Heiban

Heiban (: 海傍, Hǎi Bàng), officially the Monarchical State of Heiban (海傍君主國, Hǎi bàng jūnzhǔguó), is a country in southwestern Kesh, bordered to the west by the Iapetus Ocean, to the south and east by the South Kesh Bay, sharing maritime borders with Ramay and South Kesh, and covering an area of 929,097 square kilometers (358,726 square miles) with a population of around 99.6 million. The capital of the country is Wangzuo, while its largest city and former capital is Gongzhuhua. Heiban is a  ,

Etymology
The name “Heiban” is a standardized version of the country’s native name Hǎibàng (Guoyu: 海傍; meaning "seafront"), from the words hǎi (“sea”) and bàng (“near”). This endonym was later added to the official title of ‘Monarchical State’ during the nation’s formation, the official name of the country is The Monarchical State of Heiban (Guoyu: 海傍君主國; Hǎibàng Jūnzhǔguó) and hasn’t changed since. Scholars estimate the word hǎibàng was adopted by Guoyu-speaking east Keshi settlers around the 14th century, with the first recorded use of the word referring to the area only dating as far back as the 16th century.

Geography
Heiban is located on the western side of the Southern Kesh sub-region between latitudes 7° and 20°S, border to the west and southwest by the South Iapetus Ocean, to the east and southeast by the South Kesh Bay, also known in Heiban as the Emerald Bay (Guoyu: 翡翠灣; Fěicuì wān), and to the north by a handful of southern and western Kesh nations. The nation spands over a total area of approximately 929,097 square kilometeres (358,726 sq mi), making it the seventh-largest country in Kesh and the seventeenth-largest in Anterra.

Lanscape
Heiban's land is mostly hilly and sparsely forested, characterized by and  regions as the primary eco-regions in the country. Heiban is essentially shaped like a massive valley, with higher elevations present in the northern and southern regions with a flatter interior, east and west; the highest peaks in the country are located along the northern border, with the highest point being Mount Yúnfēng (雲峰山) at roughly, in the province of Caoyuan.

Southern Heiban consists of several scattered islands and, consequence of the rough landscape, characterized by the uneven terrain, particularly in the Shénbì Peninsula (神臂半岛), the largest in the country. Politically, this southern region differs from its northern counterparts in both and level of, being the wealthiest and most advanced region in Heiban. This idea is attributed by Heibanese scholars the name of Tǔdì duìbǐ (Guoyu: 土地對比, meaning 'land contrast'), and reinforces the idea that the country's landscape acts as the main form of.

When it comes to Heiban's, many courses of fresh water flow into and from Heiban, and into the country's western, eastern and southern coasts, all of which act as the main spots for urban agglomerations, with the best example being the capital city of Wangzuo located on both sides of the Zhōngshuǐ River (中水河), the largest and most important river in Heiban, dissecting the country in two halves comparable in size. Some of these rivers also feed into the many lakes of Heiban, with the largest of them being the Lake Báishuǐ (白水湖) located in western Heiban and considered one of the country’s holiest sites.

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Wildlife and conservation
Characterized by its Buddhist beliefs, the government of Heiban pays significant attention to its environment, and ensures the promotion of green policies in regards to its landscape and wildlife. In 1987, the Ministry of Landscape and Environment was created, and in 2006 the Royal Cabinet for Nature was established, both with the purpose of advising the government on environmentally conscious political decisions, and promoting nature-friendly lifestyle choices to the general public, such as vegetarianism and veganism, recycling and the use of public transport or non-fossil fueled personal vehicles, like bicycles or electric cars.

In 1993, the former Monarch of Heiban, Queen Wu Bao, through advice from the Ministry of Landscape and Environment, created the first Realm Protected Area in the land surrounding the largest lake in the country, Lake Báishuǐ. This earned the lake and its surrounding area prefectural-level status, while also protecting it from human interference. Today, the Realm Protected Area lies under direct jurisdiction of the central government and is protected by the royal military, with any alteration to the area being prohibited and punishable by law.

Government and politics

 * Main article: Government of Heiban; Constitution of Heiban

Heiban is a unitary state ruled by a  absolute monarchy, comprising eleven and functioning under a semi-parliamentary system of government. The country’s is the Monarch of Heiban, who holds the title of either ; meanwhile, the   is the Royal Council, formed by ten members directly appointed by the monarch and drawn form the Royal Parliament, at the head of which is the Grand Secretariat, a rotative position similar to that of  in a. The Constitution of Heiban, also known as the ‘Supreme Law of Heiban’ (Guoyu: 海傍最高法; Hǎibàng Zuìgāo Fǎis) is and states that all political power is to rest at the hands of the King or Queen of Heiban, while also dividing the Heibanese government into three branches that shall always answer and help the monarch in their time of rulership, these branches are the, the  and the.

Executive

 * ''Main article: Monarch of Heiban; Royal Council of Heiban
 * ''See also: List of Heibanese monarchs

The executive power is vested in the Monarch of Heiban as the head of state, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Protector of the Faith and de jure head of government for life or until abdication. The title of King or Queen of Heiban is hereditary under a system of. The de facto head of government is the Royal Council, a ten-member body of government, appointed directly by the monarch for whom they work as advisors and counsellors. The members of the council will elect a Grand Secretariat amongst themselves, a rotative position with the duty of overseeing government meetings and intervening in debates or ties in voting regarding different political matters. The Royal Council is renovated every five years - time by which all members would have held the position of Grand Secretariat.

Despite acting as the de facto head of government, the Royal Council cannot go against the Constitution of Heiban and will always hold less power than the monarch. In recent years, monarchs have passed executive decisions over to the council, which will then act through the monarch shaping certain aspects of government and politics. Nevertheless, the Monarch of Heiban ultimately holds power unbounded by the constitution, and is the only person in the country who can perform, , pass and laws, call for , and , among several other things.

Upon formation every five years, the Royal Council is then put in charge of appointing the and  of Heiban, whose task is to help run the government by essentially dividing it into specific areas, known as. Like any other government official, the ministers of Heiban answer directly to the monarch and must send weekly reports on their respective fronts; however, by recent convention, the monarch will redirect said reports to the Grand Secretariat, oftentimes without reading them, allowing them to make executive decisions based on said reports.

Legislature

 * ''Main article: Legislature of Heiban; Parliamentary elections of Heiban

The Legislature of Heiban works under a semi-parliamentary system formed by a body known as the Royal Parliament of Heiban that meets in the Palace of Laws (Guoyu: 法宮; Fǎgōng) in the capital of Wangzuo. The Heibanese parliament is tasked with the responsibility of overseeing, suggesting and opposing changes in national politics and laws. Because parliament can’t actually change Heibanese law, as that power is vested in the King being the only person allowed to perform constitutional reforms, its members will work with the Royal Council, specially the Grand Secretariat, as to facilitate the law-making process. This is the case due to recent monarchs rarely taking part in the law-making process, instead entrusting His Majesty’s Royal Council to make the decisions. Nevertheless, for any bill to be passed, it must be.

For parliamentary elections, Heiban is divided into (Guoyu: 縣; xiàn), each electing a single  (or MP), locally known as Guórén (Guoyu: 國人; lit. “State person”), by, and by all citizens over the age of 20. Elections in Heiban are and have a non-fixed ; this means that, despite being advised against it by the Royal Council, the monarch has the power to call elections whenever they see fit, whether it be before or after the six-year term. MPs can run for office a maximum of three consecutive times, and any one of them can be summoned at any time to form the Royal Council.

Judiciary

 * Main article: Judiciary of Heiban; Ladies of Justice of Heiban

The highest form of authority in the judicial branch of government is His Majesty’s Court of Justice; judges for this court are called Ladies of Justice (Guoyu: 女义; nǚyì), of which there are nine, and it is the only position in government inaccessible to men, as stated in the Constitution. Ladies of Justice are granted a and are directly appointed by the Monarch of Heiban to form His Majesty’s Honorable Court (Guoyu: 女义起; nǚyìqǐ), the name by which the Ladies of Justice are referred to collectively. HM Honourable Court is in charge of interpreting, defending and applying all law stated in the constitution, as well as made by the monarch across the entire country, and making sure all  in Heiban follow suit.

The Judiciary of Heiban is a, atop which stands the Monarch of Heiban, followed in the descending order by HM Court of Justice, HM Courts of Appeal, the Province Courts and the Prefecture Courts and the Minor Tribunals or regular courthouses. All courts are classified into two types: courts of inquiry, which hear cases in the first instance, and courts of entreaty, also known as 'courts of last resort', which review specific contested decisions made by the courts of inquiry.

