title: Dragon Age II

text: The player selects a preset or imported story to determine the events of "". This forms the background story of "Dragon Age II". The main story has a linear frame narrative, unfolding through flashbacks from the perspective of the game's unreliable narrator, a dwarf rogue named Varric Tethras (Brian Bloom) with a humorous though caring personality. The protagonist is Hawke (voiced by either Nicholas Boulton or Jo Wyatt), whose sex, first name, appearance, and class type is player-determined. During the events of "Origins", Hawke fled the nation of Ferelden as a refugee to the city-state of Kirkwall. There they eventually grew in power and influence to become the legendary "Champion of Kirkwall", and the center of events that change the course of history. Varric, Hawke's companion, relates the Champion's "true story" to his interrogator Cassandra Pentaghast (Miranda Raison), mainly based on the protagonist's choices. The story is told in three acts, with each act separated by a gap of almost three years. Although the story remains unaltered until the two endings, it is greatly influenced by the player's decisions.


title: Dragon Age II

text: Hawke can recruit up to eight companions, each of whom can be player-controlled. Along with Varric, mandatory companions include Anders (Adam Howden), a proud but mercurial mage and former Grey Warden determined to defend the mages in Kirkwall from the Templars; Aveline Vallen (Joanna Roth), a pragmatic and strict warrior who rise up the ranks of the Kirkwall City Guard to become its leader; and Merrill (Eve Myles), a soft-hearted but socially awkward Dalish elven mage shunned by her clan due to her obsession with a dangerous ancient artifact as well as her use of blood magic. As well, one of Hawke's two siblings serves as a companion for the story's first act: their sister Bethany (Rebekah Staton), a kind though timid mage who has a loving relationship with her sibling; or their brother Carver (Nico Lennon), a prideful and abrasive warrior who cares for Hawke but feels overshadowed by them.


title: Dragon Age II

text: Optional companions include Fenris (Gideon Emery), a powerful elven warrior seeking revenge on his former slaver; and Isabela (Victoria Kruger), a confident and promiscuous pirate captain searching for a coveted relic. Sebastian Vael (Alec Newman), a master archer and pious layman of the Kirkwall Chantry, can be recruited via the downloadable content, "The Exiled Prince." Anders, Fenris, Isabela and Merrill are romance options for Hawke of either sex, with Sebastian a chaste love interest for a female Hawke.


title: Dragon Age II

text: Cassandra seeks out Hawke, the "Champion of Kirkwall", with the Seekers, an offshoot of the Templars. She captures and interrogates Varric, demanding to know how Hawke started a war between the mages and Templars. Varric complies and tells her how the war started. The story starts shortly after the , with the Hawke family escaping their home village of Lothering in Ferelden with a darkspawn horde in pursuit. Either Bethany or Carver (Hawke's siblings) are killed in the process. Flemeth, a witch who can assume the form of a dragon, helps the party escape to Kirkwall, a city across the sea, provided Hawke completes a task for her. Hawke enters the service of a mercenary band or smuggler group to enter Kirkwall, after which the family takes up residence in the city's Lowtown with Hawke's uncle Gamlen.


title: Dragon Age II

text: A year later, a prosperous opportunity presents itself to Hawke; Varric and his brother Bartrand are planning a treasure hunting expedition into the perilous region of the Deep Roads. Varric partners with Hawke to acquire funding and knowledge of the region. Hawke enlists the aid of Anders, a former Grey Warden with knowledge of the Deep Roads. However, a magical red lyrium idol corrupts Bartrand's mind and causes him to betray Hawke and Varric. Additionally, Hawke's surviving sibling is either killed by the darkspawn taint, or conscripted into the Grey Wardens if they are brought along. If not, then they are conscripted either into the Circle of Mages or the Templar Order, depending on the sibling who survives. Despite this, Hawke and Varric are able to escape back to the surface, and the proceeds from the expedition make Hawke famous and wealthy, enabling them to buy back their family mansion in Hightown.


title: Dragon Age II

text: Three years later, the Viscount of Kirkwall summons Hawke to help resolve a political situation caused by the foreign military forces of the Qunari. The Qunari, shipwrecked in Kirkwall three years earlier, neither obey Kirkwall's laws nor seem willing to leave, escalating tension between them and the inhabitants of Kirkwall. Hawke's mother, Leandra, is murdered by a blood mage serial killer preying on Kirkwall's women. Hawke resolves to uncover "O", the identity of the serial killer's accomplice, but eventually discovers the reason the Qunari refuse to leave Kirkwall is because Isabela stole a coveted artifact from them, which they are not allowed to return to their homeland of Par Vollen without. When she flees Kirkwall with the artifact, the Qunari leader, the Arishok, decides to attack Kirkwall and executes the Viscount. Hawke's party successfully retakes Kirkwall and, if Hawke chooses, eliminates the Arishok. Hawke is declared the Champion of Kirkwall in the aftermath.


title: Dragon Age II

text: After another three years, Kirkwall is turned into a police state under the tyrannical rule of the Templars. Under the command of Knight-Commander Meredith, they aim to oppress mages for their use of blood magic. Meredith is challenged by First Enchanter Orsino, the Circle of Magi leader in Kirkwall, who tries to topple her with public support. Constant violence between the two sides forces the Champion of Kirkwall to intervene, during which a group of anti-Meredith rebels kidnap Hawke's surviving sibling/closest friend. Fearing for their loved ones' safety, Hawke attempts to get away from the conflict. However, Anders orchestrates an explosion that levels the Chantry and kills Grand Cleric Elthina. This triggers a battle between the mages and templars across the city, forcing Hawke to choose a side. They end up killing both Orsino, who is surmised to have been "O", and Meredith, who bought the lyrium idol from Bartrand, which has corrupted her mind and convinced her to go through a mass extermination of mages. Afterwards, Hawke either leaves Kirkwall as a hero to mages, or is elected the city's Viscount.


title: Dragon Age II

text: Varric concludes the story, saying that eventually, Hawke's companions drifted apart, and Hawke left Kirkwall. The Circles of Magi all over Thedas have followed Kirkwall's example and rebelled, with the Templars breaking away from the Chantry to fight them. Cassandra lets Varric go and leaves with Leliana and fellow Seekers, believing that since both Hawke and the (if alive) have disappeared, they must be found to stop the war.


title: Dragon Age II

text: BioWare's Edmonton office began development of "Dragon Age II" during the production of "". Publisher Electronic Arts gave BioWare only 14 to 16 months to finish the game's development, forcing the team to crunch for an extended period. Mike Laidlaw, David Gaider and Inon Zur returned to their roles as lead designer, writer and composer respectively. The game's development was completed on February 11, 2011, with BioWare confirming it had been declared gold, indicating it was being prepared for duplication and release.


title: Dragon Age II

text: One of BioWare's core goals when creating the game was to improve the formula established in "Origins". According to Laidlaw, the team evaluated "Origins" different gameplay components, especially its overly complex mechanics, and studied players' feedback. After learning most players never finished the early hours of "Origins", the team's goal was to make "Dragon Age II" more accessible to new players, and appeal to more players. They decided to streamline some of the game's mechanics, while retaining many conventional elements of a role-playing game. The team also looked at reviews of "Origins", and realized that one of the common criticisms, especially of the console versions, focused on the game's slow combat. As a result, the team looked at gameplay of action games and sped up its combat so it would be more responsive and give more immediate responses without latency. The game's combat animation was made to be more reactive and "stylish" to reflect this. While it became more action-orientated, the team did not completely remove the tactical aspect of "Origins" as they felt that would alienate its fan base. Despite this, the bird's-eye view from "Origins" was removed as the team wanted to create more varied scenery for players without needing to "slice off" the top of a room. Laidlaw added the gameplay is more tactical in nature as the team overhauled the combo system which prompts players to make use of all the classes' talents. According to Robyn Theberge, the game's development manager, the team hoped players could "think like a general" using Tactic, and "fight like a spartan" with the game's faster combat.


