newspapers include the Gukminbo, which is editorially anti-localist, and Peitoa Today, the only English-language newspaper in the district.