All courts of entreaty can be identified by the words “Her Majesty’s” or “His Majesty’s” (abbreviated to H.M. or HM) in their official names; no court of inquiry may include this designation as part of their name.

Administrative divisions
The Heibanese territory is subdivided into four levels of administration which include: 11 provinces (道; dào), 88 prefectures (州; zhōu), 1 realm protected area (國鏢; guóbiāo), 5 urban districts (區; qū) and ??? counties (縣; xiàn).


 * The provinces of Heiban (道海傍; Hǎibàngdào) are the first level of administrative division and the largest subdivisions of the country. The provinces are former federal entities whose borders follow the demarcations of the former houses of the Cardinal Royal Families of Heiban (海傍红衣主教王室; Hǎibàng Hóngyī Zhǔjiào Wángshì). Each province is administered by a provincial seat (省會; Shěnghuì), formed by 3 elected members, 2 members appointed by the grand secretariat and 1 member descendant of the Cardinal Royal Family of their respective province, all of whom, with the exception of the latter, are replaced every 5 years. The provincial seat will act as the executive head of the province, however, being under a unitary system, provinces must abide by the Heibanese Constitutions and do not have sovereignty over their territory. Approximately 83.74% of the population lives in the southern provinces of Gongdi, Yuanyang, Hegu and Xijin, which are all home to 9 out of the 10 largest cities in the country. Provinces serve an important cultural role in Heiban, as people tend to identify with their native province

The prefectures of Heiban are the subdivisions of the provinces and the second largest divisions of the entire country. Prefectures are usually administered directly by the provincial seat of the province they reside in with the help of an elected governor. Prefectures were established in the 1970s in order to facilitate the collection of demographic data. This subdivision quickly lost its purpose as Heiban’s population grew and counties were established only two decades later.

The counties of Heiban were created in the 1990s in order to facilitate parliamentary elections and the collection of demographic data, tasks previously carried over by the provinces and the prefectures respectively. Counties today aren't administered divisions and lie entirely within prefectural jurisdiction. Certain counties have grown so much in population in comparison to others, and are no longer considered counties, but instead urban districts.

Urban districts in Heiban are prefectural-level subdivisions that started as counties and whose population outgrew severely that of its neighbouring counties, and in some cases that of certain prefectures across the country. Today the urban districts are the five major cities in Heiban, including the nation's capital city of Wangzuo, as well as the cities of Baolei, Gongzhuhua, Xizhan and Haixin. All urban districts combined have a greater population than certain provinces. Being at prefecture-level, the urban districts are run by a governor, only that in this case this position is referred to as mayor.

Economy
As of 2020, the Monarchical State of Heiban had a total nominal GDP of $1.150 trillion, and a nominal GDP per capita of $11,500.

Primary sector
The primary sector of the economy makes up 2.4% of the country’s total nominal GDP, generating up to $27.6 billion. It is mainly focused on the production and export of agricultural goods and mining. The production of permanent crops, in particular tea, nuts, medicinal plants and coffee, are the most important biotic industries in the country; the production of coffee is particularly important to Heiban’s primary sector, having contributed nearly $13.2 billion to the total GDP in 2019. Today, the coffee industry employs an estimated 700,000 rural workers nationwide. Apart from agricultural goods, the mining industry in Heiban has taken precedence over the years, with the extraction and export of gold, as well as the mining of coltan, used nationally for the technology and utilities industries, as well as the manufacturing and exporting of mobile phone parts. This activity generates an estimate of up to $10 billion annually, amounting to nearly 37% of the primary sector’s total GDP revenue. With access to the Iapetus Ocean, and a therefore considerable Exclusive Economic Zone, Heiban has recently put noticeable focus on the fishing industry, however, and due to the government’s heavily pushed vegetarian and vegan agenda, this activity is thoroughly regulated, and even prohibited by the government in certain coastal areas. The fishing industry will, more often than not, hire lower class citizens as middle and upper class citizens have the luxury to turn down job offers in this area due to their beliefs, while lower class citizens don’t. Due to its climate and geographic conditions, Heiban isn’t as well suited for the production of certain foods as other countries in the continent, with the exception of the aforementioned crops. Fruits and vegetables need to be imported from other regions of Kesh or countries in Artemia and Avalonia, more suited for the production of these needs. Heiban also imports most of the metals it needs for its construction, automobile and heavy vehicle industry, such as iron, steel, aluminum and titanium.

