[War] Et. Al.: "Beijing Gala"

[Chazenesq2b at aol.com]

"Beijing Gala"

President Xia Hong
People's Republic of   China

Ambassadeur Mei Broussard
French Republic

Ambassador  Mihail Demerov
Russia

Ambassador Seno  Kurita
Japan

Ambassador Chien Xi Pai
United  States



20, January   2013
================================================

(The People's  Ball Room- Executive Residence, Beijing)

The Beijing Philiharmonic and  the People's National Orchestra provided an
incredibly beautiful musical  selection for the Gala, played with the
expertise and precision one would  expect from two of the world's finest
musical bodies.

The room itself  was cavernous and beautifully ornate. Hardwood floors,
beautiful chandeliers,  elegant dining tables, the finest china and eating
utensils, handcrafted  gifts of the elite to the People's Estate, often
repaid with tickets to this  very event.

Hundreds of the most important people from across the globe  adorned in 
their
finery were assembled in the room.  Politicians she'd  targeted for wooing
into her 'sub-party' as it had been called, businessmen  looking for the 
next
'big deal', others seeking to receive or protect  lucrative contracts,
diplomats and reporters, military officers and  intelligence experts... and
among them as well as scattered outside a small  army assembled to provide
for the security of this, the Peoples Estate's  first appearance to the
outside world.

She'd forced herself to learn  to appreciate these kind of events. Her
Grandfather used to take her to the  military balls when she had first come
home, a grand daughter of marrying age  happened to garner a lot of 
attention
from the single sons of his comrades  and of defense industry specialists.
She knew even then what his intention  was, but was more than happy to play
her role, to smile, feign timidity, and  collect amazing free gifts. Her
father did the same when she was in  America... it must have been a world
tradition showing off the kids, and  currying favor with the parents by
bribing said children. Then when she'd  married Wen, all kinds of business
executives, people she'd tried hard  ignoring her entire life, suddenly
wanted to know her, chat with her, meet  Chan and Mei... hell one
industrialist from Hong Kong provided the dress she  was wearing tonight 
just
to find out what Wen's favorite tea  was.

Still, none of those gatherings compared in importance to  this.

She walked through the room, donning a silk broccade, traditional  
ceremonial
dress with gold embroidered trim. It was simple compared to some  of the
dresses submitted by China's fashion specialists wanting a little  publicity
for their creations, but it was comfortable and suitably elegant,  so she
went with it. There would be plenty of other occasions for them to get  
their
play time. Her dark hair was clipped back with a traditional oriental  clip,
and a yellow carnation had been well placed in it; symbolic of the  stars on
China's flag so she was told.

"So how do I look?"

Chan  turned around and grinned. "Beautiful as always Mom."

Xia laughed. "I'd  feel better if you weren't my son and compelled to say
that." Her smile still  broad on her face, she smoothed out his dress
uniform. "Very handsome, the  uniform suits you.  Now, this room is 'full' 
of
beautiful  women..."

"Mom I'm not looking..."

"I didn't say you 'had' to  Chan." She interrupted him. "But it would be a
waste of the moment not to at  least... speak... with some of them would it
not?  You'd be surprised,  the simplistic joy that comes with the company of
the opposite sex, romantic  or not, is one of life's finer pleasures and I
'will not' allow my son to  miss it so that he can hang onto the arm of his
mother,  is that  understood?"

His eyes avoided hers for a moment, but in a good, bashful  way. "Yes 
ma'am."

"Good, now go mingle. Where's your sister?"

"Not  that you can tell from here, but she's behind those three  
gentlemen..."

"Ahhh... my daughter has good tastes." Xia smiled. "Go, I  have some...
guests... I need to speak with."

Ambassadeur Mei  Broussard of the French Republic had subtly kept her eye on
the Chinese  President since she'd arrived. Mei always considered other 
women
to be more  dangerous than men ­ they were more focused and less 
susceptible
to  charm. She had been selected by President Durant for just that sort  of
caution and precision, and she had agreed to serve as Ambassadeur en  Chine
for no small concessions from the Presidency.

