Worldbuilding Realism Consultation Thread Mk. 4

[Allanea]

Natural disaster is mainly an issue due to horrid state policies.

[Ainin]

Natural disaster has also been an issue.

Famine is not a natural disaster, it is the result of a lack of civic institutions and government accountability.

[Nordengrund]

So why do some parliamentary governments have a different title for their head of government if they all translate into prime minister in English? For example, why is the German head of government called a chancellor in English instead of prime minister?

Why does Monaco have a Minister of State instead of PM?

[Purpelia]

So why do some parliamentary governments have a different title for their head of government if they all translate into prime minister in English? For example, why is the German head of government called a chancellor in English instead of prime minister?

Why does Monaco have a Minister of State instead of PM?

Why would they not?

Seriously, just think about that question. Why would different people with different histories, languages and traditions not call the same, or similar things differently?

[Nordengrund]

So why do some parliamentary governments have a different title for their head of government if they all translate into prime minister in English? For example, why is the German head of government called a chancellor in English instead of prime minister?

Why does Monaco have a Minister of State instead of PM?

Why would they not?

Seriously, just think about that question. Why would different people with different histories, languages and traditions not call the same, or similar things differently?

Yes, but the Netherlands has a minister president and we just call him the prime minister. The Scandinavian countries have a statminster or something like that, but we call them PM instead of state minister. Spain's head of government is called the president in their language.

[Purpelia]

Why would they not?

Seriously, just think about that question. Why would different people with different histories, languages and traditions not call the same, or similar things differently?

Yes, but the Netherlands has a minister president and we just call him the prime minister. The Scandinavian countries have a statminster or something like that, but we call them PM instead of state minister. Spain's head of government is called the president in their language.

So wait, your question is actually why do the english bastardize some titles into "prime minister" but not all of them?

[The Macabees]

Spain's head of government is called the president in their language.

President of the Government, but the official translation (in the EU) is to Prime Minister.

[Austrasien]

The Hundred Days also fell apart because the German offensive petered out thanks to the exhaustion of the German troops and the fact that they stopped to gorge themselves on the Allied supply dumps, because German troops received significantly less food.

That was the German Spring Offensive. The Hundred Days came immediately after that.

German troops were hungry but this wasn't stopping them from fighting. As the Spring Offensive demonstrated they were still quite good at it. It was only during the Hundred Days when the Allies proved beyond all doubt they could break through German defenses at a time and place of their choosing that the German Army began to actually collapse. German soldiers were willing to fight on empty stomachs. But they weren't willing to fight to the death against an enemy who could not be stopped. German moral collapsed decisively when the average soldier could no longer believe their sacrifice served any purpose.

Had they been well fed this would not have changed this substantially. The German defeat in 1918 was fundamentally on the front. They were outfought by superior tactics, superior operations and superior technology. One of the main reasons they surrendered when they did was so that the military could pretend it was week-kneed civilians and the damned Jews who did them in, not their own battlefield failures. Which seems to have worked pretty well actually since even we seem to have forgotten how badly we whipped them.

[DnalweN acilbupeR]

To continue with my list of police weapons:

• Shotgun - Perhaps even more versatile than the Taser, the shotgun is a truly multipurpose weapon. RN police use a 20mm caliber mag-fed launcher with a quick-change smoothbore/rifled barrel with semi-automatic/pump switchable action (see IRL SPAS-15). Because of its design it can be used successfully in many different roles: with a rifled barrel and appropriate optics added on, it can accurately fire slugs at long ranges, and by adding a fire control module and using appropriate ammunition, it can be turned into a precise airburst grenade launcher ; with a smoothbore barrel it can effectively fire shotshells and various less-lethal and utility loads such as door-breaching.
  
• Rifle - Whilst less versatile than shotguns, rifles have their place in the arsenal of police long guns. They are preferred over other firearms when higher range and accuracy are required.

[Nordengrund]

Yes, but the Netherlands has a minister president and we just call him the prime minister. The Scandinavian countries have a statminster or something like that, but we call them PM instead of state minister. Spain's head of government is called the president in their language.

So wait, your question is actually why do the english bastardize some titles into "prime minister" but not all of them?

Yes.

[Purpelia]

It's random question time.

Evil and the people who worship it. How is the completely open honest and unironic worship of evil seen and treated in your nation?


And I do mean only worship. No actual doing evil. Only the glorification, worship and general "We love this evil thing or person! Hell yea!"

[Kouralia]

Plebs, lets discuss the weapons available to the police officers in your nation and when/how they are used.

In RN, it goes a little bit like this:

• Fists - The regular police uniform of RN includes duty gloves with hard knuckles and cut resistance - in summer and winter variants. As such, you will pretty much always see a police officer with their duty gloves on, except perhaps on some occasions on hot summer days - even then, whenever there is a good probability that the S is about to HTF, they will put them on.
  
  Fists are essentially a melee weapon that you have ready all the time, regardless of what happens (save for, say, a situation where you have your fingers/hands/arms broken/injured where you can't punch). However, they are only effective within a very close range even compared to other melee weapons, like batons for example. As such, their use is reserved for emergency situations, which is typically one of the following: a)officer is disarmed b)during a critical situation, using them is considered quicker and/or more effective than another weapon (whether or not they are currently wielding one) c)gaining compliance from or neutralizing an assailant who is posing an immediate risk to the officer during an effort to immobilize them (e.g. during scuffling/wrestling on the ground, the suspect reaches for the officer's weapon or punches them).
  
  As such, the objective when an officer is using their fists is to immediately neutralize their target. Their training and the design of their gloves reflect this - they will most probably punch in the head or neck as strongly as they can until the threat stops.
  
  A lot of this applies to other strikes such as kicks, knees, elbows. It is worth mentioning that regular police uniform includes hard-toed boots.
  
  Using these strikes as well as other elements of hand-to-hand combat, like submission grapples (especially chokeholds) in situations other than those mentioned (typically in emergencies) is frowned upon, not recommended and considered unprofessional.
  
• Baton - RN police use both solid and extendable batons. Much of what has been said above applies to batons - they are not commonly used to induce compliance because they can inflict serious, even life-threatening injuries and other weapons with more temporary effects are preferred, and they are not really used in critical situations against e.g. knife or gun-armed suspects because a Taser or handgun are ranged and more effective, and thus safer for the officer. As such, batons are typically used in emergency situations, not unlike fists and other strikes, but offering somewhat better range and potential effectiveness. Also, they may be used for utility purposes, such as breaking windows.
  
  Batons are usually the main type of weapon used by police in riots in terms of sheer numbers.
• Chemical spray - RN police use a chemical spray that contains a mix of substances which temporarily induce various effects, including physical pain, impaired breathing, impaired vision, etc. In order to induce maximum incapacitation and compliance, as well as to ensure effectiveness on heavily intoxicated or deranged subjects, the mix features the highest concentration of each component substance that is still, overall, improbable to induce permanent damage or effects lasting a very long time (over a couple of hours at most).
  
  With that being said, chem spray is typically the first, or lowest tier so to speak, weapon to go to when dealing with non-compliant suspects - it is typically not used on aggressive suspects and definitely not in high-risk or critical situations.
  
  After repeatedly issuing verbal commands such as that of putting one's hands behind their back in order to be handcuffed (and being confronted with non-compliance but not aggression), instead of directly proceeding to attempting physical immobilization of the suspect, the officer will usually attempt to use the chem spray first. This can induce compliance, and if it does not and the suspect begins being aggressive, they wouldn't be much of a threat to the officer as they should now be practically incapable of seeing or breathing properly and be under severe pain, which should also make their immobilization easier.
• Taser - The Taser is perhaps among the most versatile weapons for police in RN - they are issued with 3-shot Tasers with 35' (10m) range cartridges. They provide acceptable range for police use, relatively high effectiveness and reliability whilst still being significantly less lethal than handguns.
  