Secondary sector
The secondary, or industry, sector makes up 41.8% of Heiban’s total nominal GDP, contributing $480.7 billion to the national economy, and employing nearly 28.9% of the country’s workforce. Heiban. The Heibanese industry sector puts noticeable focus on the construction industry, particularly civil engineering, with mass manufacturing of railways, roads, tunnels, offshore platforms and bridges having grown in importance in recent years, while contributing up to 50% to the industry sector’s total revenue, or nearly 20% to the country’s total nominal GDP in 2019. The automobile and heavy vehicle industry also plays a big role in the country’s economy, generating nearly $194.3 billion in 2020; the fabrication and export of airplane, ship and auto parts in particular is a large source of revenue in this area. Meanwhile, chemical manufacturing has become of paramount importance in the last decade, as the production of pharmaceuticals becomes increasingly tied with the cultivation of medicinal plants and the expansion of research and development in the country. Heiban produces and exports nearly $95.3 billion worth in pharmaceuticals and medicine annually, a number that has been growing increasingly as does the quaternary sector of the national economy. On a lesser scale, the manufacturing of wind turbines and solar panels, specifically destined for export, has taken center stage in the country’s energy industry, though still not comparable to Heiban’s previously mentioned larger industries. Overall, the energy industry contributes a near total of $67.9 billion annually. The main products of the industry sector that Heiban imports are electronics, computers and communication equipment. While Heiban does manufacture its own weapons, nearly 64% of the ones used by the country’s military are imported from countries outside of Kesh. Processed foods are largely imported into the country constantly, particularly those made out of foods that can’t be grown within Heiban.

Tertiary sector
Heiban’s serve sector accounts for 50.1%, or nearly $576.1 billion, of its total economic output as of 2020. Transportation and cargo, medicine, engineering and insurance are all major services provided by the Heibanese government, with large companies in such areas having earned national renown. Heiban has a particularly technologically advanced transport network consisting of high-speed railways, highway, bus routes and air routes spanning most of the territory. Moving around Heiban has been made both easy and accessible for most citizens as a way to promote national tourism and the nationalist ideals of the government. The providing of services like car rentals, public transportation between cities, and railway systems both underground and above ground has been pushed by the government for several decades, and continues to be one of the country’s strongest points. There are several major regional and international airports scattered across Heiban as well, with the largests being the Wangzuo Gong Lan International Airport and Gongzhuhua Sun Shui International Airport. The passenger transport industry in Heiban contributes nearly $296.4 billion to the country’s total GDP. Maritime travel and tourism play a major role in the country’s service sector. Having access to the ocean on all its fronts, Heiban’s major ports, located along the western coast, serve as arrival and departure points from and to Avalonia and eastern Kesh. As for its tourism service, Heiban is home to a few cruise lines, with its two largest offering cruise ship services within the South Kesh Bay, as well as Trans-Iapetus journeys, starting in Heiban and ending in southern Avalonia. Altogether, maritime services, including transportation, tourism and cargo, generate up to $193.7 billion in revenue. Along with these, minor services in Heiban also include hospitality (hotels, teahouses, cafés), architecture and engineering (inspection, surveying, system testing), medicine and veterinary medicine, and maintenance. The main services imported into Heiban are the foodservice, particularly adopting foreign food delivery companies, and international fast food chains. Financial, insurance and real estate services are also brought into the country from abroad.

Quaternary sector
Heiban’s quaternary sector makes up 5.7% of the country’s total GDP, generating up to $65.55 billion in revenue. Its main focus is scientific research and development, which has become increasingly ludicrous as of recent, partially due to growing investments from the elite and upper classes. Though quickly gaining government support through public funding, 61% of the research and development conducted in the country still receives private funds. The main imports from the quaternary sector into Heiban are written and audio-visual materials, such as films, music and video games. This is due to the government’s sensitivity in regards to freedom of speech in the country, disallowing citizens from expressing themselves through certain mediums, particularly books and films.