title: Dragon Age II

text: The works of Pieter Bruegel, Sergio Leone and Akira Kurosawa, as well as movies including "Yojimbo" and "Conan" inspired the game. The team aimed to create art that was "memorable" and stylistic as they addressed a shortcoming of "Origins" where locales looked largely unremarkable. The team also aimed to have consistent graphic designs throughout the game to rectify "Origins"s visual inconsistencies. The game's races featured redesigns so they look more distinctive. For instance, the Qunari now have a pair of horns, as opposed to their hornless counterparts in "Origins". Due to the game's short development cycle, BioWare set the game in a single city so they could reuse many art assets. Laidlaw added the team drew inspiration from "Eternal Darkness" where players get to see the city evolve as time progresses. This meant the team only had to modify the assets and did not need to create new ones.


title: Dragon Age II

text: While "Origins" was developed mainly for personal computers, BioWare developed "Dragon Age II" for both PCs and consoles, hoping players of both machines could enjoy the same experience. The game's controls, including the Tactic menu and commands, as well as its story are identical across all the versions, though there are differences in their user interfaces. Laidlaw described porting "Origins" to the PlayStation 3 as a terrible experience. Learning from it, the team redesigned all of their art assets to make the game look better graphically. The game was powered by an improved version of the Eclipse Engine. Renamed Lycium, it was designed to accommodate the game's new art style. Neil Thompson, BioWare's art and animation director, revealed in 2013 the team was disappointed by the game's visuals as the Eclipse Engine had become outdated by the time the game was released, leading to mediocre visuals. The game's lighting was largely improved by the introduction of global illumination in the game's engine. New tools for sky editing and water rendering were introduced to further enhance the game's visuals.


title: Dragon Age II

text: Gaider and five other writers penned the game's narrative. The team hoped to move away from "Origins" narrative formula. It was criticized for being a predictable and formulaic hero journey. As a result, the team decided to make the narrative more "personal", focusing on one character over the course of several years with a framed structure that allows the story to skip periods that do not interest players. To offer a more focused experience, the team decided to ditch players' origin stories. Inspired by "", Hawke is fully voiced as opposed to the Warden (the silent player character in "Origins"). The story's tone was also considered darker than its predecessor. Gaider believed this approach introduced new opportunities for storytelling, as consequences of a player's decisions can be highlighted further, and the state of the game's world can be radically changed. Laidlaw added that with choices having more impact, "Dragon Age II" would be BioWare's "most reactive game". There were different types of choices in the game, namely flavors, local choices and global choices. Some have little effect on the game's narrative, while others may affect the story dramatically. As players have no knowledge of the extent of the impact a choice will bring, the team hoped they had created a more individualized experience. Like its predecessor, the choices presented were not "black or white", so players are motivated to do what they deem is appropriate.


title: Dragon Age II

text: The team used an approach called a "one-pager", where the general overview of the story was produced; then the writers expanded the smaller components. The team also used a wiki to store the game's lore to keep it consistent. All story content was reviewed twice. The first, named a "white box" interview, was used to evaluate its pacing and the choices presented, while the second, named an "orange box" interview, was used to flesh out the details of each quest. Though players can import saves from "Origins" into the game, the narrative was not changed significantly because the team wanted to acknowledge players' choices and pay homage to certain characters, without having to create "obligatory cameos" of characters. The team also felt that new players would be alienated if "Origins" story arc continued in the sequel. Laidlaw added that unlike "Mass Effect", "Dragon Age" is more about the place and the setting than the characters. According to Gaider, the game was about "freedom versus security", as reflected by the conflicts between the mages and the Templars. The game had 103 minutes of cutscenes, and nearly half a million lines of dialogue.


title: Dragon Age II

text: As the game focuses on Hawke's family and their adventures in the world, Zur used a string quartet to play the solo, while the orchestra had a supporting role. He introduced Middle-eastern sounds for the city of Kirkwall, since it was foreign to the Hawke family. Zur collaborated with Aubrey Ashburn, who sang the main title and several songs in the game, an Israeli songwriter, and Florence and The Machine, whose song "I’m Not Calling You a Liar" was reimagined for the game. Like its predecessor, the game's music is a cross between "heroic" and "demonic". According to Zur, he was given more creative freedom by BioWare since the style of the game's music had already been established in "Origins".


title: Dragon Age II

text: Electronic Arts announced "Dragon Age II" in July 2010. They released a public demo of the game, which was available from February 22 to March 1, 2011. Players who pre-ordered the game received two exclusive weapons. Players who had pre-ordered the game before January 11, 2011 also had access to the "BioWare Signature Edition", which included new items and missions, a new companion, and a digital version of the game's original soundtrack. BioWare partnered with Razer to launch a gaming periphery product line called the "Collector's Edition Product Line". A Facebook tie-in game called "Dragon Age Legends", a 2D role-playing strategy game, was announced in November 2010 for release in March 2011. Players of "Dead Space 2" received an exclusive armor in the game modeled after "Dead Space"s protagonist Isaac Clarke.


title: Dragon Age II

text: "Dragon Age II" went on sale in North America and Europe on March 8 and 11, 2011, respectively. The game was removed from the digital Steam storefront by the Valve in July 2011. According to EA, the reason was they had breached Valve's policy, which "[limits] how developers interact with customers to sell downloadable content (DLC)". About a month after the game's release, EA rewarded early adopters of the game with a free download code for "Mass Effect 2", another BioWare title. The game became a backward compatible title on Xbox One on May 3, 2018.


title: Dragon Age II

text: Six downloadable content packs for "Dragon Age II " were released between March 2011 and October 2011. The content ranges from minor in-game item packs to more significant plot-driven campaign modules. Major packs include "Legacy" and "Mark of The Assassin", which advance the narrative of the "Dragon Age" series as a whole. In "Legacy", Hawke investigates a prison constructed by the Grey Wardens, which holds a powerful and ancient darkspawn. In "Mark of The Assassin", Hawke must infiltrate an estate outside Kirkwall and steal a precious relic. An expansion pack entitled "The Exalted March" had been in development, but was cancelled as the studio decided to focus on tweaking the Frostbite engine, which would be used for their future games.


title: Dragon Age II

text: A mini-series titled "", which features Felicia Day in the lead role of Tallis was announced in February 2011. Peter Winther directed the series, John Bartley served as its cinematographer, and Day was involved in its scriptwriting. The six-part webseries premiered on October 10, 2011, one day before the release of the "Mark of The Assassin" DLC pack where Tallis appears as a guest companion.


title: Dragon Age II

text: The game received generally positive reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic. Laidlaw admitted the team never expected the game to perform as well as "Origins", but he thought the title would score higher.


title: Dragon Age II

text: Several critics praised the game's combat noting it was faster than its predecessor. Joe Juba of "Game Informer" praised it for being "responsive" and believed the new system suited the game. IGN's Kristine Steimer praised the combat, which integrated action elements and tactical features together well, for being "entertaining" and "versatile". However, she found issues with the console controls' imprecision and AI weaknesses. Mike Sharkey of GameSpy described the gameplay as "smooth". He noted its improved user interface, and felt it was a "great fusion" of both action and strategic elements, though he remarked that deploying strategy is not as necessary as before. GamesRadar's Eric Neigher was disappointed by the "cumbersome" strategy system, which made the combat excessively straightforward. Rich McCormick of "PC Gamer" liked the game's talents and abilities, saying they are "exciting" to use. VanOrd appreciated its flexibility, though he thought it was streamlined, alongside the inventory management system. Both "GameSpot"s VanOrd and Juba noted there were issues with the third-person gameplay in the PC version.


title: Dragon Age II

text: The game's storytelling attracted mixed responses. The use of an unreliable narrator was applauded for holding the story together in a cohesive manner by McCormick, and being entertaining by Steimer. Sharkey liked the three-act structure, comparing it to "historical fiction reads" that explores a "tumultuous period in a fully realized fantasy world". Neigher thought the three-act structure delivered a "compelling" story, and appreciated the game's writing, calling it a step-up from "Origins". VanOrd disliked the game's storytelling, however, calling it a "downward turn" from "Origins" as it lacked a central goal that engaged players, thus making the story less epic than it should be. However, he remarked that there were "heartfelt moments", mostly associated with the game's sidequests and companions. Juba agreed with VanOrd on the story's shortcomings, saying that there was little tension or consequences in the main story, and it felt like several side-quests stitched together. However, he praised the scenarios for being creative and inventive. Both VanOrd and "Eurogamer"s Dan Whitehead noted the game drew inspiration from real-life events when the writing team created the setting and its cultural and political conflicts. Whitehead called it "a political game".


title: Dragon Age II

text: Critics had varied opinions on the game's dialogue system. McCormick felt the lack of a morality system enabled players to pick different dialogue stances depending on different circumstances, as opposed to being funneled to role-play a certain personality. He praised the game's three-act structure for making choices consequential. Decisions made earlier may result in a significant difference several years later in the game. McCormick called this "impressive". Sharkey and Whitehead liked the choices presented, and felt they were impactful and often morally ambiguous. VanOrd agreed, and attributed it to the setting's unstable political climate. He was disappointed that some choices were merely illusions, but felt there were more impactful decisions in the game than in "Origins". However, Steimer felt there were not a lot of impactful choices in the game, and criticized the cliffhanger ending. Joseph Leray of "Destructoid" commented on the game's pacing, saying that "Act I is too long, Act III is too short, and Act II feels like the climax of the game but is largely tangential to the main plot".


title: Dragon Age II

text: Critics praised the companions featured in the game. Steimer liked the background banter between the companions, saying they are "heartwarming" and "hilarious". Sharkey felt the characters were exceptional, calling them BioWare's best, though he was disappointed by the fact their armor could not be customized. Neigher also liked the companions, saying they were more fleshed out and less "expository". Both Whitehead and VanOrd felt the companions were not as interesting as the original game, though VanOrd noted their personalities are "vivid" nonetheless, and all the companions were excellently voiced and their lines were well-written. Juba, however, found the companions superior to those in "Origins". Leray liked the companion quests, singling out Merill's and Aveline's as two of the best. However, he lamented the game did not offer enough opportunities to interact with its cast of companions. Revisiting "Dragon Age II" in 2015, Chris Thursten of "PC Gamer" praised the game's handling of its roster of companions, noting that "they have their own homes, jobs and opinions". Thrusten also praised the complex relationships they have with each other. He noted that Hawke's decade in Kirkwall is primarily an exploration of these relationships and concluded that "BioWare has not created a narrative with this much nuance since, nor so many clever moments...".


title: Dragon Age II

text: Reused assets and the game being set entirely in Kirkwall were criticized. Some critics felt the game confined players to a very small city. Steimer felt the rich lore featured in the game was wasted. McCormick felt the small world helped players become more thoroughly engaged in it, able to understand its culture and politics due to its small scale. Sharkey called certain areas in the game "carbon-copy dungeon crawls", and was disappointed by the excessive reuse of areas. Neigher added that the backtracking featured in the game gave the impression it was more linear than its predecessor. Juba felt the game's locations were "painfully limited", and players would get tired of them after a while. Leray criticized the assets for being "bland", saying that reusing them made the issue even worse. Like Juba, he felt that locations would become "stale" as players progress, and that the city has too few people of interest or missions for players to complete.


title: Dragon Age II

text: Before the game's release, players of the original game were worried the sequel would be streamlined like "Mass Effect". Head writer David Gaider assured fans of "Origins" this was not the case. While BioWare expected fan criticism over the drastic changes implemented in the sequel, they were surprised by the widespread backlash from players. EA acknowledged the game's negative reception among fans, saying that they "lost some ["Origins"] fans" with the game's release. Players were divided over "Dragon Age II". Most of their criticism was directed at the game's wave-based enemies, excessively reused environments, and the lack of origin choices.


title: Dragon Age II

text: A BioWare employee was caught posting as a consumer on Metacritic. The employee, Chris Hoban, gave the game score of 10/10. An EA representative responded after much online controversy saying it is normal for people who work on a game to like and support it, though it is unclear if Hoban acted on his own or at the behest of the company. The game was criticized for allegedly using SecuROM digital rights management software, though BioWare refuted the allegations and added they merely used a release date checker (made by the company that produced SecuROM) that deletes itself after the game is released. In early 2011, shortly after the release of "Dragon Age II", one player made a forum post on Bioware's then-active social forums expressing their distaste for unwanted homosexual advances, and asked for a much bigger focus on straight male gamers as well as an option to remove homosexual content. Gaider replied by saying the game is designed to be inclusive and for everyone, and that making romances for both sexes was less costly than creating new ones.


title: Dragon Age II

text: "Dragon Age II" was the best-selling retail game in the UK in its week of release according to Chart-Track, outselling competitors including "Pokémon Black" and "White". Worldwide, the game sold more than one million copies in less than two weeks, a faster sales pace than its predecessor when it was released in 2009. By May 2011, it has sold over two million copies.


title: Dragon Age II

text: The aftermath of the game's ending is explored in the 2011 tie-in novel, "". A sequel, "", was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in November 2014. The villain from the "Legacy" DLC, Corypheus, returns as the primary antagonist in "Inquisition", and Hawke appears as a non-playable support character.


title: Malacca City

text: Malacca City ( or "") is the capital city of the Malaysian state of Malacca. As of 2019 it has a population of 579,000. Malacca City is one of the cleanest cities in South East Asia, being awarded as National Winner of Asean Clean Tourist City Standard Award 2018–2020 recently. It is the oldest Malaysian city on the Straits of Malacca, having become a successful entrepôt in the era of the Malacca Sultanate. The present-day city was founded by Parameswara, a Sumatran prince who escaped to the Malay Peninsula when Srivijaya fell to the Majapahit. Following the establishment of the Malacca Sultanate, the city drew the attention of traders from the Middle East, South Asia, and East Asia, as well as the Portuguese, who intended to dominate the trade route in Asia. After Malacca was conquered by Portugal, the city became an area of conflict when the sultanates of Aceh and Johor attempted to take control from the Portuguese.


title: Malacca City

text: Following a number of wars between these territories, Aceh declined in influence while Johor survived and expanded its influence over territory previously lost to Aceh in Sumatra when Johor co-operated with the Dutch who arrived to establish dominance over Java and Maluku Islands. However, due to royal internal strife between the Malay and Bugis, the Johor-Riau Empire was divided into the sultanates of Johor and Riau-Lingga. This separation became permanent when the British arrived to establish their presence in the Malay Peninsula. The Dutch, who already felt threatened in the presence of the British, began conquering the Riau-Lingga Sultanate along with the rest of Sumatra, while Johor came under British influence following the signing of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824.


title: Malacca City

text: When the British succeeded in extending their influence over the Malay Peninsula, the city soon became an area of development under the Straits Settlements as part of the British Empire. The development and burgeoning prosperity were, however, halted when the Japanese arrived in World War II and occupied the area from 1942 to 1945. During the occupation, many of the city's residents were taken and forced to construct the Death Railway in Burma (present-day Myanmar). After the war, the city was returned to the British and remained as the capital of Malacca. The status as a capital remained until the formation of Malaysia in 1963, and in 2008 it was listed, together with George Town of Penang, as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its long history.


title: Malacca City

text: The economy of Malacca City is largely based on tourism. As the economic centre of the state of Malacca, it also hosts several international conferences and trade fairs. The city is located along the Maritime Silk Road, proposed by China in 2013. Among the tourist attractions in Malacca City are Porta de Santiago, Jonker Walk, Little India, Portuguese Settlement, Stadthuys, Maritime Museum, Christ Church, Malacca Sultanate Palace Museum and Taming Sari Tower.


title: Malacca City

text: According to legend, the site that is now Malacca City was named "Malaka" when Parameswara, a Sumatran prince arrived there. While he was resting under a tree known as a Malacca tree, he saw his warrior's hunting dogs were challenged and kicked into a river by a tiny mouse deer. Amused by this, he chose to name the site "Malaka" after the tree under which he was sitting. When the city came under Portuguese administration, its name was spelled "Malaca", under Dutch administration as "Malakka" or "Malacka", and under British rule, "Malacca". The Straits of Malacca were named after the city at the time of the Malacca Sultanate.


title: Malacca City

text: Malacca was established when Parameswara, who had escaped from Palembang in Sumatra, decided to build a new kingdom following Malay Srivijaya's fall in 1377 after being attacked by Javanese Majapahit. Before he reached the site, he arrived in Temasek, which he decided to make the centre of the new Malay Kingdom's administration. But when Parameswara lived there, he killed Temagi, a Regent of Singapura who served under the Siamese King to take over the throne from Temagi. Fearing further reprisals by Siam when the news reached the Siamese Kingdom, Parameswara decided to move to a new place. After he left Temasek, it was attacked by Majapahit. Parameswara then headed to the north of Malay Peninsula and arrived at Muar, where he tried to establish another new kingdom at either Biawak Busuk or Kota Buruk, but found the locations unsuitable.


title: Malacca City

text: Parameswara continue his journey to the north, where he reportedly visited Sening Ujong (now Sungai Ujong) before arriving at a Malay fishing village at the mouth of Bertam River (now Malacca River). He decided to stop there to rest. While he was resting under a tree, he saw his follower's hunting dogs fighting with a small mouse deer before they were kicked into a river by the deer. Amused by this, he thought the place he rested must be an unusual place; following this event, in 1396 he announced the place would be called "Malaka". Soon, the site became the centre of the Malay world in the 15th and 16th centuries and the most prosperous entrepôt in the Malay Archipelago. In 1403, the first official Chinese trade envoy led by Admiral Yin Qing arrived in Malacca. Later, Parameśwara was escorted by Zheng He and other envoys in his successful visits. Malacca's relationships with Ming granted protection to Malacca against attacks from Siam and Majapahit and Malacca officially submitted as a protectorate of Ming China. This encouraged the development of Malacca into a major trade settlement on the trade route between China and India, Middle East, Africa and Europe. To prevent the Malaccan empire from falling to the Siamese and Majapahit, he forged a relationship with the Ming dynasty of China for protection. Following the establishment of this relationship, the prosperity of the Malacca entrepôt was then recorded by the first Chinese visitor, Ma Huan, who travelled together with Admiral Zheng He. On his descriptions, he wrote;


title: Malacca City

text: In Malacca during the early 15th century, Ming China actively sought to develop a commercial hub and a base of operation for treasure voyages into the Indian Ocean. Malacca had been a relatively insignificant region, not even qualifying as a polity prior to the voyages according to both Ma Huan and Fei Xin, and was a vassal region of Siam. In 1405, the Ming court dispatched Admiral Zheng He with a stone tablet enfeoffing the Western Mountain of Malacca as well as an imperial order elevating the status of the port to a country. The Chinese also established a government depot (官廠) as a fortified cantonment for their soldiers. Ma Huan reported that Siam did not dare to invade Malacca thereafter. The rulers of Malacca, such as Parameswara in 1411, would pay tribute to the Chinese emperor in person. Because of its strategic location, Malacca was an important stopping point for Zheng He's fleet. To enhance relations, Hang Li Po, according to local folklore, a daughter of the Ming Emperor of China, arrived in Malacca, accompanied by 500 attendants, to marry Sultan Manshur Shah who reigned from 1456 until 1477. Her attendants married locals and settled mostly in Bukit Cina. Due to Chinese involvement, Malacca had grown as key alternative to other important and established ports.


title: Malacca City

text: Due to the large influence of Arab, Persian, and Indian traders, Malacca soon turned into an Islamic sultanate, and Parameswara converted to Islam when he married a princess from Pasai, changing his name to Sultan Iskandar Shah. With the rise of Melaka as an empire, both the Majapahit and Siamese kingdoms were unable to conquer it, especially with the Chinese protection. During this time, a HinduMalay and TamilMalay society were also formed. The Sultan died in 1414 and was succeeded by his son, Megat Iskandar Shah. Malacca continued to prosper until the eighth Sultanate of Malacca, Mahmud Shah, with the various races who came to trade becoming associated with particular trade specialties; the Gujaratis, Tamils, and Bengalis were mostly cloth merchants, the Arabs and Persians waited for their vessels to be filled with goods from China, the Chinese dealt mainly in silk, camphor, and porcelain, and the natives of Malay Archipelago, like the Bugis and other island peoples, traded mainly in spices and sandalwood, and the Minangkabau in pepper and gold, with the Javanese controlling the rice and imported foodstuffs. Like other traders, the Chinese established their own area in the city, occupying the southeast side of the port around a hill called Bukit Cina, where they constructed temples and a well called Hang Li Poh's Well, named after Hang Li Po, the fifth wife of the sixth Sultan of Malacca, Mansur Shah, who was a Chinese princess from the Ming Dynasty.


title: Malacca City

text: Due to its riches, the news of the success of Malacca reached the Portuguese, who had an established presence on Indian ports. The Portuguese, under King Manuel I, sent a representative named Diogo Lopes de Sequeira to establish contact with the Sultanate. At first, Sequeira was well received by Sultan Mahmud Shah. But the Tamil Muslim community, who already had an established presence in Malacca, convinced the Sultan to eliminate the Portuguese based on their treatment of the Muslims of Goa. Reacting to the report, Sultan Mahmud then ordered several men from the Portuguese delegation to be captured and killed, but some of them managed to escape with their ships. Thus, in April 1511 Afonso de Albuquerque, who was the Portuguese expedition leader together with his armada, arrived in Malacca to sever its Islamic and Venetian trade. His intention was described in his own words when he arrived to Malacca:


title: Malacca City

text: The Portuguese launched their first attack on 25 July 1511, but this was met with failure. Albuquerque then launched another attack on 15 August 1511, which proved successful as Malacca was captured on that day. The Portuguese constructed a fortress called A Famosa using rocks and stones taken from Muslim graves, mosques, and other buildings. Several churches and convents, a bishop's palace, and administrative buildings such as the governor's palace were built. The Portuguese imposed higher taxes on Chinese traders and restricted their ownership of land. The news of the city's capture reached the Ming Dynasty of China; the Chinese were also displeased about the kidnapping of many Chinese children by the Portuguese in Tuen Mun. In retaliation for Portugal's activity in Malacca, several Portuguese were later killed by the Chinese in the battles of Tunmen and Xicaowan in China.


title: Malacca City

text: By the mid-16th century, the two sultanates of Aceh and Johor had arisen to take control of Malacca from the Portuguese which then became the centre of struggle between the three. By 1564, Aceh had retaken Aru (a territory which Sumatra had previously lost to Johor) and destroyed Johor's capital, Johor Lama, with the Johor royal family taken to Aceh to rule Johor as a vassal state. Other attacks were carried out in 1570, 1613, and 1623, when Johor tried to break away from Aceh. Aceh's ambition for domination later led to a clash with the Portuguese in Malacca. The two sultanates and the Portuguese became involved in a triangular war, but when both the Portuguese and the Johor saw Aceh as a threat due to its constant attacks against them, the two began to collaborate to fight Aceh. In 1582 the Portuguese assisted Johor to thwart an attack by Aceh, but the arrangement ended when Johor attacked the Portuguese in 1587. Aceh continued its attacks against the Portuguese, and was later destroyed when a large additional armada from the Portuguese port of Goa came to defend Malacca and destroy the sultanate.


title: Malacca City

text: After Aceh was left weakened, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) arrived, and Johor formed a treaty with them to flush out the Portuguese in the second capture of Malacca. The Dutch succeeded at overtaking Malacca while Johor managed to re-establish its suzerainty over many of its former dependencies in Sumatra, such as Siak (1662) and Indragiri (1669). The Dutch expanded the size of the city fort and built a significant amount of additional infrastructure. As they had less interest in the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra than they had in Java and the Maluku Islands, the Dutch remained neutral in local disputes until 1756 when the Bugis, who ruled the Riau-Lingga Sultanate, began to threaten Dutch maritime trade. The threats increased in the 18th century, when English rivalry started to establish its presence over areas in the northern Malay Peninsula. This led the Dutch to seize the Bugis areas of Riau and expel the Bugis from both Riau and Selangor, for fearing that these areas would otherwise have fallen under British rule. Malacca was placed under the direct control of Batavia in Java.


title: Malacca City

text: From 1796 until 1801, and 1807 to 1818 Malacca was temporarily placed under a British Resident as the Netherlands were conquered by France in the Napoleonic Wars. It was returned to the Dutch in 1818. Malacca served as the staging area for the British victory in 1811. A treaty was later signed in 1824 between the British and Dutch to prevent further British influence in Java; one result was that the Johor-Riau Empire fell under two colonial powers along with Malacca, which was then officially handed to the British in 1825 and integrated as part of the Straits Settlements. The city came under direct control of a Resident in Penang, and the old fort in the city was then dismantled. The British established regulations for infrastructure with the construction of, for example, back alleys, chimneys, back yards, fire escapes, fire alleys, and pedestrian arcades.


title: Malacca City

text: During the first stage of World War II, the city's residents continued to live normally until the news of the Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse on 10 December 1941 reached the city and struck panic. British colonial officials began to flee and thousands of the city's residents hid in rubber estates and jungles since they heard about the acts of cruelty committed in other parts of Malaya following their conquest by the Japanese. The Japanese Army arrived in the city on 14 January 1942 in a convoy of bicycles, but as they mainly focused on ensuring the retreat of the British to the south of the Malay Peninsula and Singapore, there was no major battle in the city or other parts of Malacca. During their occupation, a "kempeitai" headquarters was established in the formerly British "Government Rest House" which served as a place for arrests, torture and executions. Those who still lived in the city were given low rice rations with a tapioca supplement and a number of them were taken to Thailand and forced to construct the Burma–Siam Railway.


title: Malacca City

text: When the Allies began to counter-attack against the Japanese, the Japanese officially surrendered to the Allies in August 1945 with the city left undamaged as there were no heavy battles, and it was administered as part of the British Military Administration until the formation of the Malayan Union and then the Federation of Malaya. After Malaya achieved its independence on 31 August 1957, a colonial building named "Malacca Club" was built by the British in the city as the social centre for Britons in British Malaya. The building was then turned into a memorial after 38 years to commemorate the Malayan independence day. After the Federation of Malaya, together with North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore formed the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, Malacca was extensively developed and in 2003 it was granted city status. On 7 July 2008, Malacca City was listed as one of the historical cities in Malaysia, together with George Town in the northern Malay Peninsula.


title: Malacca City

text: Malacca City is the centre of political and economic administration for the state of Malacca. There is one member of parliament (MP) representing one parliamentary constituency in the city: Kota Melaka (".138"). The city also elects five representatives to the state legislature from the state assembly districts of Kesidang, Kota Laksamana, Duyong, Bandar Hilir and Telok Mas.


title: Malacca City

text: The city is administered by the Malacca City Council ("Majlis Bandaraya Melaka Bersejarah", MBMB). Formerly known as Malacca Municipal Council ("Majlis Perbandaran Melaka Bandaraya Bersejarah", MPMBB), it was merged with the "Malacca Municipality Area" on 1 January 1977 with a new combined area of 114.7 square miles (303 square kilometres). Then on 15 April 2003, MPMBB was upgraded into MBMB before part of its area, covering 57.66 kilometres separated for Hang Tuah Jaya Municipal Council (MPHTJ). MBMB area is currently at 277 sq kilometres as a result of land reclamation, with a new administration area of 30.86 sq kilometres. Together these areas comprise a metropolitan area of 307.86 sq kilometres. As of 2016, the current mayor is Zainal Hussin.


title: Malacca City

text: The city is located on both sides of the Malacca River near its mouth on the Straits of Malacca. The city is approximately 152 kilometres from Malaysia's capital city, Kuala Lumpur. Due to large-scale land reclamation, it has grown in size, especially in the south. Its physical features are characterised by flat and gently undulating land stretching from its coast.


title: Malacca City

text: The historic central area of the city is located near the old coastline; it includes St Paul's Hill with the ruins of the Portuguese fortress and the Dutch Square on the right (eastern) bank of the river, and the old Chinatown on the left (western) bank. The Chinese Hill (Bukit Cina), where a large old Chinese cemetery is located, was formerly located to the northeast of the city, but is now surrounded by new buildings on all sides.


title: Malacca City

text: Malacca's weather is hot and humid throughout the year with rainfall, the intensity of which depends on the time of the year. It is one of the driest cities in Malaysia, receiving just under of rainfall while most areas in Peninsular Malaysia receive an average of around of rainfall annually. However, Malacca has no dry season as average rainfall is more than for each month. Malacca is classified as having a tropical rainforest climate ("Af") under the Köppen climate classification system, more subject to the Intertropical Convergence Zone than the trade winds and with no cyclones so a pure equatorial climate. The relatively stable weather allows Malacca to be visited year-round.


title: Malacca City

text: The Malaysian Census in 2010 reported the population of Malacca City was 484,885. Malays comprised the majority with 273,844, followed by Chinese with 158,828, Indian with 20,310 and others totalling 9,732. Around 22,171 were identified as a Non-Malaysian citizens. Due to a large amount of interracial marriage since the era of the Malacca Sultanate, the city features its own ethnic mixtures of Baba Nyonya, Chitty and Kristang peoples. The Majority of the Malays were Muslims, and the Chinese and Peranakan were either Buddhists, Confucianists, Taoists or followers from other denominations of Chinese folk religion. The Indians, including the Chitty, were mainly Hindus while the Kristang were mostly Christian.


title: Malacca City

text: The Baba Nyonya are Straits-born Chinese, who have resided for generations since the era of the Malacca Sultanate as traders and intermarried with the local Malay women. They adopted the local culture and the Malay language as part of their lives while at the same time preserving some of their Chinese heritage and religious traditions. The Chitty are also a mixture of Indian traders with local women of various ethnic backgrounds such as Malays, Javanese, Bataks and Chinese. The Kristang exist as a result of marriage between the European Portuguese men with Malay women during the era of Portuguese Malacca.


title: Malacca City

text: The main language spoken in the city is the Malay and English, although the Baba Nyonya and Chitty have their own variations of Baba and Chitties creoles respectively. The Malaccan Portuguese have their own version of Portuguese creole, known as Kristang language.


title: Malacca City

text: Since the era of Malacca Sultanate, the city has prospered as a successful entrepôt, putting it in the same position as Venice, Cairo and Canton. When the European conquest begin, Malacca had developed into a cosmopolitan city with a long-standing European heritage. The arrival of Chinese traders and coolie during the sultanate era and European colonisation saw a large boost to the economy, especially during the administration of Dutch and the British. In modern times, the tourism is more dominant than the primary-based industry due to its historical riches with the melting pots of cultural influences which attracted many local and foreign tourists to visiting the city, which also became part of the state economy income. In addition to its strategic location in the maritime Silk Road, the city benefited from the rise of China and India as world economic powers. Malacca City has hosted numerous national, regional and international conferences, congresses and trade fairs in the Malacca International Trade Centre. In early 2016, the Malacca state government has start to develop a new economic development area in the central city centre which will be known as the Hang Tuah Trade Centre that will encompassing trade centres, higher education, hospitality and business.


title: Malacca City

text: Internal roads linking different parts on the city are mostly federal roads constructed and maintained by the Malaysian Public Works Department. The city is accessible through the North–South Expressway and the coastal Syed Abdullah Aziz Road. There is also an old trunk road system, which once served as a main passageway to the city until the mid 1980s, when the North–South Expressway was built. In the old city centre, trishaw services are available through the Stadhuis Red Square.


title: Malacca City

text: There was previously a proposal by the state government of Malacca to revive a bridge project named Malacca Strait Bridge that will connect land transportation in the city with the Indonesian city of Dumai on Sumatra island.


title: Malacca City

text: is the main bus and taxi terminal for the city, with services in and around the city as well as domestic services. Most taxis in the city are executive taxis with either four, six or fourteen seats; but only two types of taxis, the limousine (4 seats) and "bas persiaran" (14 seats), provide services to Singapore with the rest providing services only to other parts of Peninsular Malaysia.


title: Malacca City

text: There were railway tracks from Pulau Sebang to Malacca City before World War II, but these were dismantled by the Japanese for the construction of the Burmese Death Railway. On 10 October 2015, Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) commuter service has introduced a new route, shuttle service between Seremban-Sebang/Tampin-Gemas station.


title: Malacca City

text: A 1.6-km line of Malacca Monorail was launched in October 2010, served the route along the Malacca River. Due to several technical glitches months into its operation, the system was left idle in 2013. However, in June 2015 the Malacca State Government decided to revive the project. On 4 December 2017, Malacca Monorail has re-operate with enhanced safety features such as lightning-prevention devices and the addition of a rescue vehicle to attract wagons in the event of a technical problem. The previous incident is believed will not recur as tests had been performed for two months before re-operation. The Malacca Monorail operating hours are 10.00 am to 10.00 pm on weekdays and will be continued until 12.00 midnight on Saturdays and Sundays.


title: Malacca City

text: The main water transportation in the city is the Malacca River Cruise with evening cruises along the Malacca River. The cruise route is an area marking the border between historic Chinatown and Malay area. The Melaka Gateway is a project under construction involving the development of one natural and two man-made islands off the coast of Malacca which will feature an international cruise terminal and aid water transport in the city. An international shipping port is also planned to be built as part of China's Maritime Silk Route economic belt.


title: Malacca City

text: The city high court complex is located along Tun Abdul Razak Road, while another court for Sharia law is located on Old Ayer Keroh Road. The Malacca Police Contingent Headquarters is also located on Old Ayer Keroh Road. The main district police headquarters is located in Central Malacca. There are around thirteen police stations and eight police substations (Pondok Polis) serving the city. The main prison is located along the Ayer Keroh road, and was built in 1969. Another three prisons are located in the districts of Central Malacca, Tanjung Kling, Telok Mas and Sungai Udang. The Bandar Hilir Prison has been transformed into a museum with all the inmates moved to Sungai Udang Prison.


title: Malacca City

text: There is one public hospital and twelve government health clinics in and nearby the city. There are also 52 private clinics and three 1Malaysia clinics in Malacca City. Malacca General Hospital, which is located along Mufti Haji Khalil Road, is the main and oldest hospital in the state with 359 beds. Oriental Melaka Straits Medical Centre is the largest private hospital with 300 beds. Mahkota Medical Centre, located on Syed Abdul Aziz Road, is the second largest with 266 beds.


title: Malacca City

text: Various government or state schools are available in the city. The secondary schools include the Malacca High School, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tinggi Melaka, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tinggi Perempuan and Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Katholik. Other types of secondary schools such as religious, vocational, technical and fully residential schools are available inside and outside the city's metropolitan area. There are also a number of independent private schools in the city. These include Melaka International School, Wesley Methodist School and Pay Fong High School.


title: Malacca City

text: The Malacca Public Library headquarters is the main library in the state, located off Bukit Baru Road. Another public library branch is in the Malacca Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), while other libraries or private libraries were available in other universities as well as in schools and colleges. Other village libraries are also available through the districts of Central Malacca.


title: Malacca City

text: The Malacca Sultanate Palace was built to represent the Malay culture and Malaccan history during the sultanate era. The building was constructed without using any nails. The city also includes a variety of other cultural attractions such as Chinatown, Little India and Portuguese Settlement. The Chinatown feature a strong Chinese cultural influences, with Clan associations, regional Chinese eateries and prominent Chinese Temples like Cheng Hoon Teng located around the areas where many Chinese traders have settling since the era of Sultanate of Malacca. The most recognisable part of the Chinatown is the Jonker Walk where many outdoor stage performances occur. The Kopitiam and restaurants around the city serve mixed cultural influences of Malay and Baba Nyonya as well as various regional Chinese cuisines such as Teochew and European cuisines. The No 8 Heeren Street Heritage Centre is an old two-storey shop house which has been undergoing restoration for years. The Cheng Ho Cultural Museum is the site where Zheng He, a famous Muslim Chinese voyager, was believed to have set up a large warehouse complex along the northern side of the Malacca River, while the Straits Chinese Jewellery Museum is a site where there has been a collection of Chinese jewellery design and motifs since the establishment of relations between Malacca and the Ming dynasty of China. Little India is the site where Indian culture is presented with a variety of Indian shops and restaurants as well as fabric shops selling various saris, Punjabi suits and other Indian fabric designs. Located within the Portuguese settlement is a "Mini Lisbon" which has become the city's centre of Portuguese culture, with many Eurasians descended from marriages between Portuguese men and local women that took place after the Portuguese conquest of Malacca residing there.


title: Malacca City

text: The Dutch Square is an area surrounded by Dutch buildings such as the Stadthuys, Christ Church, British Queen Victoria's Fountain, and Chinese settlers structure of Tan Beng Swee Clock Tower in honour of a generous late Chinese tycoon, Tan Beng Swee. The original clock tower was imported from England but has since been replaced with the one from Japan. The Portuguese traces are mostly on Porta do Santiago which can also be seen across the square on the bank of Malacca River and on St. Peter's Church. The Kuomintang Cenotaph (Malacca Warrior Monument) in Bukit Cina is a memorial where thousands of Chinese people in Malacca were killed by the Japanese during their occupation.


title: Malacca City

text: Malacca Zoo is the main zoo in the city metropolitan, featuring 215 species of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians including the Sumatran rhinoceros, the Malayan gaur, Serow and the Indochinese tiger. An oceanarium located inside the Shore shopping malls complex features a variety of fish species and other sea creatures.


title: Malacca City

text: Other attractions include the Maritime Museum, Taming Sari Tower and Macau Gallery Melaka. The Maritime Museum features a replica of a historical ship, the Flor de la Mar, and describes the trading history of Malacca, while the Taming Sari offers a scenic view of the city centre. The Padang Pahlawan is the site where Tunku Abdul Rahman, the father of Malayan independence, made his first independence announcement. St. Paul's Hill is where the Governor's Museum, Malacca Literature Museum and Malacca Light are located.


title: Malacca City

text: A number of shopping malls and traditional art and craft shops are available around the city, with the most popular shopping malls being Dataran Pahlawan Melaka Megamall, The Shore, and the ÆON Bandaraya Melaka and JUSCO shopping centres.


title: Malacca City

text: The main cinemas in the city are the Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC), with one located inside the building of Dataran Pahlawan Malacca Megamall with a capacity of 2,004, while the second largest, in ÆON Bandaraya Melaka, has a capacity of 1,793. Another cinema, known as the MBO Cinemas, with a capacity of 1,212 is located in the MBO Melaka Mall.


title: Malacca City

text: The second largest football stadium in the state of Malacca, Hang Tuah Stadium, is located in the city; it has a capacity of around 15,000 and is the oldest stadium in the state. The stadium is the second home ground for Melaka United, after Hang Jebat Stadium in Krubong.


title: Malacca City

text: Saudi Arabia has set up its consulate in Malacca City. Malacca first started twinning in 1984 with the city of Lisbon, Portugal and it is now twinned with or established as a friendship city with the following cities:


title: Hongkongers

text: Hongkongers (), also known as Hong Kongers, Hong Kongese, Hongkongese, Hong Kong citizens and Hong Kong people, typically refers to residents of the territory of Hong Kong; although may also refer to others who were born and/or raised in the territory.


