Tlang-gap Gate Incident
The Nationalist Revolt of 1932 (閶闔門逆案, t'jang-ghap-mon-ngjak-'anh) is a violent political revolt that occurred in the Themiclesian city of Glak-lang, on June 15th, 1932. The internal objectives and foundational causes of the revolt are not well-documented, and there were known to exist several competing groups within the revolt, each with its own leader and demand, that were allied as a single movement for reasons of convenience or collective security. Upon breaching the imperial palace on a pretext of addressing the Emperor, the government reacted with military suppression, resulting in 528 dead and 701 injured. Immediate medical attention was ordered, to little effect.
As the Nationalist Party, thereby and thereafter dissolved, has no successor in Themiclesia, and with respect to the general lack of support for ethnic and militant nationalism, this event is less controversial than many comparable events in other countries. While the government interpretation of the event as an active rebellion is questionable at best, it is an open secret that the Nationalist Party received funding from foreign sources that had political interests in the party's success, which lends credit to the notion that the criterion for rebellion was at least somewhat technically satisfied, even though there is little evidence that the members of the group had concrete plans to overthrow the government.
Background
Early modernization
After the period of experimental, radical modernization conducted under the Reform Party between 1839 and 1853, Themiclesia settled for a more moderate course of economic development and industrial propagation, with attention paid particularly to maintaining political and social cohesion, in addition to providing the necessary support and infrastructure for nascent domestic industries; political reform was figuratively placed on the back-burner, and only discussed as far as it affected economic development. While a net positive effect on the nation's economy has been recorded, development was slow to penetrate inland, as the coastal regions were the first to see and favoured location for intensive development, due to convenience of exportation. By 1890, a large portion of the economic activity on the west coast has been transformed to industrial manufacture. Social conflict has thus far been moderated by the government, which adhered to a philosophy mostly inherited from the centuries past, requiring the government to see that living standards were not beneath a certain level. Traditional social programs, such as the Public Benefit Pharmacies (offering some basic remedies for free), were maintained.
OS interaction
However, in 1895, a severe flood of the River Gha hit its estuary and the flood plain nearby, damanging a large number of factories in the first instance. Aside form pecuniary losses, the filth brought by the flood gave rise to an epidemic in the affected regions later that year, killing over 30,000 people in a single season, most of them skilled factory workers. With losses in both capital equipment and labour force, it caused many financially less secure enterprises to default on their debts. Local banks, which were established to finance mostly these industries, soon followed suit and declared bankruptcy. All this created a general shortage of capital on the market, and the loss of liquidity available from banks triggered more businesses to fold, which in turn created unemployment and depression. By 1897, the situation had become unsalvagable, and the Liberal Party was desperate for a quick cash-infusion, as it had other financial obligations such as improving rural infrastructure and civic amenities. A treaty was concluded between a weakened Themiclesia and the Organized States, giving the latter many privileges in exchange of investments. The government negotiated a large number of provisions that would protect the interest of Themiclesians in the employ of OS industries, though the government found it diplomatically inconvenient to exercise these powers. OS investment accelerated industrialization in Themiclesia, at the expense of social and ideological control in many cases, as the government was hesitant to intervene in political assemblies in OS-controlled areas, which were established around pockets of industrialized communities.
A wealth of divergent paradigms were introduced by OS personnel. While the OS was ostensibly supportive of the Themiclesian form of government, if only for their pliancy, ideas such as nationalism (civic and ethnic), socialism, and democracy were planted during this era into far more minds than ever before, before when political thought was deemed a prerogative of higher educational institutions and beyond the reach of the man in the street. This industrialization-driven politicization of the public is sometimes referred to as the second political revolution, and the initial adptoion of certain functional elements of Casaterran government in the ruling classes, during the 1800s to 1840s, as the first political revoluton. Amongst the more radical within the industrialized communities were ethnic nationalists, who believed that Columbian industrialists were commercially ravaging Themiclesia without giving anything in return. Other philosophies, however, generally found important parallels within the existing governing philosophy; socialism, for example, was largely absorbed into the Liberal Party, which had publicly declared that government policies were enacted for the common good, and that the state should ensure a minimum standard of living and afford special assistance to the disadvantaged. Moderate democrats, who campaigned for a wider franchise, were allied with the Liberals as well, on the premise that increasingly available education will eventually broaden the franchise without the need of changing electoral laws.
Introduction of foreign thought
Ethno-centric thought, however, was found unacceptable by the government almost from its conception. In the first place, it was against the cosmopolitan disposition of Themiclesian political philosophy, which required the government to put world peace and prosperity in the first priority; the literati took this as the very foundation of Themiclesian political legitimacy. The public admittance of a "Themiclesian nation" represented an extreme risk of alienating the political class. Furthermore, by requiring the government to work for the immediate-term advantage of Themiclesians would deprive the government of much of the policy flexibility it had, to impose more difficult policies in expectation of a greater future return. Ethnic nationalism, as contemporary rhetoric would portray it, was also against the idea that intellectual excellence should be a pre-requisite for political power; the moderate democrats' demand for franchise expansion was acceptable because it would simply expand the literate class, while technically not altering its composition. Nevertheless, this first wave of nationalist thought was quickly discredited when Themiclesian repelled a Letnevian invasion in 1906 with ease.
