Shaoyu Island
| Disputed island Native name: | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Etymology | Shaoyu derived from "哨域" meaning "outpost region" Akvatika derived from a genus of fireflies called "Aquatica" |
| Geography | |
| Location | Kivu Ocean, near the coasts of Monsilva and Zloveshchiy |
| Administration | |
| State | Shaoyu |
| Capital and largest city | San Kong |
| Premier | Feinuo Ziming |
| Claimed by | |
| Largest settlement | San Kong (Akvatika) |
| Demographics | |
| Demonym | Shaoyunese |
| Population | 8,000,000 |
| Languages | |
| Ethnic groups | Shaoyunese |
Shaoyu Island (Shaoyunese: 𖩓𖩩𖩈𖩔𖩅 𖩤; Monsilvan: 哨域岛; Slavic: Остров Акватика; ), also known as Akvatika Island, is a disputed island located in the Kivu Ocean situated to the east of Monsilva and north of mainland Zloveshchiy. The island has been a free state of the Monsilvan Republic since January 2024. Beforehand, Zloveshchiy had administered the island since 1969 until it was seized by the Ostlandet Union during the OU military intervention in Akvatika which came after disobeyed ultimatum given by the OU to the Zloveshchiyan government. The name Shaoyu comes from the Monsilvan "哨域" meaning "outpost", while the name Akvatika originates from the Velichiyeian regime, and is derived from a genus of fireflies, known as Aquatica, which originate from the island. The island is well known for its wildlife, including the Pevitsa, an endangered bird endemic to the island.
The island has been inhabited for over a thousand years, but was conquered by the Zhou dynasty in 1234. The island remained under the Zhou dynasty until 1414, when it was transferred to the separatist state known as the Beining Heavenly Kingdom. This regime lasted until 1500, when the island got de facto independence due to a diplomatic conflict with the Beining Heavenly Kingdom. It was then made into a client state of the Empire of Baltanla in 1568. It wasn't until 1731 that the island would return under Monsilvan rule under the Kingdom of Great Shan. Then, in 1828, during the Monsilvan Civil War, the island was seized by the Jackson Empire which remained in control of the island as Niao Dao until 1969, when it handed it to Zloveshchiy. In June 2023, the Monsilvan government recognized the island as part of Monsilvan territory. In September 2023, after the OU invasion, an OU mandate for Shaoyu was established. In January 2024, the mandate was dissolved and the island was put under Monsilvan administration as a free state.
Contents
History
Prehistory, independence, and Monsilvan administration
The island has been inhabited by the Shaoyunese people for over a thousand years, and was only discovered by Monsilvans in the early 13th century during the Zhou dynasty. In 1234, the dynasty conquered the island and began settling Monsilvan people there and attempting to force the native Shaoyunese population to integrate into the dynasty's society. The island was also a part of the Beining Heavenly Kingdom which governed northern Monsilva from 1414 to 1568. However, in 1500, Shaoyu split from the Kingdom forming the Kingdom of Shaoyu. The Kingdom remained independent until the annexation of the Zhou dynasty and Beining Heavenly Kingdom by the Empire of Baltanla in 1568. The Empire, being much stronger than the island, compromised with the Shaoyunese people by establishing the autonomous Commonwealth of Shaoyu, which acted as a client state of the Empire.
In 1730, after the Kingdom of Great Shan gained independence from the Empire as a successor of the original Zhou dynasty, it re-conquered the island from the Commonwealth. However, the invasion was very brief as the Shaoyunese were more welcoming to the Great Shan than expected, as during their semi-independence they had struggled to maintain the infrastructure constructed by the Zhou dynasty and had suffered economically because of it. The Great Shan continued to administer the island until 1824, when the Monsilvan Civil War broke out and the Liberate Monsilva Movement took control of northern Monsilva, including the island. In 1828, during the hight of the war that Jackson siezed the island from the LMM, which had no interest in keeping the island. The island remained under Jackian jurisdiction until 1969. From 1830 to 1963, the island's administration by Jackson was accepted by the Kingdom of Monsilva government, however during Shao Yaoting's premiership when Monsilva was under martial law, the government began contesting the administration and demanded it be returned to Monsilva.
In 1969, Jackson, out of spite against the hostile government in Monsilva, returned Shaoyu Island to Zloveshchiy instead of Monsilva. However, in the following decades after the establishment of the Monsilvan Republic, and especially after Monsilva joined the Global ACES program in 2014, Jackson has begun encouraging Shaoyu's return to Monsilvan administration. In June 2023, Monsilva officially recognized Shaoyu as a 'territory' of Monsilva. This recognition was endorsed by many countries, including Jackson.
Under Jackian administration
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Under Zloveshchiyan administration
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OU mandate for Shaoyu
In August 2023, the OU military intervention in Akvatika was initiated after the Zloveshchiyan government rejected an ultimatum from the Ostlandet Union to return the island to Monsilva after the discovery of the Akvatika Island genocide that had taken place between 1969 and 2023, killing over 8 million people. The military intervention concluded on 30 September that same year with the surrender of a few thousand Zloveshchiyan troops in the southern Shaoyunese city of Yinjiang. The OU mandate for Shaoyu administrated the island from September 2023 until January 2024 when the island became a state with additional autonomy (known as a free state) under the Monsilvan Republic.
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Political disputes
The island of Shaoyu faced multiple political disputes from Monsilva since the early 1980s until 2023 by Monsilvan politicians and prime ministers. Since 2023, Zloveshchiy still lays claim to the island.
In 1982, Monsilvan prime minister Hsu Xue-zhou questioned the control of Shaoyu by Zloveshchiy for the first time since the Civil War, saying "Zloveshchiy's control of Shaoyu is equivalent to your neighbor controlling your own backyard". Hsu's successor, Qi Hu, also made a statement on the island in 1996, saying that the island is "in the wrong hands". Suen Shi-huang, who succeeded Qi Hu as prime minister made very few comments about Shaoyu, and it is unknown what his stance was on the topic.
In 2018, after around 24 years of minimal discussion around the island, RNP prime minister Xu Yan, who was elected in 2016, passed the RSSI Act 2018. This Act allowed the Shaoyu Liberation Party, a party which advocates for Monsilvan administration of the island, to have a permanent 10 seat representation in the Legislative Assembly of Monsilva. The representatives are unable to vote on any legislation as they are not elected members, however they are able to join discussions and debates relating to Shaoyu Island.
Xu Yan brought up the island once again in a major speech in 2022 and said: "it isn't important who or what Shaoyu is governed by, what's important is that we don't know who Shaoyu wants to govern them.". This statement prompted many political parties to begin releasing official positions on the island's administration by Zloveshchiy. The Reformed National Party has claimed that it is "up to the Shaoyunese people to decide who controls them", but have also said "the Zloveshchiyan regime in Shaoyu does not sufficiently allow the people of the island to decide who governs them".
After the 2023 federal election ended in June 2023, Prime Minister Lin Yao-tang passed a legislation through parliament which recognized the island as a part of Monsilva. Currently, the island is defined as a "territory" as the government have said that they cannot declare it a state until they are able to establish an administration there under the federal government.
On 31 August 2023, after the discovery of the Shaoyu Island genocide, the OU military intervention in Shaoyu was initiated with the intent to end Zloveshchiyan administration of the island and establish an Ostlandet Union mandate. On 30 September 2023, the military intervention ended with the surrender of troops in Yinjiang.
See also
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