  As such, Tasers are used in pretty much all situations when dealing with a combative suspect, whether un-armed, melee weapon-armed or gun-armed. For the latter two, it is always deployed by an officer beside a gun-armed officer - if the need arises for the threat to be neutralized (such as getting charged) and the Taser fails for whatever reason to achieve this, the gun-armed officer is there as back-up. With that being said, in critical situations the Taser may be foregone altogether, going straight for the gun.
• Handgun - What has been said above. The typical handgun is a full-size service pistol chambered in 7.62 Tokarev, with standard ammunition being JHP.

That's the basics tbh.

To continue with my list of police weapons:

• Shotgun - Perhaps even more versatile than the Taser, the shotgun is a truly multipurpose weapon. RN police use a 20mm caliber mag-fed launcher with a quick-change smoothbore/rifled barrel with semi-automatic/pump switchable action (see IRL SPAS-15). Because of its design it can be used successfully in many different roles: with a rifled barrel and appropriate optics added on, it can accurately fire slugs at long ranges, and by adding a fire control module and using appropriate ammunition, it can be turned into a precise airburst grenade launcher ; with a smoothbore barrel it can effectively fire shotshells and various less-lethal and utility loads such as door-breaching.
  
• Rifle - Whilst less versatile than shotguns, rifles have their place in the arsenal of police long guns. They are preferred over other firearms when higher range and accuracy are required.

I love it when these come up, for the obvious reason that my professional interest intersects with NSspergery.

Kouralian police regard the use of force as integral in accomplishing their mission - which is principally to protect people and property, enforce the laws by bringing malefactors before the courts, defend the individual and collective freedoms of the Kouralian people, and to limit the instances of and perception of crime. However, all use of force must be proportionate, necessary, reasonable, and of the minimum required to accomplish a goal. The different forms of 'weapon' used by Kouralian police are as follows:

• Incapacitant Spray: Kouralia makes use of a particular brand of nitrogen-propelled, synthetic incapacitant spray refered to as 'CAPTOR-III', or more commonly as 'PAVA'. This spray contains an approximately 0.3% strength solution of Pelargonic Acid VanillylAmide (a synthetic Capsaicin irritant) which is contained within a small canister. All officers, uniformed or otherwise carry this. A single can can discharge for approximately 7 seconds over a distance of up to 4m, however accuracy falls off after 2.5m, while Prefectural Council guidelines stipulate that it shouldn't really be used when the distance from the canister to the eye of the target is under 50cm. PAVA spray is regarded as inherently superior to the previous CS gas spray because it discharges in a thin stream, not unlike a water pistol, which minimises contamination of witnesses, non-target offenders, fellow officers, and one's self. It is also advantageous because, unlike some sprays, it is not flammable. The previous spray, used until around 2005-2008 (from first adoption of CAPTOR til the final switch-over) was noted to ignite if an electric current passed through vapour in the air or on flammale material (e.g. fabric). This meant the use of TASER on a previously sprayed subject could have disastrous consequences.
  
  PAVA is regarded as the lowest entry on the spectrum of force, after compliance through discourse - if someone is disorderly and aggressive then officers are generally expected to threaten and potentially use PAVA to elicit compliance rather than to launch straight in and strike. The image below demonstrates how to deploy PAVA, with the off-hand held up to ward off attempts to disarm the officer.
  
  
• Empty Hand Defensive Technique: Empty Hand Defensive Technique (EHDT) encompasses a number of simple manoeuvres taught to officers in training. It must be borne in mind that it is not a martial art, and all techniques are designed to function when used by inexperienced and out of practice practitioners. This is because an officer could go years and only make use of them in their annual refresher courses, and will not have the time to practice them sufficiently to master a martial art.
  