title: Hongkongers

text: The earliest inhabitants of Hong Kong are indigenous villagers, who have lived in the area since before British colonization. The majority of Hongkongers today are descended from Han Chinese migrants from mainland China, most of whom are Cantonese and trace their ancestral home to the province of Guangdong. However, the territory also holds other Han Chinese subgroups including the Hakka, Hoklo, Teochew (Chiuchow), Shanghainese, Sichuanese and Taiwanese. Meanwhile, non-Han Chinese Hongkongers such as the British, Filipinos, Indonesians, South Asians and Vietnamese also make up six per cent of Hong Kong's population.


title: Hongkongers

text: The terms "Hongkonger" and "Hong Kongese" are used to denote a residents of Hong Kong, including permanent and non-permanent residents. According to the "Oxford English Dictionary", the word "Hongkonger" first appeared in the English language in an 1870 edition of "The Daily Independent", an American-based newspaper. In March 2014, both the terms "Hongkonger" and "Hong Kongese" were added to the "Oxford English Dictionary".


title: Hongkongers

text: In contrast, the "Merriam-Webster Dictionary" of American English adopts the form "Hong Konger" instead. The form "Hong Konger" also seems to be preferred by governments around the world. In 2008, the U.S. Government Publishing Office decided to include "Hong Konger" as a demonym for Hong Kong in its official "Style Manual". The Companies House of the UK government similarly added "Hong Konger" to its standard list of nationalities in September 2020.


title: Hongkongers

text: The aforementioned terms all translate to the same term in Cantonese, 香港人 (). The direct translation of this is "Hong Kong person".


title: Hongkongers

text: During the British colonial era, terms like "Hong Kong Chinese" and "Hong Kong Britons" were used to distinguish the British and Chinese populations that lived in the city.


title: Hongkongers

text: The term "Hongkongers" most often refers to legal residents of Hong Kong, as recognised under Hong Kong Basic Law. Hong Kong Basic Law gives a precise legal definition of a Hong Kong resident. Under Article 24 of the Basic Law, Hong Kong residents can be further classified as permanent or non-permanent residents. Non-permanent residents are those who have the right to hold a Hong Kong Identity Card, but have no right to abode in Hong Kong. Permanent residents are those who have the right to hold a Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card as well as the right of abode.


title: Hongkongers

text: The Basic Law allows residents to acquire right of abode by birth in Hong Kong, or in some other ways. For example, residents of China may settle in Hong Kong for family reunification purposes if they obtain a one-way permit (for which there may be a waiting time of several years).


title: Hongkongers

text: Formally speaking, Hong Kong does not confer its own citizenship, although the term "Hong Kong citizen" is used colloquially to refer to permanent residents of the city. Hong Kong does not require applicants for naturalisation to take a language test to become a permanent resident. However, Hong Kong migrants and residents are assumed to understand their obligation under Article 24 of the Hong Kong Basic Law to abide by the laws of Hong Kong.


title: Hongkongers

text: Mainland China holds the largest number of Hong Kong expatriates, although the Hong Kong diaspora can also be found in Taiwan and several English-speaking countries. Most Hongkongers living outside of Greater China form a part of the larger overseas Chinese community. The migration of Hongkongers to other parts of the world accelerated in the years prior to the handover of Hong Kong in 1997, although a significant percentage returned. Another emigration wave occurred after the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests and the United Kingdom's enactment of the BNO visa scheme.


title: Hongkongers

text: According to Hong Kong's 2016 census, 92 per cent of its population is ethnically Chinese, with 32.1 per cent having been born in Mainland China, Taiwan or Macau. Historically, many Chinese people have migrated from areas such as Canton to Hong Kong, for example in the 1850s–60s as a result of the Taiping Rebellion and in the 1940s prior to the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Thus, immigrants from Guangdong and their descendants have long constituted the majority of the ethnic Chinese residents of Hong Kong, which accounts for the city's broad Cantonese culture. The Cantonese language, a form of Yue Chinese, is the primary language of Hong Kong and that used in the media and education. For that reason, while there are groups with ancestral roots in more distant parts of China such as Shanghai and Shandong, as well as members of other Han Chinese subgroups such as Hakka, Hokkien, and Teochew, residents who are Hong Kong-born and/or raised often assimilate into the mainstream Cantonese identity of Hong Kong and typically adopt Cantonese as their first language.


title: Hongkongers

text: In addition to the Han Chinese majority, Hong Kong's minority population also comprises many other different ethnic and national groups, with the largest non-Chinese groups being Filipinos (1.9 per cent) and Indonesians (also 1.9 per cent). There are long-established South Asian communities, which comprise both descendants of 19th and early 20th-century migrants as well as more recent short-term expatriates. South Asians include Indian, Pakistani, and Nepalese, who respectively made up 0.4 per cent, 0.3 per cent, and 0.2 per cent of Hong Kong's population in 2011. Smaller groups include Americans, Britons, Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders, Japanese, Koreans, Russians, Vietnamese and Thais. In 2011, 0.8 per cent of Hong Kong's population were European, many (53.5 per cent) of whom resided on Hong Kong Island, where they constitute 2.3 per cent of the population.


title: Hongkongers

text: Hong Kong culture is primarily a mix of Chinese and Western influences, stemming from Lingnan Cantonese roots and later fusing with British culture due to British colonialism (Jyutping: ; Traditional Chinese: 粵英薈萃). From 26 January 1841 to 30 June 1997, Hong Kong was formally a British Dependent Territory. English was introduced as an official language of Hong Kong during British colonial rule, alongside the indigenous Chinese language, notably Cantonese. While it was an overseas territory, Hong Kong participated in a variety of organisations from the Commonwealth Family network. Hong Kong ended its participation with most Commonwealth Family organisations after the handover of Hong Kong in 1997; although still participates in the Association of Commonwealth Universities and the Commonwealth Lawyers Association. Moreover, Hong Kong also has indigenous people and ethnic minorities from South and Southeast Asia, whose cultures all play integral parts in modern day Hong Kong culture. As a result, after the 1997 transfer of sovereignty to the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong has continued to develop a unique identity under the rubric of One Country Two Systems.


title: Hongkongers

text: After the handover of Hong Kong, the University of Hong Kong surveyed Hong Kong residents about how they defined themselves. In its latest poll published in June 2022, 39.1% of respondents identified as Hong Konger, 31.4% as Hong Konger in China, 17.6% as Chinese, 10.9% as Chinese in Hong Kong, and 42.4% as mixed identity.


title: Hongkongers

text: On 15 October 2019, Norwegian lawmaker Guri Melby announced that she nominated the people of Hong Kong "who risk their lives and security every day to stand up for freedom of speech and basic democracy" for the Nobel Peace Prize for 2020. Several months later, on 8 February 2020, eight U.S. lawmakers nominated the pro-democracy movement of Hong Kong to receive the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of their efforts to protect Hong Kong’s autonomy, human rights, and the rule of law as guaranteed in the Sino-British Declaration and Hong Kong’s Basic Law.


title: Hongkongers

text: However, on 27 August 2020, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi cautioned against awarding the prize to Hong Kong protesters.


title: Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay

text: Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, alternatively spelt as Sarat Chandra Chatterjee (; 15 September 1876 or ৩১ শে ভাদ্র ১২৮৩ বঙ্গাব্দ – 16 January 1938), was a Bengali novelist and short story writer of the early 20th century. Most of his works deal with the lifestyle, tragedy and struggle of the village people and the contemporary social practices that prevailed in Bengal. He remains the most popular, translated, and adapted Indian author of all time.


title: Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay

text: Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay was born on 15 September 1876 (৩১ শে ভাদ্র, ১২৮৩ বঙ্গাব্দ), in a Bengali Brahmin family in Debanandapur, a small village in Hooghly, West Bengal.


