The Frievolker Hall of Inquiries (Q&A/Embassy/...)

[Cartoonia]

“Hello good sir. I was wondering what you think of our great cartoon nation, and who are you allied with”
-Charity Bazaar, Secretary of Foreign Affairs

[Frievolk]

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[Zitravgrad]

"Greetings... Blue Cross International is at your service."
...
"We would like to inquire the state of healthcare, medical industry and the study of medicine in your nation's academic institutions. Here in Zitravgrad, we strictly believe that healthcare is the rights of the people and we do not take care of only our own citizens, but also the people in need abroad."
...
"We believe that your nation also has a humanitarian organization in the form of Red Cross? If so, then marvellous. Think us a Red Cross, but sponsored almost fully by the state and some private donations."
...
"With high regards."
- Dr. Sergei Petrovich Pashkov, Director of Blue Cross International

[Silver Commonwealth]

"Hello. I am Kayden Watson - the President-Governor of European Federation, and perhaps the most famous Brit in my universe. I just wanted to ask a few questions."

"My first question is more about your internal affairs - I wonder, how popular are socialists in your country? Because we made a few concessions to them during the reformist years, but not all of them, of course. Also, I wonder, what is your country's economical model?"

"My second question is more about outside affairs - I already know Johann well, and so he does me. And I wonder, what do you think of our country as a whole."

"I will just leave an one British chocolate cookie for one of your ministers. Don't worry, it isn't poisoned."
Kayden Watson, President-Governor of European Federation

OOC: What is your favorite game from Paradox games? Also, do you play flash games in internet? Those are mostly free.

[Frievolk]

"Greetings... Blue Cross International is at your service."
...
"We would like to inquire the state of healthcare, medical industry and the study of medicine in your nation's academic institutions. Here in Zitravgrad, we strictly believe that healthcare is the rights of the people and we do not take care of only our own citizens, but also the people in need abroad."
...
"We believe that your nation also has a humanitarian organization in the form of Red Cross? If so, then marvellous. Think us a Red Cross, but sponsored almost fully by the state and some private donations."
...
"With high regards."
- Dr. Sergei Petrovich Pashkov, Director of Blue Cross International

Your Question is being answered by
Imperial Secretary of State, Maria von Löwensberg

The Matter of Public Health falls under the jurisdiction of the Public Sphere, part of the duties of the Secretariat of the State; though we are planning on forming a new secretariat for that intention. As such, the State is legally obliged to provide the basic healthcare of all its citizens: Measures regarding sexual health, general health (such as over-the-counter drugs), and public heath (for example Vaccination -mandatory, of course, as it should be) are provided, almost free of charge. In return, their price is taken into account while enforcing taxes on our citizens. The Ministry of Public Health has a number of national and publicly funded laboratories and research centers across the Empire in the interests of national Health Industry, and the Government has contracts with a number of national and international private pharmaceutical research and development institutions, not to mention part of various (13, to my last account) International treaties regarding the matter of heath, public and private.

Sadly, while basic healthcare is provided for all, the WP-GP voting bloc has, for the last few decades, prevented the passage of any legislature to provide more intricate health matters in said Public Healthcare, and His Imperial Majesty -and his predecessors- have not yet deigned to give a royal order on this aforementioned matter. One such matter is the right for non-Citizens (tourists, travelers, etc.) to be aided by our welfare free of charge.

Regarding Education, Health is not the most popular choice for those wishing to enter a field in Higher Education. Only 7% of those entering our public or private universities have shown an interest in pursuing an academic career in Health, the majority instead preferring Law, Political Science, various Engineering fields, and economy. This makes the Empire find itself in a position of shortage on trained medical professionals, but measures to enthuse our population to matters of Medical Science have recently been taken. We have yet to discover any definite results.

[Frievolk]

"Hello. I am Kayden Watson - the President-Governor of European Federation, and perhaps the most famous Brit in my universe. I just wanted to ask a few questions."

"My first question is more about your internal affairs - I wonder, how popular are socialists in your country? Because we made a few concessions to them during the reformist years, but not all of them, of course. Also, I wonder, what is your country's economical model?"

"My second question is more about outside affairs - I already know Johann well, and so he does me. And I wonder, what do you think of our country as a whole."

"I will just leave an one British chocolate cookie for one of your ministers. Don't worry, it isn't poisoned."
Kayden Watson, President-Governor of European Federation

Your Question is being answered by
Imperial Chancellor Otto van Harlow

I greet you as well, Herr Watson. Though, I'm no fan of your system, nor of what you've enforced on Mother Europa, I can somewhat appreciate that you're not as fascistic as your predecessor in the Free American Empire (nor of its rivals in the RNGOC or The Russian "Empire"), even if the very fact you are fascistic in the first place automatically puts you in the "Will Oppose them" pile as far as me, or my Country, are concerned. You in particular do not seem particularly bad -though I hope you forgive me for politely refusing to take your offer on the Cookie. I'm no fan of British cuisine after all.