  Most EHDT relies on pain compliance and mental stuns. The latter is employed in order to enable the officer to gain sufficient control of the subject's limbs to elicit the former. Moves common to EHDT syllabuses across Kouralia include the 'tactical slap' (striking with the open palm across the carotid artery or the chin so as to induce a mental stun), hammer fist (making use of the bottom of the fist, the fleshy bit under the little finger, to strike in a swinging motion such as on to an arm attempting to grapple), heavy shoves to off-balance subjects, ways of upending someone straddling the practitioner on the floor, kicks and knee strikes, handcuffing techniques, and restraint techniques such as the straight arm bar, chicken wing, and ground pin.
  
  A major part of EHDT is the Emptiness of the Hand - indeed, clenching one's fist is inherently a bad thing. For example, the guard position for EHDT involves the hands held up as if in a standard boxer's stance, but with palms outstretched toward the opponent. This is regarded as a placatory, non-aggressive stance, and is a superior image to present to a jury of laymen compared to an aggressive 'fists up' fighter stance which may elicit a thought of police brutality.
  
  The main purpose of EHDT is to gain control of a subject or to disengage from a tussle - it is therefore not to be thought of as a 'fighting' style.
• Baton: There are two types of batons used by Kouralian police. The first is extendable, and is made of metal with a rubberised grip. All officers carry them to assist in defensive techniques. They can be used to facilitate compliance in grapples, assist in public order crowd marshaling, and ultimately can be used to deliver controlled strikes if spray and EHDT (and most likely TASER) prove ineffective. The controlled strike must be delivered with unrelenting force, and can easily break bones - for this reason it should be delivered to the limbs and not on the joints where possible. Strikes to the neck, spine, and head are to be avoided wherever possible due to the greatly heightened chance of a fatal result.
  
  The second form of baton, technically termed a 'truncheon' is a half-meter+ long length of solid hardwood with a thin steel core. It is carried by specialist operational support unit officers when operating in public order situations and is functionally a beefier version of a baton - all the same techniques and rules apply.
• TASER: The TASER (Thomas A Swift's Electric Rifle) is a less lethal compliment to the previous two weapons that enables engagement at greater distances neural incapacitation rather than merely pain compliance. It is used by Authorised Firearms Officers (AFOs), Specialist Firearms Officers (SFOs), and Taser-Trained Officers (TTOs) within Kouralian police services. The current model used is a single-shot version, however the Treasury Guard has announced it will begin trialing the three-shot X3 model in mid 2017. All Operations Branch officers (Operational Support Units, Firearms, Canine Support and roads policing - though traditionally not mounted branch officers) are TTOs, and roughly a quarter of response constables and all Sergeants are TTOs.
• Handguns: All firearms officers are equipped with handguns, usually .303Kr local derivatives of the Anemosian ASP handgun. The use of lethal force is not thought of lightly in Kouralia, and all officers must go through incredibly strenuous selection and training to carry a firearm - indeed, failing a refresher shoot results in immediate removal from the firearms unit without appeal and requires starting from the beginning to rejoin (if the application from a previously disqualified officer is looked at again). Furthermore, while officers can employ firearms of their own volition in emergency situations, they are not traditionally allowed to draw or make use of them without firearms authority being given from the force's control room's Force Incident Manager.
• Carbines: All firearms officers are also trained in and equipped with carbines firing a .196 intermediate cartridge. These are usually stored in a secure safe in the boot (trunk) of the vehicle, and are only removed on receiving firearms authority.
• Shotguns: Some firearms officers (usually SFOs) are trained as 'Rifle Officers', and are subsequently allowed to make use of shotguns. These are only really used for putting down dangerous or injured animals, or breaching doors.
• Marksman's Rifles: SFO Rifle Officers who display high levels of competency in long-range shooting are often trained to act as police marksmen, and are issued longer-ranged .303 rifles to facilitate this assignment. These are usually retained at Police Station armouries unless needed, however.

[DnalweN acilbupeR]

nice

[Purpelia]

So nobody here cares about evil worship?

[Scandinavian Nations]

So nobody here cares about evil worship?

