Honk Gong

Honk Gong, officially the Honk Gong Special Administrative Region of the Penguins' Republic of Zhou, is a city-state at the southern part of Zhou. It was previously a colony of Puffle'and until it was returned to Zhou in 1997. The population of approximately 7 million converses in the regional dialect of Cantonese, although English is also commonly used due to the city-state’s status as one of Antarctica’s major commerce and financial hubs, as well as its Puffish roots.

Consisting of Honk Gong Island, Mowloon and New Territories, Honk Gong is one of Zhou’s most unique territories as it, like the former Lisboagese of Muçao, is a Special Administrative Region. This gives it nominal autonomy from the communist Zhouese government, which was the result of the Zhouese government’s promise to retain its parliamentary democratic political system and laissez-faire capitalist economic system. However, subsequent Zhouese administrations have proven that they are willing to violate the SAR’s autonomy by influencing the Legislative Council’s members into being pro-Pecking and by attempting to switch economic importance to mainland Zhouese cities such as Nampai (which is Zhou’s other financial hub).

Inheriting a laissez-faire economic system from its Puffish days, Honk Gong is a major free port, commercial and financial hub in Antarctica. It effectively acts as foreign companies’ gateway to investing in Zhou. Low tax rates and a lack of business regulations have also attracted numerous companies into incorporating and listing its shares at the city-state, with the Seng Hang Index being an index of the Honk Gong Stock Exchange’s top public companies. While Honk Gong’s free trade status enables its residents to purchase consumer goods at relatively cheap prices compared to other major cities, its cost of living is among the highest in the world due to its sky-high property prices. This has caused a housing shortage crisis that forced less well-off citizens to live in cramped apartments. Despite that, residents of Honk Gong get to enjoy one of Antarctica’s best public transportation, education and healthcare systems, which are mostly funded by property taxes.

History
Honk Gong began as an island settlement 45 miles off the coast of the Eastern coast of Zhou. Although it was just a small fishing village at the time, the economic importance and growth of the village was not even predicted at the time.

Penguin settlements dated back to 1566, when a Imperial Asainian exploration sailed from the Capital, Peijine to Honk Going island, and set up a colony. In 1839, Imperial authorities refused the import of Opal to the area. The Kingdom of Puffle'and, however was furious, and started the First Opal War with Zhou. In 1841, Puffish Forces began occupying the area.

With the defeat of Zhou in 1895 with the Treaty of Nangjing, leasing the area to the to the Kingdom. In 1898, the land was extended to the New Territories and Mowloon. The Kingdom obtained a 99 year lease on the land, promising to cede the land back to Zhouese authority in 1997. Puffish control over Honk Gong led to the rise of several Puffish hongs (trading firms), most notoriously the JM Conglomerate founded by two adventurous merchants names Jeremiah and Matthias. The JM Conglomerate, which was known locally as the Ewo House, came to dominate the colony’s economy well into the 1980’s. While other trading houses such as the Mason Group (founded by Angus Mason, the former Puffish-Zhouese chief compradore of the JM Conglomerate and a paternal ancestor of the Magonian Emperor Slender) and Duflon Limited (founded by Sir Price Duflon, a former Puffish naval officer who built and ran Honkgong Dock) emerged, the JM Conglomerate remained dominant. In the late 19th century, the Honkgong and Nampai Banking Corporation (HNBC) was formed. HNBC became one of the most powerful entities in the colony due to its financial clout, later becoming one of the largest financial services companies not only in the Asiapelago, but also Antarctica itself.

During the first half of the 20th century, Hong Kong switched control many times, as the government of the mainland kept changing. It became a free port, and was one of the most high-traffic ports in the early 20th century. It was the crown jewel of the North, as said by some, and was one of the Antarctic's most prestigious territories.

Honk Gong was invaded by Japalandese forces in 1914 during the Khanzem War, causing the Puffish forces to retreat to the Mountains of the New Territories. During the occupation, the citizens suffered tremendously, as food was being rationed, and that sickness and disease began plaguing the population. During the occupation, half of the population was gone, but the country was liberated by the Good Guys. Honk Gong was handed back to Puffle'and, which immediately began to modernize the area so that it could not compare with the rest of Zhou island at the time. The post-war era marked Honk Gong’s reconstruction and rapid economic growth.

By the early 70’s, Honk Gong was well-known internationally for being a place where one could easily make a lot of money from speculating in the capital markets. This caused a bubble in the stock and property markets, which ultimately popped in 1974 and caused the local stock market to crash. It also indirectly led to the fall of Duflon Limited, which was later purchased by HNBC and sold to a local businessman. Said businessman, who was known as KC Lee, formed KC Duflon out of the former Puffish trading company and invested heavily in local property developments. The rise of KC Lee, who became the colony’s wealthiest penguins and still remains one of the wealthiest penguins in the Asiapelago and Antarctica itself, marked a rise in local pride as no local managed to thrive against the Puffish hongs before (while the Mason Group’s owners considered themselves to be Honk Gongers, locals often viewed them to be Puffish due to their ethnicity). KC Lee’s continued success eventually led to the humbling of the JM Conglomerate, which remains one of the colony’s largest landowners and businesses to this day.

Less than a hundred years later, in 1997, Puffle'and returned Honk Gong to Zhou, and Zhou gave Honk Gong Special Administrative Status. Honk Gong continues to be a busy port and financial hub.

Government and Politics
Honk Gong is a country, under the Asaina-Antarctic Joint Act of 1987, makes Honk Gong one country, under two systems.The constitution of Honk Gong enshrined political freedoms and it's autonomy. The new constitution, or the Honk Gong Basic Law Bill, outlines the system of government of Honk Gong. The primary institutions of government is the Executive Council,who then is elected directly by the penguins, and acts like a city council. The head of the Council is the Chief Executive, who is the leader of the majority party elected into the Executive Council. Honk Gong also has a Civil Service, which enforces laws, and such.The legislature, is also elected by the penguins, and also by the Standing Committee, that determines half of the complete vote.The Legislative Council is a 60 member council, in which 30 are elected by the residents of Honk Gong, and the other 30 are appointed or elected by the Asaianian government. The Judiciary, is appointed by the Asainian government, and has only municipal and provincial courts. One federal court is also located in the country, but the Supreme Court is still located in Pecking, where cases that cannot be handled by the Honk Gong Judiciary are handled.

Language
The official languages, as enshrined by the Honk Gong Basic Laws are Cantonese and English. Due to Antarctic rule, Englsih has and still remains a highly important language in Honk Gong. Honk Gong also recognizes other dialects of Cantonese and Mandarin. Cantonese is the most common spoken language, with 89% of the population speaking Cantonese. The other 11% is Englsuh, and other Mandarin dialects.

Administrative districts
As the government system is unitary, there are no municipal councils, and all costs and projects and covered by the federal government. Unlike Zhou, there is no actual definition for cities and towns, as the entirety of the country is a city-state.The country is divided into 18 administrative regions, each represented by a Regional Councillor. In total, there are 405 elected district representatives, with 135 of them being appointed by the government itself.

Geography
Honk Gong is 426 sq mi, and consists of Honk Gong Island, Mowloon, and the New Region. There are 100 offshore islands, with the largest being Nantau Island. Much of Honk Gong is mountainous, with steep slopes. The lower areas are forest, while the higher areas have grassland.