Regarding your questions on our political and economic systems, I can not say Socialists (or their Syndicalism, Communist, Communalist, Communard, or Mutualist brethren) are prosecuted across the Empire. We value free speech and assembly (except in the matter of Fascism) too highly to ban these ideologies, even if their opinions are not popular. Left-wing economics controls almost one out of five seats in the Reiksdiät, but our socialist Party (Die Frievolker Arbeiterpartei), a civil libertarian, democratic socialist party only took 26 seats, and the other 50 were taken by the also-civil libertarian Market socialists in The Green Party (Die Grun Partei Frievolk).

Authoritarian socialists (who I assume as ones you made the aforementioned few concessions to) have repeatedly failed to receive any support in the Parliamentarian politics, though I can only give you a more direct answer when our next election ends.

Economically speaking, The Realm follows a relatively speaking powerful Welfare State with a Rhine Capitalist model (that our two greatest parties, the Constitutionalist and Absolutist parties both support), though almost 93% of the economy is private.

I hope to have answered your inquiries to your satisfaction.

OOC: What is your favorite game from Paradox games? Also, do you play flash games in internet? Those are mostly free.

//OOC: I like all of them? I mean EU4 and Vic2 are my favorites, because they're simpler to figure out and easier to get into, and take a longer historical period. HoI4 isn't bad either, though I prefer Kaiserreich to the vanilla game. CK2 and Stellaris... not really my favorites.
Also, no. I'm not generally a fan of flash games, so idk.

[Frievolk]

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[Valentine Z]

Ahh, hello there, friends from Frievolk! The Valentians would like to ask a few questions regarding your nations, or its attributes. So, first question being... who is the tallest person in your nation, both historical and alive?
- Valentijn “De Sierlijke en Vrij Valkyrie General” Samantha Maxwell Delta Weston Stijn Angelus Tracey Mitchell Constantine Sein Lin Zaw Naing

Ooh, second question! What is the overall cheerfulness rate of your citizens? I know it's a little difficult to measure who is happy and who is not, but are people generally happy with the way of life?
- Exuberant Surveillant Clarissa Alanis Star Breya “La Amoureux Chéri” Millie Taissa Butterfly Coraline Jolijn Trini Clementine Hollie Harumi

And one question from me! How do you people come up with the name Frievolk?
- Chief Aviator Gwen Tracer Hepburn “Fate” Ellen Trixie Caitlin Foxworthy Avril Evelin Celinda Sammy W. Oxton Arielle Lindall Leslie Allison

[Frievolk]

Ahh, hello there, friends from Frievolk! The Valentians would like to ask a few questions regarding your nations, or its attributes. So, first question being... who is the tallest person in your nation, both historical and alive?
- Valentijn “De Sierlijke en Vrij Valkyrie General” Samantha Maxwell Delta Weston Stijn Angelus Tracey Mitchell Constantine Sein Lin Zaw Naing

Ooh, second question! What is the overall cheerfulness rate of your citizens? I know it's a little difficult to measure who is happy and who is not, but are people generally happy with the way of life?
- Exuberant Surveillant Clarissa Alanis Star Breya “La Amoureux Chéri” Millie Taissa Butterfly Coraline Jolijn Trini Clementine Hollie Harumi

And one question from me! How do you people come up with the name Frievolk?
- Chief Aviator Gwen Tracer Hepburn “Fate” Ellen Trixie Caitlin Foxworthy Avril Evelin Celinda Sammy W. Oxton Arielle Lindall Leslie Allison

Your Question is being answered by
Imperial Secretary of State, Maria von Löwensberg

Greetings and Salutations to The Graceful and Wonderful Feline Utopia from the Frievolker Empire!
To Answer General Valentijn's question, the current tallest person in the Empire would be Mr. Jörg von Egmund (also known as George Egmundson), a Hansfunder citizen of the Empire with the height of 2.23 meters. The Second is Jon van der Bruan, 2.21, from Berun proper.

In answer to the Exuberant Surveillant Clarissa, while -as you yourself stated- there is no actual way to measure an overall cheerfulness mathematically speaking, the Empire's HDI (Human Development Index) was recently recorded to be 93.7, the fifth highest in the world. While HDI is not necessarily a good measure for cheerfulness, high life expectancy, education, and per capita income indicators have statistically shown to be related to mental health, and so I believe this should suffice.

And regarding The Chief Aviator's inquiry, the name "Frievolk" has a historical background that was not originally one of self-determination. The Five Provinces of Berun, Edlerburg, Harlow, Mittelhalt, and Schfruß were part of the Crown posessions of The Kingdom of Burgundy. The name "Frievolk" is derived of a term they had put on us, oh-so-lovingly, meaning "Free Folk", as a tongue-in-cheek and snarky way of reminding us that we were, in fact, not a Free Folk. The Five Provinces decided to "own up" to the nickname, as it were, during their 1548 revolution when the Kingdom was originally founded.