Nobody here cares about random questions. Or so I hope, at least. Let's not turn this thread into a forum7 junkyard.

[DnalweN acilbupeR]

>finds 1967 fbi handbook on police baton use lol

[DnalweN acilbupeR]

How does your nation handle riots?

[Radictistan]

How does your nation handle riots?

It depends on whether the property of rich people is threatened. If it's just slum dwellers burning down their slum then the usual response is to quarantine the area and otherwise do nothing. If there is a potential for damage to something the political class actually cares about then an attempt is made to disperse the rioters. I don't know enough about anti-riot tactics to go into more detail.

[Costa Fierro]

How does your nation handle riots?

Water cannons, tear gas and throwing rocks and other debris back at the protesters.

[Crookfur]

How does your nation handle riots?

Kettering, separation, Shields, batons/truncheons, horses, "flying" vehicles and specialist officers with "reduced leathality" firearms.

Will generally follow the public order protocols Kouralia is about to sperg on.

[The Macabees]

Nuclear annihilation is our preferred anti-riot tactic.

[Crysuko]

Nuclear annihilation is our preferred anti-riot tactic.

We find sarin canisters are just as good

[Austrasien]

How does your nation handle riots?

Ideally human intelligence, electronic eavesdropping and CCTV are used to detect potential riots before they begin or in their early stages and police are deployed to isolate the rioters and prevent more people from converging on the scene.

[Chinese Peoples]

The diagram above summarizes the current structure of state security in China. Note that many of these agencies, particularly the higher ones, have remit outside of state security. This is not an exhaustive organizational chart of government agencies, so those not concerning state security are not listed. The term "state security" is taken in the broadest possible sense here. State security does not include or interact with the judicial system or the regular military. Information is not shared between them to prevent collusion or contamination of evidence, since state security has a much broader range of powers to retrieve information for the stability of the government, but such information cannot be legally used against an individual in a court of law. Hence, the duty of state security is not so much law enforcement, but danger prevention.

State security in China is the result of decades of experimentation and evolution. While imperial China was renowned for its extensive security institutions, the modern security apparatus is organized along Western lines of specialization and operate according to Western doctrine for the most part.

The Central Jurisdiction

---

The constitution grants the central government a variety of powers to defend the nation against external invasion, but the task of preventing internal disorder falls to individual provinces. The agencies under the central jurisdiction tasked with ensuring national security operate in narrower fields, as extensions of the portfolios of the supervising ministries.

The Regular Military (國軍)

---

This body consists of the regular army, navy, and air force as its combat components, under the supervision of the Defence Staff. The Ministry of Defence develops defence policy, which is then elaborated by the Defence Staff and communicated to the subordinate branches. Technically, the regular military cannot be deployed internally, since it would create a possible conflict with the constitution, which states that the military must defend the public and gives them no role in law enforcement or internal order. Military garrisons dot the country, and male citizens over the age of 18 must serve in the military for two years unless exempted; after discharge, they are placed on reserve duty, with annual seminars to keep reservists in touch with their duties. While the regular military cannot be used against citizens, they are conventionally allowed to assist in disaster relief, where a large number of organized individuals are needed.

The Secret Service (國防部保密局)

---

The Secret Service (abbreviated CSS) is technically a branch of the military, but it is not under the supervision of the Defence Staff but the Ministry directly. Its official duties are conducting open and secret security operations within the military, such as suppressing riots and investigating disloyal dealings with enemy states, but in practice it also serves as a secret police within the military. Members of the CSS are recruited from the regular military, but they receive separate training and are not discharged when mandatory terms of service end. The internal organization of the CSS is not along traditional military lines, but field offices and districts outposts. Their field of operation is not geographically limited to military garrisons, and they typically have undercover agents in civilian roles in order to detect any misbehaviour soldiers may have while out of garrison. The CSS has no jurisdiction in purely civilian affairs, but it is not unknown for them to arrest civilians they suspect are facilitating liaison between enemy states and the regular military. There is a special unit called the Special Operations Division within the CSS that "investigates" matters on a national level. They are arguably the most infamous of CSS agents, typically depicted as villains in movie productions. While the CSS is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defence, they are not the intelligence arm of the military; each of the combat branches possess its own intelligence apparatus, sharing information when requisite as a community, and the CSS is definitely not conceived as a member of that community, instead as an instrument of secret surveillance where the military itself is the target, not the enemy.