But the  concessions had been worth it as far as Durant was concerned. In
many ways,  Mei Broussard was tailor-made for the position. Born in Macau to
a French  businessman and his Chinese wife, Mei was well acquainted with the
Chinese  language, culture and way of life but in the final analysis she had
always  gravitated toward her French heritage. She quickly proved her
business skills  at the École des Hautes Études Commerciales in Paris and
assumed control of  her father's business interests in China shortly
thereafter. The Board of  Directors had meticulously been stacked in her
favour over the years, so she  was perfectly willing to take a small leave 
of
absence in order to serve the  Republic.

Mei always preferred to approach from behind, as she slowly did  now. Her
dress was constrictive but beautifully designed in  an
Indochine-style by one of Paris's premier designers. Some sort of  predatory
instinct told her speaking from behind someone gave her some  small
advantage, and she was just as pleased with that as she was with the  small
difference in height (in her favour, thanks to heels)  with the  Chinese
President. Mei recognized the man she was speaking with as a Hong  
Kong-based
businessman; she knew his company grossed less than her own, so  she felt it
was more than appropriate to interrupt. Aside from that she was  the
Ambassador of the French Republic after all.

"Madam President,  forgive me for interrupting, but I just wanted to say 
it's
a pleasure to see  you again," Mei said, flashing a cosmetically perfected
smile (the  Ambassadeur was competing with some Hollywood actresses for
number of plastic  surgeries done). She extended a hand in the other woman's
direction and  pressed on. "The People's Estate is quite something to 
behold;
if I didn't  know any better, I'd say someone is trying to construct the
Versailles of the  East. Please don't misunderstand me, I'm as big a fan of
grandeur and  largesse as any Frenchman, and I quite think the People's
Republic is in a  better position than the rest of us to afford all of 
this."

Xia offered a  congenial smile in return, graciously accepting the French
Ambassador's hand.  Xia had always been pretty tall in comparison to her
countrywomen, the result  of half American genes, so 'not' being the tallest
in the room was a strange,  albeit welcomed, change of pace.  "The People of
China deserve nothing  less, and I'm quite honored that you would think it
the Versailles of the  East. It may not have the prestige of age, but for 
too
long the seat of  Chinese government had been without a permanent home. We 
in
the Congress felt  it was time to provide a central locale for the 
Executive,
rather than the  numerous, classified, locations that had been used in the
past. The fewer  secrets between a Government and its people, the better,
wouldn't you say  Ambassador?"

The French Ambassador arched an eyebrow in amusement. "Try  telling that to
the North Koreans."

"The North Korean situation is...  depressing." Xia frowned momentarily,
steeped in contemplation. "An entire  society subjected to the whims of a
dynasty is not one that can survive  indefinitely. Unfortunately, the North
Korean government is determined to  test that fact. We as foreign nations
have no right to interfere in Korean  matters, however North Korea's people
deserve better."

"I'm sure the  Americans will be happy about a Chinese regional
non-interference policy but  those of us concerned about human rights and
North Korea's nuclear weapon's  programme would like to see some movement
taken on both accounts. The  Northerners aren't good for regional stability
and regional instability is  not good for investment," Mei replied.

Her own business interests gave  her a vested interest in the matter of 
North
Korea and unbeknownst to the  Chinese the French Foreign Minister had just
wrapped up a teleconference with  Ambassadeur Broussard and President Durant
discussing the issue of North  Korea. France remained one of only two
European countries which refused to  recognize North Korea, instead
recognizing South Korea's sovereignty over the  entirety of the peninsula.
Despite the lacked of recognition they still had a  number of options before
them, including denying North Korean students the  right to study in France
and instituting a complete economic  embargo.