[Frievolk]

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[Zitravgrad]

"Greetings to whomever it concerns."
...
"This issue has passed quietly, but hopefully it is remembered. Can you recall the news in which Zitravgradian Border Service refused to allow a person who identified as third gender to pass into the country? Although there were mixed reactions, I recall your people (number unsure but yours) being in support for this tourists. Thus, we would like to know your nation's policy towards LGBTQ+ people."
- Dr. Feodora Alexeievna Miroslavskaya, First Lady

[Frievolk]

"Greetings to whomever it concerns."
...
"This issue has passed quietly, but hopefully it is remembered. Can you recall the news in which Zitravgradian Border Service refused to allow a person who identified as third gender to pass into the country? Although there were mixed reactions, I recall your people (number unsure but yours) being in support for this tourists. Thus, we would like to know your nation's policy towards LGBTQ+ people."
- Dr. Feodora Alexeievna Miroslavskaya, First Lady

Your Question is being answered by
Imperial Secretary of State, Maria von Löwensberg

Greetings and Salutations from the Frievolker Empire!
I do indeed recall that particular event. A number of our citizens were indeed concerned about the tourists you mention, though if I recall correctly the Government itself did not comment either way (though many politicians may have, individually).

I will not get into the history of it, for it is both dark -as is the history of most people of difference in Historical Occident, but the LGBTQ+, as you named them, have had a legal and protected status for more than half a century in the Empire. The Freedom of Marriage Act of 1997, which replaced an older Marriage Equality act of 1963 ensures that all forms of domestic union between any number of consenting adults (thus legalizing homosexual or polyamorous marriage), though the latter is not viewed positively in the more traditional areas of the Realm. The right of the non-cis individuals to be recognized as their preferred sex is respected, though that law was established fairly recently (April 2004), and adoption, provided the to-be parent(s) have the qualities a parent needs, is legal across the board. The Secretariat of Public Sphere is legally obliged to provide any medication needed by the aforementioned non-cis individuals in the Public Healthcare, though that often comes with a higher tax burden (on the aforementioned individuals).

I hope to have answered your question adequately.

[Zitravgrad]

OOC: Did you seriously just call me "Feline Utopia"?

[Frievolk]

OOC: Did you seriously just call me "Feline Utopia"?

OOC: You saw nothing

[Frievolk]

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[Zitravgrad]

*sign language*
"Greetings, today I am here to discuss about a generic topic, hence my message is not encrypted."
...
"How is the public opinion on people with disability? Do the public and the private sectors provide accessibility for them? (i.e. wheelchair-accessible buildings, Braille, sign language) How well does your medical technology help to relieve or cure such disability? How is their employment prospective in your country?"
...
"Thank you for your time."
- Christov Kirillovich Pereverzev, Director of the Oprichnina

[Frievolk]

*sign language*
"Greetings, today I am here to discuss about a generic topic, hence my message is not encrypted."
...
"How is the public opinion on people with disability? Do the public and the private sectors provide accessibility for them? (i.e. wheelchair-accessible buildings, Braille, sign language) How well does your medical technology help to relieve or cure such disability? How is their employment prospective in your country?"
...
"Thank you for your time."
- Christov Kirillovich Pereverzev, Director of the Oprichnina

Your Question is being answered by
Imperial Chancellor Otto van Harlow

Greetings! I respond to this inquiry as the topic is broad enough to expand over the jurisdictions of multiple Secretariats, therefore making them somewhat underqualified to respond appropriately.

To broach this topic, one requires to define disability first. In Frievolker Civil Law (Zivilrecht), disability is defined similar to how it is in various neighbor Countries in Western Europe: "a non-temporary condition that leads to diminishing physical or cognitive abilities, only if it is induced by an irregular state, rather than old age or a temporary illness."

Depending on how severe a condition is, a citizen is legally identified with an indication of the degree of their disability. The Personal ID Card (Ausweis) is updated to allow the previlege (if you can call it that) of a number of special services. The use of barrier-free parking spaces, designated area in public transport, discounts, that sort of thing. I won't get into the legal details regarding what constitutes a de jure disability, and what benefits are given to what type of conditions, but suffice it to say that by law, any business that is open to public (a cafe, theater, library, museum, transportation, et al) is mandated to provide that which is required for any person with Significant or higher impairment of self-reliance. Closed captioning is often provided as an option in media, though Braille is not quite that common to be found.

I must admit, however, what censi we have about the public opinion of the people with impairment of self-reliance does not paint a very clear picture, and so I am not quite certain how to answer your question on public opinion in an objective manner. Employment of Disabled People, in fields that don't require skills they, due to said disability, do not possess, is generally encouraged. Two forms of Job Agreements exist regarding these scenarios. The first provides a normal contract where there is equal pay to a person of non-impaired self-reliance, but their quality of labor is also met with equal scrutiny. The second provides a nominally lower pay, but with a dramatically lax scrutiny and inspection. The second contract is often temporary and with it is provided aid in form of training and counseling, until a time that the employee can take the regular contract. It is obvious that a person can challenge an employer in the Labor Courts should their employment be terminated on the account of their disability, and should they win their case, the Employer will be forced to pay both a reparation to the victim, and fines for breaking the law.

//OOC: I just noticed that of the 14 answered inquiries in this thread, literally half are yours. I am very appreciative of the support

[Frievolk]

/Bump

[Zitravgrad]

"Salutations to you. Today, I am here to ask about opinions rather than facts."
...
"Do you think that economic sanction will become a crucial tool for a nation to get what it wants? Or is it simply an expensive announcement of displeasure that eventually troubles everyone? Has your state put a sanction on any nation or vice versa?"
- Kazimir Ivanovich Miroslavsky, Chairman of Zitravgrad

OOC: Come up here with support. Well, you are the only Q&A that replies these days.

[Frievolk]

"Salutations to you. Today, I am here to ask about opinions rather than facts."
...
"Do you think that economic sanction will become a crucial tool for a nation to get what it wants? Or is it simply an expensive announcement of displeasure that eventually troubles everyone? Has your state put a sanction on any nation or vice versa?"
- Kazimir Ivanovich Miroslavsky, Chairman of Zitravgrad

OOC: Come up here with support. Well, you are the only Q&A that replies these days.

Your Question is being answered by
Imperial Chancellor Otto van Harlow

This is of course, purely an opinion piece and not necessarily given form a position of academia or otherwise, but I have to admit that yes. It is my personal opinion that economic sanction, in certain situations, can, and does, act as a crucial stick for a disobedient nation.

Of course, provided a nation doesn't dominate global economy in a way that not having her as a partner would effectively crush the target nation's economy, most individual sanctions are, indeed, as you said simply an expensive announcement of displeasure. For a Sanctioning campaign to have any effect, one must have a like-minded base of allies or a series of fearful smaller states that would also sanction the target state. Provided it is so, a Sanctioning campaign can, and often does, act as a proverbial stick for a disobedient mule, a normally effective stick too. On an unrelated note, We were part of a larger, global sanctioning campaign against the Iberian Empire until fairly recently. I'd say it ended well, all things considered.

[Frievolk]

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[A m e n r i a]

May I put a temporary tag? I'll come back with questions when I have some.

[Islamic Mahddiyah Caliphate]

Greetings Hunkaer.

Today I wish to have your opinions on these questions.

1)Are you ok with citizens of your country tried according to the laws of out country if they commit a crime inside the caliphate?
2)In my signature is an official honest advertisement calling tourists to our country from you country. Can we advertise it in Frievolk?
3)Do you promise not to give asylum to runaway Caliphate fugitives in Frievolk.

Thanks for your time.
Caliphate department of communications.

[Frievolk]

Greetings Hunkaer.

Today I wish to have your opinions on these questions.

1)Are you ok with citizens of your country tried according to the laws of out country if they commit a crime inside the caliphate?
2)In my signature is an official honest advertisement calling tourists to our country from you country. Can we advertise it in Frievolk?
3)Do you promise not to give asylum to runaway Caliphate fugitives in Frievolk.

Thanks for your time.
Caliphate department of communications.

Your Question is being answered by
Imperial Chancellor Otto van Harlow

I respond to you with the official position of the Empire regarding external matters. It is obvious that, given we do not exist in the same universe, this may be different in action, but this is the official diplomatic Doctrine of the Empire I represent.

Frievolk does not tolerate its citizens, even ex-citizens being treated by a law that is not ours. Of the 52 countries in our world, We only tolerate the legal jurispendence of six other countries, our equals as The World Powers. Any other country, should they attempt to try a citizen, former citizen, or affiliate of the Frievolker Empire by their own laws, will be met with reaction (military, diplomatic, or economic) should that result in harm to that citizen. I do not believe the Empire would tolerate your treatment of one of our citizens, especially given the fact they would, nine times out of ten, be considered a second-class citizen purely on the account of their religion. In truth, we would have to wait and see.

Regarding your second inquiry, I have to ... respectfully ... deny. Much as we obey diplomacy as the centerpiece of our place in the world, I do not believe we would fool our own citizens in the manner you suggest in your second inquiry. Your third inquiry however, begs the question of on what charges and for what crime is that aforementioned fugitive chased. Provided we accept those charges as just, we will help you with returning them. If not, once again I'm afraid I have to refuse.

[Frievolk]

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