National Inspection Agency (交通部特別電信檢查處)

---

The National Inspection Agency is responsible for monitoring the ingress and egress of information in the nation. The NIA originated as a wartime contingency to allow for the freedom of secret correspondence while giving the government necessary control over information to continue the war. At public telegraph stations (telegraph was a state monopoly), outgoing telegrams are not accepted unless the NIA has given its stamp of approval beforehand. Hence, a sender must voluntarily give the draft telegram to the NIA, obtain its approval that no sensitive information has been divulged, and thereafter transmit it. The telegram is not inspected after it is accepted, since that would be a violation of the right to secret correspondence. Currently, it still retains this function, but it is rarely observed anymore since telegrams are no longer a common means of communication. The NIA is also empowered to inspect incoming and outgoing luggage at ports; while this is hinged on the possible export of sensitive information, in practice this has been extended to any dangerous goods (such as explosives and corrosives) and contraband (such as narcotics and undeclared exportation of antiques). The NIA is also to be found at commercial ports, inspecting imports.

National Transport Police (交通部國家交通警察局)

---

The National Transport Police has jurisdiction over all national highways and railways. Most of its activities are purely police-oriented, such as enforcing traffic and railway by-laws, but it also investigates more serious crimes happening within its jurisdiction. The NTP often functions as a public cover for other state security agencies conducting its own investigations, though the NTC publicly denies this. State security investigations and police investigations are completely separate in China, being divided by a Chinese Wall; the NTC maintains an internal distinction between its own investigations, which may be presented to a prosecutor and investigations managed as a cover for other agencies, which may not be presented to a prosecutor. Typically, NTP offices are found along national highways and at railway stations; officials may or may not accompany a train to ensure safety onboard.

Central Police Administration (內政部中央警政署)

---

The Central Police Administration, founded under Article 118 of the constitution, which gives the central government power to regulate "the police system", is a civilian agency supervising other police authorities. Its principal duty is to ensure that no police authority deviates too far from a common standard and that all officers are held to a basic organizational and behavioural standard that is nationally applicable. It also has the power to establish the national pay scale for police officers, to manage senior police personnel, and to discipline police officers for misconduct. It does not have the power to set police policy, which is a provincial jurisdiction. Disputes between provincial authorities are resolved by the CPA.

Bureau of Investigation (內政部調查局)

---

The Bureau of Investigation (CBI or IBI) was established during a time of crisis to resolve threats to national security by means of surveillance and infiltration. Its agents, aside from a small portion working at its headquarters, are under cover, which may be another government office or a civilian role. It also maintains a large network of informers who obtain petty rewards for valuable information. The scope of its infiltration is remarkable: at a recent estimate, almost 90% of government agencies, all national-scale organizations and unions, and large private businesses have CBI presence. Once a threat has been identified, an appropriate course of action will be taken to suppress the threat; the course depends on the nature of the threat and the position held by the threat. If the threat is working for a government agency and leaking sensitive information to foreign authorities, the CBI will work the system to ensure that he is moved to another position, where he handles no sensitive information or dismissed. If a CBI agent is in a position to do so, CBI HQ will inform the agent of its wishes; if no CBI agent is in this position, other CBI elements will convince someone who is in such a position, sometimes by flattering the threat before an officer so that the threat is promoted to a non-sensitive position. If the threat cannot be eliminated this way or possesses more sensitive information that may be divulged at any time, CBI agents will then choose to intervene by destroying this information secretly (such as raiding a bank vault where it is stored). All the CBI's activities are conducted under the dogma of undetectability.

Immigration and Border Administration Service (內政部入出國及國境管制署)

---

The Border Administration Service controls national borders, regulates immigration and emigration, and screens individuals at the border to prevent absconding of wanted persons. BAS agents are to be found at international airports, checking credentials of arriving persons. Depending on official policy, the BAS can grant visitors visas for up to 360 days at its own discretion. The BAS also patrols national borders where there are no official ports. As China's borders are extensive, and at more remote locations completely unmarked, the BAS possesses aerial surveillance capability to ensure that the borders are safe from large-scale invasion. Several nomadic ethnic groups traditionally live on China's borders, and the BAS respects their mobility over national borders. On the western borders, bandit groups often pester passing citizens, and it is the duty of the BAS to repel them when they appear; for this, the BAS has several more heavily armed, mobile units that respond to emergencies of this nature.

Coast Guard (內政部海巡署)

---

The Coast Guard has a role similar to that of the BAS, except it operates in local waters. The Coast Guard has a rank structure that resembles that of a military force, but it is not technically military; it has limited access to weapons, and its personnel are not subject to military law. At regular points on the coastline, it stations detachments to ensure coastal safety and security. Public sand beaches are guarded by the Coast Guard to ensure that swimmers are given adequate warning of impending weather conditions and oversight against dangerous water currents. One important task of the Coast Guard is to suppress foreign pirates that invade Chinese waters and molest fishing crew; these pirates are particularly numerous closer to the Philippines, and at times they attempt to land and raid coastal communities. The Coast Guard is charged with preventing their landing and to expel them from Chinese territorial waters. If pirates continue their activities beyond territorial waters (defined as 12 nautical miles from the coastline), the Navy is called to intervene.

National Tax Police (財政部國稅警察處)

---

While the word "Police" is found on the title of the agency, it is actually not a police (under the administration of the CPA); it is more aptly described as an investigative and enforcement task force under the Ministry of Finance. The NTP infiltrates primarily large corporations to ensure that taxes are paid in full and to sabotage any tax-evasion strategy that the company may develop. During the '50s, when the government faced tremendous resistance to a new corporate income tax, the Ministry of Finance expanded its original tax police, which enforced payment of individual taxes, into a quasi-military force capable of more serious engagement with local resistance. Amongst its resources are tanks and machine guns, which were often used against corporations that refused to declare their income in full or were found omitting significant revenues. Now, such ostentation of ministerial power is uncommon, but the NTP continues to be resident in many major corporations, often as executives, to ensure compliance.

Customs Services (財政部關務署)

---

Customs is the arm that collects import and export taxes on dutiable goods at the border. Aside from the National Inspection Agency, which inspects outgoing and incoming goods for contraband and the Border Service Administration, which controls the persons coming and going, Customs is the third agency typically found at airports and docks. Customs services possess its own rank and pay structure, but it is not militaristic. Customs generally allows most goods to pass with a simple declaration stating that there are no dutiable goods being imported or exported, but for major shipments, Customs reserves the right to inspect and tax the goods. Customs is listed as an armed agency in the diagram, but only a few squadrons of enforcement officials are actually armed. These squadrons patrol docks much more than airports, since ships may harbour armed resistance groups who refuse to pay duty on imports.

Diplomatic Intelligence Bureau (外交情報局)

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This is a policy-study group working off intelligence that diplomats transmit back to China.

Foreign Intelligence Service (國際情報司)

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Answer to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Foreign Intelligence Service stations its agents in foreign territory in a variety of methods. Some are under cover, while others are legally present within the host nation. The FIS operates mostly through diplomatic channels, preferring to rely on informants and local sources, so as to protect themselves against persecution and possible expulsion of the entire mission.