In 1930, the new government in the OS suddenly decided to withdraw its troops from Themiclesia with very little forewarning. These troops, though not always welcome, were instrumental in maintaining industrial relations during the rapid industrialization: they violently suppressed any protests in areas that the Themiclesian government had specifically allotted to OS industries to set up factories. The govenrment then took on the guise of the soothing arbitrator, sometimes negotiating for slightly better terms on the workers' behalf or giving them some amenities that management had denied them. At other times, the government also lobbied on behalf of the industrialists, asking local leaders to accept some compromises temporarily. Though complex manoeuvres, the government, still led by the Liberals, sought to maintain an equilibrium between workers, literati, and capitalists. It was a generally successful policy that ameliorated some conflicts that characterized industrialization in other countries, but it came at the cost of the govenrment's image amongst the politically less astute, that it was ambiguous and soft. At the troops' withdrawal in May 1930, Themiclesian Army units were not called in to replace them, after the government decided that capital-labour relations should be resolved in an open forum.
War with Dzhungestan
As early as 1925, Dzhungestani nomadic tribes invaded the Themiclesian southeast for the region's copper mines, which were peripheral to the Themiclesian economy as a whole. It was soon repelled in 1926, but upon the forces' recall, the Dzhungestani resorted to raid-and-run tactics and harrassed the mining towns incessantly. The government reacted only with relief and reconstruction when the raids diminished in frequency. In 1927, the Dzhungestani government launched an official invasion and captured the mines again, prompting the government to send a whole motorized division to force them out; after some tenacious negotiations at the apex, it was decided that a peace treaty would be required to eliminate recurrence. Unwilling to enter talks, the Khan of the nation employed a large number of dilatory tactics to see if the Themiclesian forces were committed to an invasion, which happened in 1928. As Dzhungestan was sparsely populated, the division quickly sprinted thorugh the desert and laid siege to its capital city, Dorozamyn. After only two months, the city fell, but not before the Khan and his administration had fled. Intensive search-and-rescue operations followed, to no avail for the next two years; at this point, with no prospect of a treaty in sight, the cost of the occupation was mounting and became a subject of conversation in Themiclesia.
The dormant nationalist factions took this opportunity to re-assert itself on the political spectrum, arguing that Dzhungestan should be annexed by Themiclesia. Most parties did not agree with this assessement, and the Progressive Party proceeded to write a detailed study on the projected costs of administering Dzhungestan according to Themiclesian standards, which for the next 50 years would be at a net loss and thus a fiscal burden on Themiclesia-proper and its populace. This caused the Nationalist Party (est. 1926) to split, in face of public ridicule; most members resigned from its membership, leaving a small group of party-loyal who did not care about the irrefutable fiscal argument that the Progressive Party had come up with. As the latter openly refused to accept the validity of fiscal sustainability, the Nationalist Party became widely reviled amongst the educated classes and found little resonance within the general public, who were dissuaded from supporting it by the implication that the annexation of Dzhungestan would make their tax bill bigger.
Participants
Aside from the cadre of the Nationalist Party, groups known to be in league with them are:—
- Fascist groups (not registered as a party)
- Republicans
- Radical Democrats
- Some persons of Rajian origin (not registered as a party)
- Annexationists
- No Chi-Won, son-in-law of Menghean Emperor Kwon Chong-hoon
Nota bene, many of these groups did not officially support the Nationalist Party's planned march, nor did the Nationalist Party necessarily endorse the ideals espoused by them.
March
In April 1932, the Nationalist Party organized a 2,000-man march from the national capital of Kien-k'ang to the summer palace in Glak-lang; the purpose whereof was to publicize its message in hope of finding more support amongst the rural residents along the route, which is the footpath next to the A1 highway. The march departed on time and made steady progress towards Glak-lang, and there were no reports of serious disturbances along their path. The Nationlist Party did not invite the other groups to join them or to leave, but they progressed in largely indistinguishable pools of people, pitching tents along the wilderness to rest at night and move during day. They also built latrines, some of which can still be seen today.
Upon arriving at Glak-lang on June 2nd, the march had neither acquired any significant number of new supporters nor lost participants; in liaison with the Sheriff of Glak-lang, a large section of public forest was assigned for their temporary use. The location was intentionally kept slightly remote, so that the marchers would need to spend time to walk to and from the city, thus reducing the amount of time they had to drum up public awareness in the city, which was to little effect.
