Characters / EGD East Asia

Main Character Index Superpowers: United States of America | Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Major Powers: People's Republic of China | French Republic | United Kingdom Other Countries By Region: North America (United Mexican States) | Central America | South America | Western Europe (Federal Republic of Germany) | Eastern Europe | Southern Europe | Northern Africa | Western Africa | Central Africa | Eastern Africa | Southern Africa | East Asia | Central Asia | Middle East | South Asia | Oceania

Mongolia

Mongolian People's Republic

^{Flag of the Greater Mongolian People's Republic} 

Common Names: Mongolia, Greater Mongolia (Pan-Mongol Republic Proclamation)

Official Name: Mongolian People's Republic, Greater Mongolian People's Republic (Pan-Mongol Republic Proclamation)

Starting Leader: Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal

Ideology: Marxism-Leninism^note Revolutionary Socialism

Starting Faction: Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance (Warsaw Pact)

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Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal

^{Pan-Mongol Republic Proclamation} 

Full Name: Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal

Ideology: Marxism-Leninism^note Revolutionary Socialism

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Korea

Democratic People's Republic of Korea

Republic of Korea

Japan

State of Japan

^{Flag of Japan, Free From Suffering} 

Common Names: Japan

Official Name: Japan, State of Japan^note In Japanese, Japan, Free From Suffering (AUM Shinri-kyo Takeover)

Starting Leader: Masayoshi Ōhira

Ruling Party: Jiyū-Minshutō^note Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)

Ideology: Social Conservatism

Starting Faction: None

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Masayoshi Ōhira

Full Name: Masayoshi Ōhira

Party: Jiyū-Minshutō^note Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)

Ideology: Social Conservatism

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Yasuhiro Nakasone

Full Name: Yasuhiro Nakasone

Ryū Ōta

Full Name: Ryū Ōta

Shoko Asahara

Full Name: Shoko Asahara

Party: AUM Shinri-kyo^note AUM Supreme Truth

Ideology: Millenarianism^note Annihilationism

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• Dark Messiah: One of the most infamous ones in Japanese history, he claimed to be Jesus Christ while organizing multiple terrorist attacks, and he does the same in game.
• Historical Badass Upgrade: In real life, after having organized three attacks that claimed the lives of 24 people, he was arrested in 1995, sentenced to death in 2004, and executed in 2018. He had amassed a fair amount of influence, to the point that, when the police arrested him, the JSDF stationed an entire airborne brigade nearby in case the cult fought back, but nothing came of it. Here, if the government fails to check his influence, it is possible for him to amass enough power through placing cult members in positions of governmental power that he can coup the Japanese government when they try to arrest him.

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Cambodia

Khmer Republic

Common Names: Cambodia

Official Name: Khmer Republic

Starting Leader: Lon Nol

Ruling Party: Social Republican Party (PRS)

Ideology: Ethnic Nationalism^note Ultranationalism

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• Authority in Name Only: While the Khmer Republic claims to have complete control over Cambodia, its authority is in fact limited to Phnom Penh, a couple of cities and some mines and plantations controlled by American companies. The countryside is generally de facto either independent or under control of some rebel group, only always being temporarily "liberated" by Nol's forces during their infrequent strikes outside the cities.
• Bait-and-Switch: The Khmer Republic starts with a focus tree about Lon Nol preparing a "Great March North" to finally root out the FUNSK. However, before much of it can be finished, the country collapses into a civil war and the tree is replaced with a civil war one.
• Civil War: The Khmer Republic falls to a 3-way civil war a couple of days into 1980, possibly spiraling into a 6-way civil war if the conflict lasts too long.
• People's Republic of Tyranny: Officially, Lon Nol's coup established a democratic republic with a two-party system, open elections and guaranteed freedoms. In reality, Lon Nol is a brutal dictator using his powers to oppress the people and commits borderline genocide of various minorities. So much so that even if the Khmer Republic comes out on top in the civil war and the democratic Rainsy-Sonando coalition deposes Nol, they still decide to write a new constitution because of the incredible amount of loopholes in Nol's constitution, designed to make the ostensibly democratic system a legal dictatorship of the president.
• La Résistance: Rebel groups are active across most of Cambodia. In the North, the pro-Vietnamese FUNSK holds more authority; in the West, the Khmer Rouge controls the countryside, ruling from the expansive rainforest. Even in the areas close to Phnom Penh, there are weaker rebel groups under the command of Mam Sonando. The government is effectively unable to control any area it doesn't directly establish a garrison at.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: It's an Open Secret that Lon Nol and Sam Rainsy loathe each other.

Lon Nol

Full Name: Lon Nol

Party: Social Republican Party

Ideology: Ethnic Nationalism^note Ultranationalism

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• 0% Approval Rating: In spite of his attempts to build a cult of personality around himself, Nol remains hated by a majority of the population due to his mismanagement and brutality.
• Fascist, but Inefficient: He justifies his brutal rule by claims of need of stability and prosperity. His rule achieves neither of those things, though.
• General Failure: While good at climbing the social ladder, Lon Nol is neither a good military general nor a competent politician. His only skill, repression, has served only to further antagonise the Khmer population, while his racism pushed Chams more into the ranks of the enemy.
• General Ripper: One thing Nol is genuinely good at is repressing civilian population. Once the civilians start shooting back, however...
• Politically Incorrect Villain: Nol is openly racist against the Cham, Lao and Vietnamese minorities in Cambodia, dehumanising them, referring to them as "natural subversives" and forcing them into slave labour.
• Putting on the Reich: He models the state a great deal after Fascist Italy, and one of his early foci calls for Totaleinsatz for "subversives" to be established to deal with the economic problems and prepare his "final victory" against the rebels.
• The Quisling: To the average citizen, Nol is the one who couped Sihanouk in order to allow America to continue bombing the countryside, invited their companies to use citizens as borderline slave labour and gave them all of Cambodia's natural resources.
• Small Name, Big Ego: Nol openly states his goal to unify all Khmers under the Khmer Republic, claiming lands in Southern Vietnam and Eastern Thailand. Meanwhile, his regime, while claiming the entirety of Cambodia, holds hardly any land outside of Phnom Penh and a couple of cities.
• The Starscream: He came to power via coup, deposing Norodom Sihanouk and establishing himself as an all-powerful despot.
• Visionary Villain: Nol hopes to one day unite all Khmers under a single state, restoring glory to the once dominant nation.

Sam Rainsy

Full Name: Sam Rainsy

Party: Candlelight Party

Ideology: Neoliberalism^note Social Liberalism

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• Defector from Decadence: Rainsy has nothing but contempt against Lon Nol and is simply waiting for the moment to depose his master.
• Friendly Enemy: Rainsy, even as a minister in Nol's government, is rather fond of Sonando and his message of hope and democracy.
• Hypercompetent Sidekick: As a very skilled economist, Rainsy manages to hold Cambodian economy afloat amidst Nol's ever increasing spending on the military. If he succeeds in taking over Cambodia, his reforms kickstart a rapid economic growth after 10 years of stagnation or outright recession under Nol.
• Only Sane Man: Unlike the rest of Nol's junta, Rainsy recognises the pitiful state the republic is in. If he manages to take control of Cambodia, he establishes a genuinely democratic state, which respects human freedoms and rights.
• This Cannot Be!: If the Candlelight Party loses to the Beehive Party in the first post-war election, Rainsy is left shocked, unable to process his defeat and wondering what this means to Cambodian democracy. Then subverted, as he receives a message from Sonando, who asks him to lead a new bipartisan Commission on Human Rights, cheering Rainsy up as he realises Cambodian democracy is safe in Sonando's hands.
• Ultimate Job Security: Rainsy is openly defiant against Nol, who in turn absolutely loathes Rainsy. However, as Rainsy was appointed by the US and they demand his presence in Nol's government, Nol can do nothing but tolerate his presence.

