Since January 15, the Pacific island nation of Tonga has erupted violently for two consecutive days, causing a disruption of communications networks throughout the territory, and it is difficult to estimate the casualties in the country and to contact the King of Tonga.
Today we will approach the kingdom of Tonga, a small country in the South Pacific archipelago.
Overview
Country name: The Kingdom of Tonga, country code TON.
Capital: Nuku'alofa.
Area: 747 square kilometers, 2nd in Polynesia, 9th in Oceania, 175th in the world.
Population: 104,000 (as of December 2019).
Flag: Horizontal rectangular, length to width ratio of 2:1. The flag is red with a small white rectangle in the upper left corner, with a red cross. Red symbolizes the blood of Christ, and the cross represents Christianity.
Flag of Tonga
Coat of arms: The main body is a shield shape composed of six yellow corolla, and there are five sets of patterns on the shield: in the center is a white six-pointed star with a red cross; in the upper left are three white six-pointed stars, symbolizing the three main archipelagos that make up the country; in the upper right is a crown, symbolizing the dynasty of Tonga; in the lower left is a white dove with an olive branch, symbolizing peace; and in the lower right is three swords, representing the three dynasties in Tonga's history. The upper end of the shield is a large crown surrounded by olive branches, symbolizing Tonga as a constitutional monarchy; on each side is a flag, and the lower end of the ribbon reads "God and Tonga are my heritage".
Coat of arms of Tonga
National anthem: Song of the Kings of the Tonga Islands.
National flower: Tonga Garcinia. The plant is evergreen and can thrive in wet and dry forested areas, meaning it doesn't go away in any season. Its height ranges from 4 meters to 20 meters, and the trunk of this tree reaches 30 centimeters in diameter. Commonly used as edible fruit, it is a source of supplies for the locals and is related to medicine.
National Bird: Pacific Emperor Dove.
A brief history of the country
It has been settled here for more than 3,000 years.
From about 950 AD to the present, it has experienced four dynasties, and is now the Tauffa Ahao dynasty established by George Tupou I in 1845.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, Dutch, British, and Spanish explorers arrived. Christianity was introduced in the 19th century. It became a British Protectorate in 1900.
He became independent on 4 June 1970 and became a member of the Commonwealth.
Geographical environment
It is located in the western South Pacific Ocean, west of the International Date Line, 650 km west of Fiji, 1770 km southwest of New Zealand, and across the sea from Samoa in the north.
It is composed of the three archipelagos of Tongatab, Wawau and Hapai and the small islands of Ewa and Niua, with a total of 173 islands, of which 36 are inhabited and have no rivers.
The Tongatapu Islands are located in southern Tonga and consist of the islands of Tongatapu, Eva and a series of small islands with a land area of 464 square kilometers. The main island, Tongatapu Island (257 square kilometers), is the largest island in Tonga.
Located in the north of Tonga, the Wawau Islands are made up of 34 islands, including Wawau, with a land area of 115 square kilometers. The main island is Wavou Island (area 89 km²).
Located in central Tonga, the Hapai Archipelago consists of 36 islands, including Falcon, Rifuka, Tofua (47 km2), nomuca, etc., with a land area of 118 square kilometers. Kao Island is the highest point in the country (1030 meters).
politics
The only monarchy in the Pacific Islands region. Society is divided into three classes: royalty, nobility and commoners. There are 33 hereditary titles of nobility throughout the country. The king was the head of state and had long held great power.
A constitutional monarchy began in 1875. The Constitution stipulates that the government shall be composed of three parts: the Cabinet, the Legislative Council and the judiciary, and shall implement the separation of powers.
Two-party state, the Island of Friendship Democratic Party and the Tonga Democratic Party.
The country is divided into 5 districts, Tongatapu District, Wawau District, Eva District, Hapai District, Niuas District (also known as Central District, Kara District, Maritime District, Pratt Oaks District and Sabanis District). There are 23 counties below the district.
On November 2, 1998, China and Tajikistan established diplomatic relations. On May 18, 2005, the Tang Embassy in China was officially opened. In November 2018, China-Tonga established a strategic partnership, on June 9, 2016, the visa of ordinary passport holders was mutually waived, and on November 12, 2018, the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Kingdom of Tonga on Jointly Promoting the Construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road became a partner country of the Belt and Road.
economy
Tangjia is dominated by agriculture, fisheries and tourism, with underdeveloped industry, low productivity levels, backward economic development, and heavy dependence on foreign aid.
Fishery resources are relatively abundant, mainly exporting tuna. There are basically no mineral resources on land, and oil and gas resources in the sea area are being explored. Tourism is one of the economic sectors vigorously developed by the Tang government and is regarded as a new economic growth point to increase people's income and solve employment.
The monetary unit is Panga (1 US dollar is about 2.4 paʻanga), and the GDP of the tower in 2020 is 82.5 billion somoni, or about 7.3 billion US dollars.
culture
Ethnically, 98 per cent are Tongans, of polynesian descent, while the rest are other Pacific Islanders, Europeans, Asians and their descendants.
In terms of languages, Tongan and English are the lingua franca. 10 people.
Religiously, the Tongans are mostly Christian.
Important holidays include New Year's Day (1 January), Independence Day (4 June), Constitution Day or National Day (4 November).