The Provincial Jurisdiction

---

The Capital Defence Command is a garrisoned force operating to defend the provincial capital city and government against rebellions, violent riots and protests, and other acts of disorder. Its most important duty is the protection of provincial government leaders against assassination and other threats; the CDC establishes security details that guard these persons at closer range. CDC secures the perimeter of the provincial capital and may, during a state of emergency, control the ingress and egress of individuals from certain access points. CDC forces are to be found at all major civic functions in the provincial capital, such as demonstrations and protests, even large-scale public meetings. When not active, they are stationed in various garrisons located throughout the capital region.

Provincial Security Command (省警備司令部)

---

The Provincial Security Command holds the bulk of the troops, and its tasks are not unlike that of the Capital Defence Command, except their remit is over the entire province. In the immediate aftermath of the WWII, China suffered from regional banditry and violent partisan activity; these groups regularly raided the countryside and threatened to overturn the nascent democratic government. PSCs were established to suppress them, which was successful. Now, their role has been changed to combat gang violence and organized crime, which can still be found active in the countryside. As their role is not strictly speaking in "law enforcement", they are generally allowed to detain all suspects and hold them for questioning; on the other hand, they are not allowed to file charges or impose any punishment on the suspects. One known method of releasing someone detained by PSC is by having them prosecuted with a fictitious charge by the central government. Since the Department of the Attorney-General outranks the PSC, the latter has to surrender the suspect.

Civil Defence Command (省民防司令部)

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The Civil Defence Command is responsible for two tasks. The first is to organize civil defence against possible invasions, particularly from the aerial dimension, as well as natural disasters by creating raid shelters and reinforcing buildings. The second is to assist the central government in drafting soldiers when a draft is active. When a disaster impends, the Civil Defence Command would send out its officers to direct civilians to safety.

Special Operations Command (省特務司令部)

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The Special Operations Command is comparable to an elite formation within the regular military. It consists of the most specialized personnel, who are dispatched in small squadrons to respond to emergencies that normal emergency services, such as ambulances and policemen, are not trained to handle. Such situations include hostage situations, terrorist threats, and random acts of violence that have no warning.

Rural Security Command (省地方保安司令部)

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The Rural Security Command is more akin to an expanded function of the PSC, but dedicated to rural areas where police presence is absent. Generally speaking, the police only focus on areas that are populated; in areas where there is no population at all, there is no police presence. The RSC patrols these remote areas, such as mountain ranges, remote tourist destinations, forests, and natural parks.

Internal Intelligence Service (省情報局)

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The Internal Intelligence Service is typically described as the intelligence arm of the internal security system, but in reality its role is quite different from province to province. Some provinces do treat it as a purely task-oriented intelligence agency, detecting much-needed information for other parts of the security system to analyze and act upon, but other provinces' use of the IIS is better described as a secret police. Generally speaking, provinces with minority governments are more likely to use their IIS as a secret police to undermine the opposition. In extreme cases, provinces have been known to use the IIS to spy on the central government's transmissions to foreign governments, or to discover questionable conduct of the central government to blackmail them. The IISs of provinces are typically in a countervailing relationship with the central government's CBI: the CBI plants its agents in provincial governments, and the IIS strives to detect and expel them.

[Hyggemata]

So nobody here cares about evil worship?

Nobody here actually worship (in a religious sense) evil per se, but in the past this nation glorified acts of extreme violence that now we find hard to describe without using the word "evil".

Only in the second half of the 19th Century did the idea that "killing people is a fundamentally bad thing" gain acceptance. Before then, few people ever had reservations about killing prisoners of war, military or civilian. As we're a Themiclesian state, we had to pay lip service to the Themi system of morality when dealing with them, but with other barbarian societies, we held our heads high and considered the slaughter of the innocent the fullest demonstration of our might and power. If some other people attacked us, we'd push back and annihilate their society, and that's made possible due to our mastery of steel technology that we secret; however, unprovoked, we still waged war and still annihilated random societies, purely as a demonstration of power. Whereas fighting back an invasion is mundane, fighting to conquer for the sake of conquest is glorious. That's pretty evil if you ask any one of us now.