Coup
Around June 15th, the organizers of the march, belonging to the Nationalist Party, were killed after an internal dispute on which no detailed account survives. The most likely cause, according to some political historians, is the lack of progress that all parties were making, which they blamed on each other's presence. Instead of dispersing, it evolved into an ugly brawl. The reconstituted leadership changed sharply, possibly with little knowledge amongst the followers, with the result that the fascist elements, egged on by No Chi-Won, had usurped the leadership of the group.
Clash
In the early morning of June 18th, the new leadership announced that the Emperor confidentially had granted them permission to dissolve the current government and create a new one that would be more attentive to the needs of the public. This claim is false, but lack of administrative knowldedge amongst the marchers prevented its exposure, and by dawn that day they were quickly marching down the Imperial Highway (the main street of the city, with a raised section reserved for the Emperor's carriage), leading directly to the palace. Around 1,000 members decided to follow the fascists to respond to "secret command of the Emperor", while the others stayed behind, skeptical of the fascists for either ideological reasons or for the very dubious claim.
The traffic police noticed that their members were walking on the raised section of the highway, and they proceeded to caution them against this infringment of the Emperor's prerogative. Having been brushed aside, one policeman inadvertantly overheard the cause of the marcher's movement. Terrified, he relayed this intelligence to his superiors, and soon it was brought to the Cabinet's attention. As the Imperial Highway was several miles long, the government ordered the Left Guard and Right Guard Regiments to close and barricade the gates of the palace, in which the government sat.
Having reached the T'jang-ghap-mon Gate, the fascists began to rally the marchers with various slogans critical and denunciatory of the government, focusing on an alleged lack of popular support and legitimacy. Having chanted for around a half hour with no response, the Director of Palace Security (守宮令, shlju-kjung-mleng), an official responsible for the perimeter of the palace, opened the gate and addressed the assembly that, "The Palace is off limits to demonstrations", advising them to deliver their grievances in writing instead. Unfazed, a fascist leader, whose identity is disputed, brushed aside the official and ordered his followers to storm the T'jang-ghap-mon Gate. Reaching the other side of the gatehouse, the Left Guard, who have been ordered to suppress any disorder, opened fire south into the marchers. They stopped after a few volleys proved sufficient to push the demonstrators back. The Right Guard emerged from the West Side Gate (西掖門, sei-glak-mon) and opened fire on the marcher's rear, pushing them north instead, back towards the Left Guard unit. According to survivors' statements, the Left Guard misinterpreted gunfire from the Right Guard and subsequent stampede northwards as hostility from the demonstration, prompting them to fire again from the north.
At the same time, Prowng Nom, an Tribune of the Hall (殿中侍御史, dionh-trjung-sdjoh-ngjah-sljo’), witnessed the carnage as he entered through the South Side Gate. From his position, only the Right Guard was visible; yet when he came to the inside, he noticed that the Left Guard was firing in the opposite direction. Being a tribune empowered to censor improper acts within the palace, he ordered the Left Guard to allow the demonstrators to step forward and place them under arrest in the stables nearby. Only then did the regiment realize that the demonstrators were not responsible for the continued gunfire. The Right Guard followed suit and were directed to return to their garrisons without their weapons.
Casualty
- 582 dead
- 701 injured
Response
Government position
The government closed off the T'jang-ghap-mon Gate and its immediate vicinity to anyone except medical personnel. A distress signal was sent out to summon all physicians and paramedics at leisure to the site of the incident to carry off the wounded. After this, reporters were refused access to the area by the city magistrate (洛陽令, glak-lang-mleng). By noon, the news of a bloodbath spread througout the city, though the specifics remained obscure until some days later. A connection was soon made by newspapers with the presence of the Nationalist Party that was still present beyond city limits.
Two days later, the government published a long article on the first edition of every major newspaper, recounting the event from its perspective. In the article, a large number of diagrams, narratives, and observations by members of the public were cited to demonstrate:
- The marchers had breached the limits of the Palace, which, in combinaiton with their demands and actions, constitued an open rebellion
- The government had made every reasonable effort to dissuade the marchers at the gate before resorting to force
- The extent of the casualty was partly due to a "severe and culpable misunderstanding" and not the intention of the government.
Other commentators
- The Democratic Progressive Party and the Social Democratic Party criticized the government for a "hasty and inconsiderate response" and called upon it to penalize officials responsible for the stated "culpable misunderstanding"
- The Nationalist Party decried the coup and distanced itself from the incident
Foreign governments
The Menghean Emperor, enraged by the death of his nephew and the suppression of his supporters, reversed his foreign policy on Themiclesian's war in Dzhungestan. Only later, when survivors were asked to give information regarding the group's formation, did the government become aware of No Chi-Won's death. However, after his relationship with the Menghean Emperor had been identified, the government was concerned with the possibility of the much more insiduous (but false) notion that Kwon had intended for his son-in-law to take power in Themiclesia. A multitude of measures enhancing security around the Imperial Palaces was instituted.