Mam Sonando

Full Name: Mam Sonando

Party: Beehive Social Democratic Party

Ideology: Social Democracy

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• Allohistorical Allusion: Like in real life, Sonando is an independent journalist using his influence to show governmental corruption and breaches of human rights. Additionally, if an opposing faction comes out victorious during the civil war, Sonando will flee Cambodia on a ship to France, just like in real life after the Khmer Rouge came to power, regretful he couldn't prevent it from happening.
• Friendly Enemy: If Sonando wins the election, he will establish a bipartisan Commission on Human Rights and appoint Sam Rainsy to head it, basically allowing the opposition to keep a check on his own government. On a deeper level, Sonando and Rainsy, despite leading the opposition parties, are on friendly terms with each other and prefer cooperation to electoral fighting, seeking to establish a consensual democracy, preventing factionalism to tear the country apart once again.
• Rebel Leader: Sonando has been leading a rebel group composed of himself and his media followers for almost a decade by the time the game starts.
• Voice of the Resistance: Even after becoming a rebel, Sonando continues to broadcast his radio show, albeit illegally, and distribute his newspapers via his Beehive media group. While his rebel group is relatively small and cannot even rise up on its own as a faction in the civil war, this made Sonando the unofficial face of the moderate rebels, opposed to both Nol's government and the authoritarian rebel groups.

FUNSK

Flag of FUNSK

Common Names: FUNSK

Official Name: Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation

Starting Leader: Norodom Sihanouk

Ruling Party: National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful and Cooperative Cambodia (FUNCINPEC)

Ideology: Monarchism^note Despotism

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• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Norodom Sihanouk and Hun Sen hate each other, and by extension, FUNCINPEC and KPRP hate each other as well. They're only united by their loyalty to the USSR and Vietnam, and even if they manage to stay together during the civil war, they will inevitably turn on each other once the common enemy is gone.

Norodom Sihanouk

Full Name: Norodom Sihanouk

Party: FUNCINPEC^note National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful and Cooperative Cambodia

Ideology: Monarchism^note Despotism, Buddhist Socialism^note Authoritarian Democracy (FUNCINPEC path)

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• Commie Nazis: Sihanouk's personal ideology, Buddhist Socialism, combines populist left-wing rhetoric and an emphasis on charity with traditional Buddhist values and monarchism, hoping to create a "people's monarchy". It is possible for Sihanouk to let go of the extreme monarchism in favour of a constitutional monarchy in his FUNCINPEC path, but he can go fully hardline, recreate the Sangkum party and reestablish an absolute monarchy, all while claiming to be doing the people's will against the "elites".
• Control Freak: In the Sangkum path, Sihanouk recreates Sangkum by transforming FUNCINPEC, restores one-party rule and keeps power by giving himself powers as a despot, effectively ruling as an absolute monarch.
• Frontline General: Sihanouk leads his men from the front, and carries this over to civilian politics as well, meeting regular people to never lose touch with them and understand their concerns.
• The Good King: What Sihanouk claims to be, and to an extent is. Especially in his FUNCINPEC path, Sihanouk does his best to bring the monarchy to the people and establish a semi-democratic system under his leadership.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: Sihanouk is an extremely energetic man, capable at both ruling and scheming. Even if he chooses to lose some of his power in the FUNCINPEC path, he still remains very concerned with managing Cambodia and frequently tours the country to listen to people's concerns.
• Utopia Justifies the Means: In his Sangkum path, Sihanouk restores and keeps his powers as an absolute king, but he still sees this as a way to improve life and modernise Cambodia.

Hun Sen

Full Name: Hun Sen

Party: Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party

Ideology: Marxism-Leninism^note Revolutionary Socialism

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• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Sen has defected from the army to join the Khmer Rouge, later defecting the Khmer Rouge in favour of the breakaway pro-Vietnamese faction, and ultimately helping Vietnam in deposing Pen Sovan from the leadership, securing power for himself.

Khmer Rouge

Common Names: Khmer Rouge, Angkar

Official Name: Democratic Kampuchea

Starting Leader: Brother One

Ruling Party: Angkar, Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK)

Ideology: Marxism-Leninism-Maoism^note Revolutionary Socialism

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Brother One/Pol Pot

^Post-reveal 

Full Name: Pol Pot, Saloth Sar

Party: Angkar

Ideology: Marxism-Leninism-Maoism^note Revolutionary Socialism (façade), Destructionism^note Annihilationism (actual)

• Bait-and-Switch: Brother One and his faction start classified as Maoist. However, after they win the civil war, they switch to Destructionism, disavowing Maoism in favour of building a completely new society.
• Boomerang Bigot:
  • As his character biography notes, he hates educated people and the bourgeois despite being a teacher and coming from a bourgeois background, even being educated in France, like several other members of his party. As well, only ethnic Khmers who are not former members of the bourgeois are allowed to join his party, despite him being mixed race (being part Chinese), and having had said education paid for by a cousin who was royal consort (specifically for Norodom Sihanouk's grandfather), often visiting his cousin in the royal palace when he was young.
  • As his biography notes, despite his desire to destroy the old order, his rule resembles feudalism more than communism.
• Dystopia Justifies the Means: After being victorious in the civil war, Brother One forces the population to leave the cities completely, instead being sent to collective farms. Then, he bases the entire economy on the export of rice to sponsor new industrialization, claiming this strategy will turn Cambodia into an economic powerhouse just, just like Stalin sponsored his five-year plans with agricultural exports, completely ignoring Stalin didn't abandon existing industry and certainly didn't force the people out of the cities, and that his overexporting of grain contributed to the Holodomor famine in Ukraine. Once his plan is set into motion, Cambodia experiences a horrific starvation crisis due to overexporting, killing millions and basically destroying the country in all ways possible. All of this is meant to make Cambodia into a great power by reestablishing the order of the old Khmer Empire. Additionally, Brother One despises educated people in spite of being a teacher himself, claiming they abandoned traditional Cambodian teachings in favour of imported, impure ideals. After getting into power, he will order an outright genocide of everyone considered intellectual.
• The Faceless: Until the victory, Brother One keeps his name and even appearance completely secret.
• Hypocrite: Brother One's faction hates intellectuals and current and former members of the bourgeois, to the point of barring barring them from joining the party. Most of the upper ranks of the Khmer Rouge are educated men with bourgeois backgrounds, including Brother One, a.k.a. Pol Pot.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: The final focus of Khmer Rouge's post-civil war focus tree is called "Proclaim YEAR ZERO".
• The Spook: In spite of being the undisputed leader of a large rebel group, Brother One is only ever referred to by his nickname and never shown to the masses.
• Visionary Villain: Brother One is extremely brutal and will not stop at anything, and he's totally committed to the idea of a new Cambodia. Too bad that idea counts on a genocide of the native population, an absolute destruction of the old society and repression so brutal it would make Lon Nol look like a saint.
• Walking Spoiler: It's pretty much impossible to speak of Brother One without revealing he's Pol Pot.

Khieu Samphan

Full Name: Khieu Samphan

Party: Khmer National Solidarity Party

Ideology: Maoism^note Revolutionary Socialism

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• Allohistorical Allusion: Khmer National Solidarity Party is the name of a real party Samphan founded after denouncing Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge in 1997.
• Cowardly Lion: Samphan is a timid man, easily scared and pushed around by others, but when the atrocities committed by the regime mount, he musters enough courage to betray the leadership.
• Defector from Decadence: Samphan decides to betray Pol Pot when the latter grows too brutal.
• Historical Badass Upgrade: Real life Samphan disagreed with many of Khmer Rouge's policies and sympathised with Hu Nim, a moderate and an opponent of Pol Pot, but was by his own admission too afraid to speak out or do anything against the regime, and he only denounced Pol Pot in 1997, a year before the Khmer Rouge surrendered. Here, he leads a coup attempt against Pol Pot long before the Khmer Rouge can actually implement its policies on a large scale.
• A Lighter Shade of Black: Samphan is still a brutal Maoist, but he's practically a saint compared to Pol Pot and his regime. He's also a competent economist, and especially in his Dengist path allows living conditions in Cambodia to rise massively while curtailing the brutality of his regime in favour of a silent, hands-off autocracy.
• My God, What Have I Done?: His reaction to helping Pol Pot, as shown by his in game biography
  Oh God, oh fuck, what have we created
• Videogame Cruelty Potential: His hardline Maoist path makes Cambodia weaker and more dependent on China than the far more liberal Dengist path.

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