"President Durant and I have discussed unilateral action on the  matter;
however, he would much rather work through a regional framework to  address
the problem. But if China is unprepared to move on the issue, we  completely
understand, and I'll relay to the President that we should seek  other ways
to address the Koreas," she continued, sipping from her champagne  and
glancing tellingly over the edge of the champagne flute at the  Japanese
ambassador.

"I'm sure President Durant is more appreciative  of the delicacies of
diplomatic protocol than to suggest that France might  engage in some
sort of action without the consent of those it would  effect.  Such an
action would be most undemocratic, most  Bush-like.  One would hope
such a fine man as himself, in the role of  leader of such a fine
nation as France, would know the lesson of that era...  Pre-emptive war
is an ultimate act of desperation.  One that has the  unfortunate
consequences, historically, of forcing the hands of regional  powers
whom would otherwise be content to pursue a normalization of  relations
with the instigating country.  Particularly given that this  particular
region has a long history of hostility towards Western  imperialism...
and certain nations may... strenuously... object to the  occupation of
even a hated neighbor by clear foreigners.  I certainly  could not
guarantee China would not be swayed to defend such a neighbor  under
like circumstances."  Xia gave a wan smile, hoping the message  was
nuanced, but clear, enough.

"I have been instructed by President  Durant to deliver our official
congratulations to you on the completion of  the facility. I believe he is
sending along something to help outfit it and  some champagne or something,"
Mei said, waving a hand as if to dismiss the  gesture. In her opinion they
were so common and frequently so insincere as to  be inconsequential. "More
to the point, he is interested in exploring  Franco-Chinese relations. No
doubt you have noted that the European Union is  losing some degree of
cohesion; France regards it as a temporary setback on  the road to greater
European integration but we cannot disregard our own  foreign policy while
waiting for the E.U. to recover."

"Please pass on  my personal, and the people's general, gratitude for
your gift.  As for  France's foreign affairs agenda, China would most
certainly accept friendship  with open arms.  I feel there are many
areas where cooperation would be  mutually beneficial.  Where would the
President prefer  beginning?"

"My last conversation with him indicated he was looking into  exploring
cooperation on energy issues, especially in Central Asia. You may  be
aware of the impending completion of the Nabucco pipeline running  into
Central Europe. France is interested in hooking up to the  pipeline,
and I believe President Durant is interested in developing  a
partnership with China to develop the energy resources in the  region."

"That is quite an interesting proposal madame Ambassador.   I look forward 
to discussing the topic with him in person, but you'll have to  forgive me 
if I cannot give you an answer today.  The people deserve a  leader whom 
makes well informed and educated choices, unfortunately I'm not  familiar with 
the pipeline or the issues surrounding it.  I'd be happy to  speak with the 
you, or President Durant, at a later date.  I wish we could  continue this 
discussion Ambassador, but..." Xia peered over at Aaryn who  was continuing to 
make a subdued 'get here now' wave.  "I believe I'm  needed elsewhere.  
Please enjoy the banquet."

Mihail arrived and had  quickly melted into the  formally dressed
throng.  It was an old  habit of his, best to eavesdrop  on the
conversations around him since  you never could guess at  what
conversations abounded.  Even if  there was nothing of  potential
import, at least the food was good here  so coming wouldn't be a  total
loss.

Though, in all honesty he  did have a strong liking for China. Funny
enough to think it stemmed from  when he was a child and his friend
Demitri who's father did well in the black  market had acquired some of
what the Americans called 'chop socky' martial  arts films. The acting
was horrible, the dubbing even worse, but it was the  backgrounds that
pulled him into wanting to know more, even backpacking  through some of
the rural country and giving his Chinese a more  Szhewan/Canton twang
than the usual Mandarin.

He saw President Hong  making the rounds, she was a pleasing enough
woman, though too skinny in his  opinion. He would bide his time for
when she had a moment so they could speak  the obligatory pleasantries.