Banking system
The National Bank of Heiban acts as the central bank, and is in charge of managing the national currency, as well as dictating monetary policy for the state. While the National Bank is institutionally independent from political interference, many of its decisions are swayed by the elite and upper classes of society. The National Bank is in charge of controlling the money supply, managing the country's foreign-exchange and gold reserves, issuing coins and notes, advising the government in financial policy, and regulating and supervising the banking industry. Although the central bank is considered the "lender of last resort", acting as the bank for both the government and other bankers, citizens of the elite and upper class are allowed to deposit their money on a personal account within the National Bank, as opposed to doing so in a commercial bank like the rest of the population, in exchange for a fee inaccessible to those below the upper class*. This is done as a security measure, as commercial banks, particularly in poorer areas, are under the risk of being robbed, meanwhile the National Bank of Heiban employs state of the art security systems and a specific branch of the military in charge of protecting specific government buildings. Apart from the National Bank and the commercial banks across the country, Heiban is also home to the Treasure Palace of Heiban, in charge of printing and producing the coins and notes that are then issued by the National Bank.

Income, wealth and poverty
Heiban is characterized by a notorious wage gap and economic disparity, particularly when urban and rural areas. In wealthier provinces, money is usually easily acquired, as job opportunity is more varied and relatively abundant, with unemployment rates circling 3% in recent years. Meanwhile, poorer regions in the country present higher rates of robbery and armed theft, as well as tax evasion, with reported instances of tax money being stolen while being transported from certain provinces to the central bank. Elite and upper class citizens tend to use their wealth to sway policies in their favor, whether it be by expressing discomfort with certain political decisions through the termination of financial support in departments reliant on private funding, or by contributing large amounts of money on funds for specific scientific research. Financial discrimination has become an increasingly important issue in Heiban, but the government has failed to address and deal with it, while different so-called 'pockets' of extreme poverty, particular in rural areas, grow steadily.

Demographics
As of 2021, the population of Heiban is about 99.6 million, a vast majority of whom live in the mainland. The remainder population lives in the scattered islands off shore, particularly the ones along the southwestern border, with the largest island, Shajing Island, being home to nearly 100,000 people, earning it prefectural level status in 1997.

Population
The government of Heiban issued a report in 2019, stating that nearly 98% of its population were ethnically Heibanese. However, and due to Heiban's history and geographical location, anthropologists in the country consider there isn't such thing as 'Heibanese people' and that this ethnicity can be further divided into two major groups: Heibanese with ancestry in Eastern Kesh, and Heibanese with ancestry in Southern Kesh. Both groups divide the country almost completely evenly in half, with 51.7% of the population reporting ancestral ties to Southern Kesh, 46.3% to Eastern Kesh, and the remaining 2% being listed under 'Unknown/Other'.

Today, most Heibanese citizens live along the southern coast and around river basins, with only a few major cities located in the north of the country. Most cities in Heiban were built around river mouths to act as both ports to international waters, and to have access to the exported goods produced in the interior of the country by transporting them through the river. All ten largest cities in the country have access to the ocean whether it be direct or through rivers.

Language
The official language of the State of Heiban is Guoyu, written in the, also known as the Hui script, and spoken with a distinctive characteristic of the area. Being geographically distant from the Guoyu speaking countries of Kesh, the Guoyu spoken in Heiban adopted loanwords from languages of neighbouring nations. As the language used in trade in Southern Keh, Ramayan is considerably common in Heiban, having become a national language in 2011, with approximately 12% of the population being fluent and 25% being able to understand it in some capacity, particularly in eastern Heiban.

Religion
The Constitution of the Monarchical State of Heiban acknowledges and recognizes only one religion as official in the country and that is. The religion was introduced in Heiban during the 20th century through the colonies of the Samot-Seratofian Empire in former East Ramay, present-day South Kesh.

is legal in Heiban, however, only citizens born abroad can identify with a religion that isn’t Buddhism, whereas Heibanese citizens are required by law to adhere to the country’s faith or self-identify as, this identification is then added to each citizen’s national ID. Nearly 91% of the country identifies as Buddhist, with 7% identifying as irreligious, and a remaining 2% adhering to other religions - particularly and.

