The collapse of several governments in Asia and the devastation following the Pacific War brought great headaches to the American administrators of the defeated territories. Most troublesome were the Chinese coastal areas of (soon-to-be) Cathay, where agitators were already working to destabilize the occupation army. Trying to set up dozens of new pro-American governments across the Mutation-devastated region became quickly hopeless, and the hawkish administration of President Haldeman chose to impose a regional pro-tem government to coordinate all activity in the area. The new Department of Governance thus became the sole administrator of the Pacific Zone, ensuring law and order, distributing food and vaccines, and suppressing any pro-Chinese insurgencies.

That last mandate soon entangled Governance in a series of assassinations and reprisals, followed by more troops from Washington and increased Imperial Chinese support for radicals and rebels. Determined not to let its hard-won victory over China go to waste, the US deployed special brigades of Colonial Marines to impose order. The police actions rapidly degenerated into running battles and civil war in Mindanao, Borneo, Sumatra and Guangdong. Today Governance is tasked with cleaning up the "Pacific Conflict Zone" a region of despair and guerrilla fighting that runs like a sore in the USA's political agenda for the East Asian region.

+++they've got nobody but themselves to blame for this mess. who told them to administer the region like it was a fiefdom or colonial backwater? The people have a right to self-determination, but the Apparatus fears renewed Chinese domination, so the Americans will never give it up+++[Disputin]+++

+++minor note: Governance employs very few Chinese. Malays, Filipinos, Koreans, Australians, even Japanese are welcome, but not Chinese, and especially not Huaren+++[Shenkiller]+++

BENEFITS
Not very many. Governance personnel are generally considered 'prime targets' in most territories except Hong Kong, Manila, Taiwan, and Jakarta. Governance personnel receive a +1 in Rank, but whether that rank will be respected depends on the proximity of Colonial Marines. Employees also receive a +1 in Notoriety.