Hokoe

Hokoe (English pronunciation Hok-KO-wee), officially Cosmo Overseas Collectivity of Hokoe, often referred by the City-State of Watersauga as the Cosmo Occupied Territory of Hokoe (Japanese Hiragana: ほっこえ; Japanese Romanization: Ho Tsu Koe; Unofficial Chinese Name: 學高而) (2014 Population 1,267), is a self-proclaimed dependent territory, colony and occupied territory of the Cosmoplay Region. As part of the Imaginary Lands of Nicholas, the occupied territory is enclaved inside the City of Watersauga, just north of the United Town of Randolph - Rebecca, at the headwaters of Hokoe Creek. Occupied by self-voluntary Cosmoplay and Japanese Loyalists, the territory is unrecognized by most countries and entities around the world, and is seen to be a part of the City of Watersauga, though the territory is effectively governed by Cosmoplay.

Despite Hokoe is a disputed territory, it is still listed in the City of Watersauga's planning documents to be a part of the Trafalgar Planning Corridor, and the Rebecca - Hokoe Freeway is being constructed to the territory.

History
Originally a part of the Dawson River Wildlife Refuge, the area, under the jurisdiction of the City of Watersauga, is not settled and all developments are banned in the locale. In the wake of World War I in 1914, and the strong ties that Cosmoplay Region has with Japan, the fear of attack in the territory increases. As a result, many Cosmoplayers seek refuge in the neighbouring City of Watersauga. At that time, the number of refugees were reaching a saturation point in the city, and the legislation council is requesting staff to identify possible locations to allocate these refugees. The Watersauga council ruled a 3.2 squared kilometer tract of land for the refugees to self-build a community, and the refugees were given a grant to settle in the area.

October 1914, Refuge Road opened, linking Randolph - Rebecca to the new town. Approximately 1,700 refugees moved into the territory. As they were settling in this safe haven in the City of Watersauga, they named the new community, "Ho Tsu Koe" in Japanese, meaning relieved voice, as they are safe from war fires in Cosmoplay. The name was later adapted to become the official name of the community, and was further romanized into "Hokoe".

After World War I, many returned back to either Cosmoplay or seek further job opportunities in urban areas of the City of Watersauga. The prominent Japanese and Cosmoplayer population in Randolph - Rebecca was a result of this.

In 1937, the invasion by the Japanese Empire across East Asia created another wave of fear as refugees flood Hokoe again from Cosmoplay Region, which became a part of the Japanese Empire in late-1937.

Warranted by at least 4,000 residents, the community became an official township within the City of Watersauga, and refugees were granted citizenship in Watersauga. As World War II ends in 1945, residents of Hokoe began to move out again, and Hokoe, during 1945 to 1948, briefly became a ghost town. Some pro-Japanese Empire saw it as an ideal base for revolting activities, and began settling there in 1948, proposing ambitious plan to occupy all of the Imaginary Lands of Nicholas. A local leader, Mitshiwa Younai, was elected on 23 July, 1948, to be the leader of Hokoe, and instead of titled mayor, he was titled the "General". However, under the constitution of the City of Watersauga, the multi-cultural act allows the local citizen to name their mayor according to their traditions, and thus the Country Government did not pay any attention to any independence events.

On 1 January, 1949, the City of Watersauga annexed Port Run as its Royal Crown Colony, and this caused anger across the Japanese community across the City of Watersauga, especially so in Hokoe. In addition to peaceful protests across the city, Hokoe residents, over 95% of Japanese refugees, had a violent riot, damaging local shops and facilities. In government offices, seals of Watersauga and statues of Watersauga's Prime Minister were destroyed and removed. Pro-Watersauga government officials were chased out of the town. The Watersauga Army was deployed in 1949, but the local residents at Hokoe requested army assistance from Cosmoplay, and this began the Watersauga - Cosmoplay Civil War.

The war was brief and ceased fire in early 1950, though armistice was never signed. Cosmoplay demand a "territory exchange" of Hokoe for Port Run, while Watersauga would not conform to this agreement. Fire was ceased and over the years, Hokoe became effectively governed by Cosmoplay Region as its occupied territory. The town hall and municipal facilities are all staffed by Cosmoplay regional employees, and seals and flags of Cosmoplay are flown across the town.

Despite the effective governance by Cosmoplay Region, unlike Watersauga's Port Run (which has a population of 200,000), the town was never recognized by any sovereign states around the globe as a colony or an exclave of Cosmoplay. Perhaps due to its small population, Hokoe rarely is a spotlight for Watersauga - Cosmoplay relationship.

In May 2014, with the Cosmoplay Overseas Collectivity Plan, the Cosmoplay government announced to invest $357 million Cosmoplay Yen in its overseas collectivity's infrastructure. Under this scheme, Hokoe was granted a large sum of money, which was put forward into modernizing the aging infrastructure of the town. This includes completing the Refuge Highway linking the City of Watersauga, upgrading the ravine park system, finishing the rail link with Watersauga, and improving busy road intersections by installing roundabouts.

Government
With a population of roughly 500, the town features a small government and an elected "general" (Watersaugans refer to as "mayor") as the highest power in the town. Usually, the City of Watersauga appoints a mayoral general who does not directly govern the town, and claims to have appoint the "general" as the highest power. The "general" usually is from Cosmoplay, and represents the town in the Cosmoplay Parliament.

Geography
The town covers a small 2.8 squared kilometer tract of land. Located at a significantly higher grounds compared to the Dawson River lowlands, the town is the easternmost edge of the Dawson River Wildlife Refuge, and is the headwaters of Hokoe Creek.

Formerly began near a spring in the western part of town, today the creek has been artificially extended to the eastern part, stretching through Downtown Hokoe as a way to beautify the cityscape. With a very shallow water table, the town has a wealthy source of groundwater. Thus, water services are not provided by the municipal government but rather, residents are expected to use groundwater.

Much of the flora has been gone as trees are chopped down to give way to farmlands, however, there is an abundant source of deciduous trees, along with a variety of bushes, accompanied with logs, along the headwaters of Hokoe Creek. The scenery of these deciduous trees make Hokoe a very attractive location for fall colour sightseeing.

Border
The border with Watersauga is loosely enforced, and often, Watersauga vehicles and people may leave and enter the occupied territory easily without any custom process. In fact, local residents welcome tourists into the territory as tourism is the second most important source of income after agriculture. However, the local residents do time to time block off roads to avoid an influx of Watersaugans into the territory, as they see that as a threat to cede the territory back to Watersaugans.

With the planned Rebecca - Hokoe Highway, the local government said they will deny construction crews to enter the territory, putting an indefinite end to the project date. They also claimed that they will also temporarily set up border booths on the Hokoe side to demonstrate to the Watersaugan government that Hokoe is not a Watersauga-dependent territory.

Economy
Local residents mainly uses Cosmoplay Yen (CPY) for currency circulation within town to show their loyalty to Cosmoplay. With proximity to the City of Watersauga, Watersauga Dollar (WSD) is heavily used, primarily as tender from tourists.

The main source of income of the territory is agriculture, contributing 67% of the GDP, followed by tourism, at 22% of the GDP.

Demography
Due to the territory's historical background, the majority of the population originate from Cosmoplay or Japan, and thus speaks Japanese as the first language, contributing to about 84% of the population. Cantonese is the second most spoken language at 9%.

It is estimated that there are 600 residents by the end of 2012. With the strict immigration rule, the town's population has a slow increasing rate. Immigrants must be a citizen of Cosmoplay or Japan in order to reside in the town.

Transport
Transportation is limited throughout the town. While there is a small network of roads in the territory, the only road that leads out of the territory is the Refuge Road (now Hokoe Road, a formerly unpaved 4 km roadway that was maintained by the City of Watersauga). In 2014, with the Hokoe Overseas Collectivity Infrastructure Scheme, Hokoe Road has been paved to a modern road standard, and has been renamed back as "Refuge Road". This road links with the United Town of Randolph - Rebecca. Due to a small population, public transit is absent in the town.

In 2012, the City of Watersauga launched a series of infrastructure project attempting to link Hokoe with the rest of the autonomous country of the City of Watersauga. This included the Rebecca - Hokoe Highway and the Hokoe Rail Link. However, the local government denied entry for construction crew, and the projects have been forced to postpone to an indefinite date. As a result, the Hokoe Rail Link terminated within Randolph - Rebecca's territory, and the Hokoe Station is located on Watersauga's territory in Randolph - Rebecca. In 2014, the Hokoe Railway Station has been moved back to Hokoe's proper city limits after the rail link as been completed under the supervision of Cosmoplay Region.