The State of Heiban has what are known as ‘core beliefs’, based on the Buddhist precepts and used to justify certain legal practices in the country; the core beliefs are the following:




 * 1) To abstain from onslaught on breathing beings: This includes the act of  of, ordering or causing someone else to kill another human being, , , , and in recent times it’s been used to promote the practice of  and  nationwide. Loopholes have been built around this belief in order to justify the , which can be dictated by the Monarch of Heiban or the Ladies of Justice. Crimes performed against this belief are punishable with the death penalty.
 * 2) To abstain from taking what is not given: This includes all forms of, , , , , , ,  and . Crimes performed against this belief are punishable with imprisonment.
 * 3) To abstain from misconduct concerning sense-pleasures: This includes, with the legal  being 18 years old. Crimes performed against this belief are punishable with imprisonment or the death penalty.
 * 4) To abstain from false speech: This includes the criminal offense of, , , as well as any form of defamation of the government and its ideology through written or spoken speech. All published material that doesn’t align with the government’s constructed image is banned or censored, and punishable with imprisonment or the death penalty.
 * 5) To abstain from alcoholic drink or drugs that are an opportunity for heedlessness: This includes the consumption and distribution, whether through selling or buying, of .  and  have been excluded from this belief for several decades. Crimes performed against this belief are punishable with imprisonment.

The Monarch of Heiban holds the title of Protector of the Faith and has the job of interpreting and protecting the country's national religion as well as deeming which practices are to be considered moral or immoral. Any religious order given by the Monarch is then reported to the Head Monk, head of the Grand Temple of Qiānliú (千流大庙) and the person in charge of spreading the religious teachings to the rest of the nation. In recent times, the sovereign has used his power as Protector of the Faith to shape and reinterpret Buddhist teachings as a way to justify changes in the Heibanese law, the most recent and well-known example of this is the creation of the aforementioned core beliefs in 1993.

Culture
Heibanese culture is a hybrid mixture of ancient traditions from eastern Kesh and the more recently adopted customs from southern Kesh, all of which have been influenced by the introduction of Buddhism and the government’s ideology. In the present day, Heiban is a self-proclaimed 'Culturally Unified State' as declared by the government. This is due to the work of the country's Royal Guard of Traditions (Guoyu: 皇家傳統衛隊, Huángjiā Chuántǒng Wèiduì), a branch of the military created with the purpose of protecting and reinforcing the practice of Heibanese traditions and customs above all else, as an act of cultural protectionism, and in an attempt to ensure Heibanese culture won't be tampered by the influence of its neighbors.

Art, entertainment and literature
Heibanese people are very traditional and usually have a hard time embracing newer customs and innovations into the country, this stands particularly true with the royal family and the extreme upper class families who view the introduction of newer customs as a threat to the Heibanese nationalism and their ludicrous ways of living. This sentiment is reflected in the different arts, forms of entertainment and literature present in the country.



Dancing, music and painting are the most prestigious forms of art and are held to a higher standard than any other. Every upper and middle class child is expected to learn to play an instrument at some point, children of the royal and extreme upper class in particularly are all taught how to play the national instrument, the Yueqin (Guoyu: 月琴, yuèqín). Dancing and painting, though not as commonly praised as music, are also appreciated nationwide, particularly since both forms of art are available to every citizen regardless of class, unlike certain musical instruments.

Literature has been an intricate topic throughout much of the country's history, as the writing and publishing of literary material was reserved only to the upper class for until fairly recently. Today, though writing has been made available to all citizens, the publishing of books can be a tricky situation in Heiban, particularly since the implementation of Heiban's Core Beliefs; historical and political books that don't align with the government's principles tend to be censored or outright banned, all books under these two literary genres published today either fall in line with the national ideology or act as indirect propaganda for the government. Fictional novels and books that don't touch into the political aspect of Heiban will usually do well and will rarely get censored.

The seventh art, though relatively new, has been gaining traction fast among the Heibanese people and could be considered the only form of modern art to have truly found its way among the country's more traditional and conservative beliefs. However, this appreciation toward cinema is mostly directed toward foreign movies, as the national movie industry remains relatively small and new, and those who aspire to become actors or actresses are usually looked down, since those are still considered 'jobs of last resort' by the older citizens, who grew up valuing manual and intellectual work over a creative one.

All foreign material, particularly books and movies, and songs to a lesser extent, are reviewed by the Ministry of Culture to determine if censorship or a cultural ban are necessary.