Having finished her conversation with the  French Ambassador, and the more
pushy business people in the crowd, Aaryn had  non-challantly directed her
boss to the Russian Ambassador. After all, their  governments were likely
destined to work together and thus keeping the man  waiting was by no means
desirable. "Mister Ambassador, welcome to Beijing. I  understand your
President recently appointed you as Chief of Mission to our  fair nation?"

"If you asked Madame President Malevich, I nagged for the  position.",
Demitri chuckled, "Your country is exquisite and I look forward  to my
time here." It was clear that he truly meant the sentiment  rather
than the generic platitudes that tended to abound at these sort  of
affairs.

"I look forward to working with you towards the mutual  benefit of both
our nations, Ambassador."  Xia smiled, at least he  seemed to be
comfortable.  He could be nice to work with.

"As do  I.", Mihail said with a warm smile and polite nod.  In the
corners of  his eyes he could see the others milling about much like
sharks ready to  descend.  While not a literal blood frenzy, he'd been
to enough of these  gatherings to know that many would treat this like
a press to push forth  whatever agendas or points they could as if the
world would end  tomorrow.  Had that been the case, who really cared
about matters of  state?  He simply faded slightly as the others
approached.  While  there were a few points that would need to be
discussed as far as trade  matters went, now was not the time when
first impressions were to be made as  far as he was concerned.  There
would be ample time for weighty  discussions later, and to be honest,
the tray of dumpling appetizers was  looking particularly divine.

As all this was going on, a graying Asian  man doted on the food table.
Ambassador Seno Kurita was an old hand at  diplomacy, a career civil servant
who had been rewarded for his years of  skilled (and non-partisan) service
with the highly prestigious spot as  Japan's ambassador to Red China. Prime
Minister Ahkahita had hoped to send  the Foreign Minister himself to this
event but the recent shakeup in Tokyo  stemming from the last Cabinet
Secretary's assassination had prevented that  from coming about. Still,
Kurtia was a senior and respected figure in the MFA  so his presence,
combined with Omaguchi's very public death, his attendance  instead of the
Foreign Minister would not be construed as a  slight.

Japan and China had such a complex relationship, often a tense  one. The
Chinese had never really forgiven Japan as (most) of Europe had  forgiven
Germany, and any number of little issues had always kept ties  between the
two nations at a lukewarm level. But China was quickly equalling  Japan as
the biggest economy in Asia and second largest in the world.  Ahkahita's 
more
left-wing political stance was more accommodating towards  Beijing, more
interested in trade and commerce than pissing matches over  human rights and
free speech done at the behest of Washington.

Kurita  was a patient man, a hallmark of his career, and was inclined to let
the  President make her rounds on her own time. They would speak when his
turn  came.

The Japanese Foreign Minister had always been on the 'hot list'...  the 
short
list of names that Xia 'had' to meet, if she did nothing else that  night.
China had money and a willingness to invest... Japan had technology  and a
willing to sell... it would be sad if a war settled before the births  of 
the
leading generation prevented them from better representing the  interests of
their own people. On that note, Xia smiled and offered her hand  in addition
to a respectful, well rehearsed bow. "Minister, I'm honored you  could join
us. I hope the evening's events meet with your  approval?"

After a brief chat, which unfortunately included nothing more  than 
exchanges of pleasantries and personal greetings, Aaryn was rushing her off  to the 
next person of importance.

It had been a long path from the scared  child who got on a flight out of
Taipei when Chang Kai Shek was defeated, but  he was now in Beijing where he
was ending his career with the State  Department as Ambassador to China,
Representing his adopted homeland in the  country his father fought for,
though not on the winning  side.

"Ambassador... I'm glad you have taken an opportunity to return to  your
homeland." Xia smiled as she offered one of the millions of  the
Sino-diaspora both her hands. She had been privied to the man's  dossier
prior to the meeting. "Welcome to Beijing."

"Thank you Madame  President, it is good to be back." He took her hands.
 
ACTIONS
 
1.  Standard Political Gala.  
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