Puppet state in the context of "Changchun"

A political union is a type of political entity which is composed of, or created from, smaller polities or the process which achieves this. These smaller polities are usually called federated states and federal territories in a federal government; they are called prefectures, regions, or provinces in the case of a centralised government. This form of government may be created through voluntary and mutual cession and is described as unionism by its constituent members and proponents. In other cases, it may arise from political unification, characterised by coercion and conquest. The unification of separate states which, in the past, had together constituted a single entity is known as reunification. Unlike a personal union or real union, the individual constituent entities may have devolution of powers but are subordinate to a central government or coordinated in some sort of organization. In a federalised system, the constituent entities usually have internal autonomy, for example in the setup of police departments, and share power with the federal government, for whom external sovereignty, military forces, and foreign affairs are usually reserved. The union is recognised internationally as a single political entity. A political union may also be called a legislative union or state union.A union may be effected in many forms, broadly categorized as:

• Incorporating union
• Incorporating annexation
• Federal union
• Federative annexation
• Mixed unions

Japan's Kwantung Army invaded the Manchuria region of China on 18 September 1931, immediately following the Mukden incident, a false flag event staged by Japanese military personnel as a pretext to invade. At the war's end in February 1932, the Japanese established the puppet state of Manchukuo. The occupation lasted until mid-August 1945, towards the end of the Second World War, in the face of an onslaught by the Soviet Union and Mongolia during the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation.

With the invasion having attracted great international attention, the League of Nations produced the Lytton Commission (headed by British politician Victor Bulwer-Lytton) to evaluate the situation, with the organization delivering its findings in October 1932. Its findings and recommendations that the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo not be recognized and the return of Manchuria to Chinese sovereignty prompted the Japanese government to withdraw from the League entirely.

A vassal state is any state that has a mutual obligation to a superior state or empire, in a status similar to that of a vassal in the feudal system in medieval Europe. Vassal states were common among the empires of the Near East, dating back to the era of the Egyptian, Hittite, and Mitanni conflict, as well as in ancient China.

The relationships between vassal rulers and empires were dependent upon the policies and agreements of each empire. While the payment of tribute and military service was common amongst vassal states, the degree of independence and benefits given to vassal states varied. Today, more common terms are puppet state, protectorate, client state, associated state, or satellite state.

Albania is a unitary parliamentary constitutional republic, in which the president of Albania is the head of state and the prime minister of Albania is the head of government in a multi-party system. The executive power is exercised by the Government and the prime minister with its Cabinet. Legislative power is vested in the Parliament of Albania. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The political system of Albania is laid out in the 1998 constitution. The Parliament adopted the current constitution on 28 November 1998. Historically Albania has had many constitutions. Initially constituted as a monarchy in 1913, Albania became briefly a republic in 1925, and then a authoritarian monarchy in 1928. In 1939 Albania was invaded by Fascist Italian forces, imposing a puppet state, and later occupied by Nazi German forces. Following the partisan liberation from the Nazis in 1944 a provisional government was formed, which by 1946 had transformed into a communist one-party state. In March 1991 democracy was restored with multi-party elections.

The president represents the unity of the Albanian people in the country and abroad as the head of state and is also the commander-in-chief of the military. The president is nominated through a secret vote and without debate by the Parliament of Albania by a majority of three-fifths of all its members and is in every case elected for five years. The president maintains regular and coordinated operation and stability of the national government system, safeguards the independence and territorial integrity of Albania and appoints prime ministers on the basis of the balance of power in the Parliament. The prime minister is appointed by the president after each parliamentary election and must have the confidence of the Parliament to stay in office. The prime minister is elected on the basis of universal suffrage, through a secret ballot, for a four-year term. The constitution sets no limit as to office terms of the prime minister. The prime minister is de facto the most powerful and influential person in Albanian politics. However, in the absence of the prime minister, the deputy prime minister takes over his functions, such as chairing the cabinet and the council of ministers of Albania.

The colonial expansion of the Empire of Japan in the Western Pacific Ocean and East Asia began in 1895 with Japan's victory over the Chinese Qing dynasty in the First Sino-Japanese War. Subsequent victories over the Russian Empire (Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905) and the German Empire (World War I) expanded Japanese rule. Taiwan came under Japanese control from 1895, Korea in 1905, Micronesia in 1914, Southern Sakhalin in 1905, several concessions in China from 1903 onwards, and the South Manchuria Railway from 1905. In 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria, resulting in the establishment of the puppet state of Manchukuo the following year; thereafter, Japan adopted a policy of founding and supporting puppet states in conquered regions. These conquered territories became the basis for what became known as the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere from 1940. (The Co-Prosperity Sphere expanded to include much of China, Indo-China, Malaya, the Philippines, the East Indies, Burma and New Guinea by 1942.)

Including Mainland Japan, colonies, occupied territories, and puppet states, the Empire of Japan at its apex was one of the largest empires in history. The total amount of land under Japanese sovereignty reached 8,510,000 km (3,300,000 sq mi) in 1942. By 1943, it accounted for more than 20% of the world's population at the time, with 463 million people in its occupied regions and territories.

A client state, in the context of international relations, is an umbrella term that broadly refers to any state economically, politically, and militarily subordinated to a more powerful controlling state. It typically describes a bilateral relationship that is mutually beneficial, characterized by different but shared obligations.

Variants of a client state are associated state, dominion, condominium, self-governing colony, neo-colony, protectorate, puppet state, satellite state, vassal state and tributary state.

The Ottoman Empire had a number of tributary and vassal states throughout its history. Its tributary states would regularly send tribute to the Ottoman Empire, which was understood by both states as also being a token of submission. In exchange for certain privileges, its vassal states were obligated to render support to the Ottoman Empire when called upon to do so. Some of its vassal states were also tributary states.

These client states, many of which could be described by modern terms such as satellite states or puppet states, were usually on the periphery of the Ottoman Empire under suzerainty of the Sublime Porte, over which direct control was not established. The Ottoman Empire maintained relationships with various states, some of which were under their direct rule (provinces) and others that were vassal states or tributary states, meaning they recognized Ottoman suzerainty but retained a degree of autonomy.

German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the Wehrmacht (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 and 1945, during World War II, administered by the Nazi regime, under the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler.

The Wehrmacht occupied European territory: