[War] China: "Home Matters"

[Chazenesq2b at aol.com]

"Home Matters"
 
President Xia Hong
2nd Lieutenant Chan Hong
The People's Republic of China
July 26 through August 2, 2014
=================================================
 
(University of Beijing- Staff Lounge [July 26])
 
The domestic itinerary immediately before her trips to the States included  
far more than just the 'usual' business of receiving ministerial status 
reports,  security analyses, study time with the issues to be brought up in 
California,  and the like... it also included a high-profile tour of some of the 
nation's  most elite schools.
 
The Academy of Military Sciences in Beijing, the newly reformed Whampoa  
Military Academy for Arts and Sciences, the newly created National University of  
Military Studies (which would be handling the graduate and professional  
education system for China's armed forces), and a host of civilian  schools.  There 
was the National University of Science and Technology, the  University of 
Political Science and Law, the Beijing Language and Culture  University, the 
National Agricultural University, the newly  established National Academy of 
Natural Resources which combined  several nationally funded universities and 
different campuses under one banner,  the Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, 
the Beijing Aerospace Sciences  University (formally the Beijing University of 
Aeronautics and Astronautics),  the Capital University of Medical Sciences, 
and the newly organized National  University of the Fine Arts.  A lot of 
schools to attend ceremonies at and  give speeches.  
 
The speeches stressed a wide ranging agenda.
 
The need for peaceful, gradual, and continuous democratization was  
highlighted.
 
The need for continued, solid economic progress to help drive the engine of  
transformation in China was stressed.
 
The need for high-technology developments, conservation of China's  ecosystem 
and natural resources, as well as the development of whole new  eco-friendly 
industries and 'Green China' policies were espoused.
 
The need for China to maintain her leadership position in the world was  
addressed.
 
The need to find new medicines, develop new medical treatments, and cure  
diseases.
 
The need to grow more on less soil, to produce more with less, to be more  
efficient and productive.
 
The need for more exploration, China's interior, the world entire, and  
beyond into the stars.
 
The need to go higher, further, faster than ever before.
 
The need for investment in public works... mass transit, new power sources,  
alternative fuels.
 
The need for greater access, greater diversity, and greater capability in  
education, health care, and opportunity.
 
The need for a stronger, more modern, more capable military.
 
The need to right Human Rights abuses, to promote justice, equality,  
fairness, and tranquility.
 
The need to continue to take stands when it came to situations like North  
Korea, Iran, Azerbaijan, Terrorism, and all the 
 
And last but certainly not least, the need for unity.
 
It was in unity that China gained it's strength.  China, despite most  
western impressions, was actually a diverse land filled with diverse people,  often 
times separated by hundreds of years of tradition.  China was a vast  nation 
that encompassed a wide range of climates, and ethnic groups.  When  this 
diverse group was brought together, as she stated at the end of every  speech... 
"given fair opportunity and promoting understanding and tolerance,  there was 
'nothing' that the 1.5 billion minds and bodies of China can not do...  no 
challenge that can not be met... no burden that can not be borne!"
 
There was the normal riotous applause and chanting of 'China Now, China  
Forever!'... the unofficially adopted slogan of Hong's agenda.  There were  
massive public displays of patriotism, marches in support (and some in  opposition) 
to various or all portions of the agenda... all of which were being  watched 
by a Chinese National Police that had experienced quiet, but thorough  
shake-ups following the tragedies in Taiwan.  Xinhua, and the minor (but  growing) 
independent Chinese media outlets (mostly print) were interviewing  passers by, 
getting their unbiased impression of things... as were pollsters to  gauge 
nation confidence.
 
Xia didn't care.  Her attention was on the upcoming conference with  the 
Americans.  High hopes had been placed on a successful engagement with  the 
world's other super-power, Hong and Williams' first chance to speak  privately, away 
from the artificial repression of multi-lateral talks.   There wasn't 
anything that was going to disturb her focus...
 
And then her cell phone ring.  Not the one she kept for business, her  
personal line.
 
"Hello?"
 
"Mom?"
 
"Chan?!  It is good to hear from you!  Your sister was just  talking 
about..."  
 
"Mom please, I don't have a lot of time."  Chan replied with an  
uncharacteristic urgency.
 
"Chan?  Is something wrong?"
 
"No, I just wanted to let you know that."  The voice on the other end  paused 
as if to brace for breaking of bad news.  "There was a skirmish at  the base, 
I'm not hurt.  I'm fine actually, and the injuries were fairly  minor given 
how bad it could have been.  I just didn't want you to get a  half story and 
end up worried, okay?"
 
Xia nodded, though he would never know.  "Okay... well I'm glad you're  okay."
 
"How's father?"
 
"He's still in a coma."  Xia's voice quaked ever so slightly when she  stated 
that.  "Mei Lu has been with him with the conference and the public  
appearances as of late.  I'll be back with him in August... how's the  situation 
there?"
 
"The North Koreans have the insurgency pretty much in hand in the grand  
view.  There are specific and sporadic instances of violence, but that's  it."  
Chan took a deep breath.  "Keep me apprised of what happens with  father?  I 
have men to attend to..." some of which were in the field  hospital, though he 
didn't want to spook his mother ahead of such vital  operations.
 
"Okay baby... stay safe, please."
 
"I will."  Chan replied, even if he knew it was a promise he could not  keep. 
 "Good bye mother, tell Mei Lu I love her.  And before I go, I  wanted to 
tell you I met a girl."
 
"Really?!"  Xia perked up, wiping the unshed tears from her eyes with  the 
back of her hand.  "Who?"
 
"One of the aide workers here, a young lady named Akemi.  I'll tell  you more 
when I see you.  I 'do' have to go now..."
 
They parted ways, and Xia couldn't help but be shaken by that kind of  
conversation.  Her son, God bless him, was too virtuous to be a good  liar.  "Get me 
the action reports for the last week from Pyongyang."
*******************************************************
 
(Executive Residence- Beijing [August 1st])
 
The Americans were understandably disappointed by the state visit.   
President Williams had been a soldier, and obviously had placed a high amount of  
personal interest in having the detained spies from his failed North Korean  
campaign released... but quite frankly they knew too much, and had 'done' too  
much, for Xia to have the political power to comply with that kind of a  wish.  
They had blood on their hands, Chinese blood, in an operation the  United States 
never really formally apologized for, and worse off tried blaming  on the 
People's Republic to begin with.  
 
Such was the cost of pride, really.
 
And in either case, it wasn't as if Williams was offering much for their  
return.  There was no offer of a 'hands off' policy as far as North Korea  went, 
no offer to reduce the size of USFK or the US forces in Japan... no offer  
even to retract the offer of weapons sales to Taiwan under the flimsy excuse of  
'oh, well we shouldn't worry about it until they ask for something.'
 
Xia may have looked younger than she was, but she wasn't born  yesterday.
 
It had been a rough week with the visit to America, the road trip to some  of 
China's world renown and Premiere universities, and still trying to squeeze  
in time to see Wen, unconscious as he was.  Sleep was something of an after  
thought.
 
She had a fairly intense debate with more hard-line members of the old  guard 
in the PNC this morning, where they were howling about her not extracting  
nearly enough concessions from the Americans in terms of Foreign Policy.   At 
the same time, the 'Capitalists' as they could only be called, a strong part  of 
her own political structure, were airing their grievances  about the specter 
of rising environmental standards, even if it  in turn stood to be in their 
economic benefit by opening up the  American market even further to Chinese 
goods.
 
Man, if this was the 'old school' days she would've just declared them all  
counter-revolutionary, have them and their families brutally dealt with,  and 
force her plans through.  Unfortunately, with Xinhua cameras  and journalists 
recording her every movement, as well as her own disdain for  totalitarianism, 
she couldn't really do that.  All she could do was respond  diplomatically, 
professionally, and eloquently to every point and/or  question.
 
Then there was the weekly Ministerial staff meeting at which MoS indicated  
that the Japanese were organizing a summit to discuss advancing Asia... and  
naturally the region's super power wasn't invited.
 
Oh, 'and' the Japanese and the Russians were conducting a joint military  
training exercise in Abkhazia, a move likely to piss off the Georgians, solidify  
Russian control in the area, and if one was as pessimistically cynical as 
Bing  was, likely a sign of potential bi-lateral fronts, Russia to the North and 
Japan  to the East.  She didn't put much stock in that though, the Russians 
had  their own thing going and the Japanese weren't in a position to rape 
Nanjing  this go around.
 
And now that she was home, she could pour herself a glass of Napa  Valley 
wine, draw a hot bubble-bath, and just relax.
 
Until her phone rang.
 
"Hello?"
 
"Mom, it's Mei Lu."  The female voice on the other ended stated  quickly.  
"You need to get here, 'now'." 
*******************************************************
 
(The People's Hospital- Beijing Medical University [02:20 AM Local Time on  
August 2nd])
 
When a code was called in a hospital everyone and their mother's knew  it.  
The People's Hospital was one of the finest hospitals in the world,  it's 
wards, laboratories, and it's staff were as highly trained, educated, and  equipped 
as any hospital on Earth, bar none.  The miracles that the  dedicated and 
highly professional staff pulled together on a routine basis was  the stuff of 
legend and lore, and those in the know all over the world stood in  awe with 
some of the advancements the hospital, and Beijing's Medical  University, had put 
together as of late.
 
Unfortunately, sometimes a patient called for more of a miracle than even  
they were able to provide.
 
Five times a code had been called in the VIP suites of The People's  
Hospital, where politicians, high-profile patients, high-level government  employees, 
and those common people who required special guarding or protection  as well 
as medical treatment, 'and' all the immediate family members thereof,  were 
treated.  
 
Five times, by nothing short of divine intervention, the dozen or so  medical 
staff that flooded the room when a code was called had miraculously  brought 
the first gentleman of the People's Republic back from the brink of  death.
 
The sixth time was one time too many.
 
"Time of death... 02:20 AM.  Cause of death, severe cranial trauma  resulting 
in cerebral damage and necrosis of cerebral tissue.  Ancillary  causes... 
major diffuse internal hemorrhaging, major neurological trauma  secondary to 
traumatic event, cardiac and pulmonary failure."  The doctor  pulled off his mask 
in sorrow.
 
A nurse formally broke the news to Xia and Mei Lu, though both were already  
holding each other right outside of the room and in heavy, sobbing tears.   
They'd heard every word the doctor had to announce.
 
"Madame President... I'm so sorry."
===================================================
 
ACTIONS
 
1.  Mostly character development.  
2.  First Gentleman of China finally dies.  
    A.  A spokesman from the Executive Office will  break the news to the 
nation/world the following day.
    B.  State funeral preparations to be  made.  Delegates from all nations 
will be invited.
    C.  Family to be given time to  grieve.



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