title: Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay

text: Sarat Chandra spent most of his childhood at his maternal uncle's home in Bhagalpur, Bihar. Chandra spent his childhood in extreme poverty. Chandra was a daring, adventure-loving boy. His education began at Pyari Pandit's pathshala, an informal village school and later he joined Hooghly Branch High School. He was a good student and got a double promotion that enabled him to skip a grade. He passed his Entrance Examination (public examination at the end of Class X) but could not take his F.A. (First Arts) examination or attend college due to lack of funds.


title: Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay

text: After returning from Burma, Chattopadhyay stayed for 11 years in Baje Shibpur, Howrah. Then he made a house in the village of Samta, in 1923, where he spent the later twelve years of his life as a novelist. His house is known as Sarat Chandra Kuthi. The two-storied Burmese style house was also home to Sarat Chandra's brother, Swami Vedananda, who was a disciple at Belur Math. His and his brother's "samadhi" are within the house's compound. Trees like bamboo and guava planted by the renowned author still stand tall in the gardens of the house.


title: Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay

text: The phenomenal popularity of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay has been attested by some of the most prominent writers as well as literary critics across India in their writings. Most of the authors in Assam and Odisha, at least before the Independence, read him admiringly in original Bengali; rest of India read him in translations in varying quality. Publishers were never tired of reprinting his works; he remains the most translated, the most adapted and the most plagiarized author. His novels also reached a number of people through the medium of film and he is still an important force in Indian cinema. O. N. V. Kurup writes "...Sarat Chandra's name is cherished as dearly as the names of eminent Malayalam novelists. His name has been a household word". Dr Mirajkar informs "the translations of Sarat Chandra created a stir amongst the readers and writers all over Maharashtra. He has become a known literary personality in Maharashtra in the rank of any popular Marathi writers including H. N. Apte, V. S. Khandekar, N. S. Phadke and G. T. Madkholkar". Jainendra Kumar, who considers that his contribution towards the creation and preservation of cultural India is second, perhaps, only to that of Gandhi, asks a rhetorical question summing up Sarat Chandra's position and presumably the role of translation and inter-literary relationship: "Sarat Chandra was a writer in Bengali; but where is that Indian language in which he did not become the most popular when he reached it?"


title: Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay

text: His works have been made into around fifty films in many Indian languages. Particularly, his novel "Devdas" has been made into sixteen versions, from Bengali, Hindi to Telugu. "Parineeta" has also been made thrice in Hindi. In 1957 "Bardidi" was made by director Ajoy Kar. "Rajlakshmi O Srikanta" and "Indranath Srikanta O Annadadidi" by Haridas Bhattacharya in 1958 and 1959 respectively, "Majhli Didi" (1967) by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and "Swami" (1977), for which he was awarded the Filmfare Award for Best Story, are other adaptations. Another famous film "Chhoti Bahu" (1971) is based on his novel "Bindur Chhele". His novel 'Datta' was adapted into a Bengali film as Datta (film) in 1951 directed by Saumyen Mukhopadhyay starring Sunanda Banerjee and Manoranjan Bhattacharyya with Ahindra Choudhury as Rashbehari, and again in 1976 starring Suchitra Sen and Soumitra Chatterjee. The film "Sabyasachi" (film) was released in 1977 based on his work "Pather Dabi".


title: Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay

text: The other movies based on his novel were "Nishkriti", and "Apne Paraye" (1980) by Basu Chatterjee, starring Amol Palekar. The Telugu film "Thodi Kodallu" (1957) is also based on this novel. Gulzar's 1975 film, "Khushboo" is majorly inspired by his work "Pandit Mashay". The 1961 Telugu film "Vagdanam" by Acharya Aatreya is loosely based on his novel "Datta". Also the 2011 film "Aalo Chhaya" is based on his short story, "Aalo O Chhaya".'Chandranath'is also another film made based on his novel in the year 1957 and Suchitra Sen and Uttam Kumar played the main role.


title: Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay

text: Sarat Chandra wrote novels, novellas, and stories. Sarat Chandra used to visit village after village, mingle with the local people and outside Bengal, in foreign, he spent several days and the experience which he gathered was the reason of his unique and elegant style of his literary works.


title: Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay

text: His first novel was "Badadidi" (1907), which was published in the "Bharati" and made him well known. He went on to write several stories and novels, including


title: Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay

text: He also wrote essays, which were anthologized in "Narir Mulya" (1923) and "Svadesh O Sahitya" (1932). "Shrikanta", "Charitrahin", "Devdas", "Grihadaha", "Dena-Paona" and "Pather Dabi" are among his most popular works. "Pather Dabi" was banned by the British Government because of its revolutionary theme. His posthumous publications include "Chhelebelar Galpa", "Shubhada" (1938), "Sheser Parichay" (1939), "Sharat Chandrer Granthabali" (1948) and "Sharat Chandrer Aprakashita Rachanabali" (1951).


title: Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay

text: He wrote some essays including "Narir Itihas" (The History of Women) and "Narir Mulya" (The Value of Women). "Narir Itihas", which was lost in a house fire, contained a history of women on the lines of Spencer's Descriptive Sociology. While the second, "Narir Mulya" gives a theory of women's rights in the context of Mill's and Spencer's arguments.


title: GMC Syclone

text: The GMC Syclone is a high-performance version of the GMC Sonoma pickup truck. Produced in 1991 by GMC along with Production Automotive Services (PAS) - the same company credited with building the famed 1989 Pontiac Turbo Trans Am, the GMC Syclone was the quickest production truck to be produced in 1991. Following the Syclone's production, the similarly powered 1992-1993 GMC Typhoon SUV was based on the GMC Jimmy platform. Also following the Syclone, the 1992 GMC Sonoma GT truck was offered as a sport package with the looks of a Syclone but without the price and performance of its turbocharged predecessor. Only 806 Sonoma GTs were produced.


title: GMC Syclone

text: The GMC Syclone, Typhoon, and Sonoma GT were built by GMC and PAS (Production Automotive Services) of Troy, Michigan, and sold through dealerships. At the time it was introduced, the Syclone was the quickest stock pickup truck being produced in the world. Auto magazines compared its acceleration favorably to a variety of sports cars including the Chevrolet Corvette and - in a memorable comparison test in "Car and Driver" magazine - a Ferrari 348 ts. The Syclone features a 4.3L turbocharged 6-cylinder engine with an automatic transmission and an AWD (all-wheel drive) driveline and 4-wheel anti-lock brakes.


title: GMC Syclone

text: Both the Syclone and Typhoon trucks feature a Mitsubishi TD06-17C 8cm² turbocharger and Garrett water/air intercooler attached to a 4.3 L "LB4" V6 engine featuring upgrades that included: hypereutectic pistons, nodular iron main caps, upgraded head gaskets, intake manifolds, exhaust manifolds, and a 48mm twin bore throttle body from the 5.7 L GM Small-Block engine. All Syclones and Typhoons had a 4L60 4-speed automatic transmission. A BorgWarner 4472 all wheel drive transfer case splits torque with 35% of power going to the front and 65% of power to the rear wheels. Both trucks featured sport modifications to the standard suspensions. The Syclone was the first production truck to receive a 4-wheel anti-lock braking system. With this engine, the Syclone produces and of torque. The Syclone, when new, was capable of accelerating from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 4.3 seconds and could do a quarter-mile run in 13.4 seconds at according to Car & Driver's comparison test.


title: GMC Syclone

text: The Syclone and Typhoon's gauge cluster is the same one as used in the Pontiac Sunbird Turbo, which was discontinued in 1990, one year before the Syclone was introduced.


title: GMC Syclone

text: The 1991 Syclone was only available in black. For the upcoming 1992 production, a wider range of colors was to be offered however the Syclone was canceled before full production could begin. In total, 2,998 Syclones were built. Out of the 2998, only 3 were built in 1992. The #0001 1992 Syclone was used for DOT crash testing while the remaining 2 are privately owned.


title: GMC Syclone

text: During the 1991 Syclone production, roughly 150 Syclones were officially exported by GMC. Out of the 150 trucks, there were an estimated 113 destined for resale in the Middle East and were modified with a metric dash cluster, leaded fuel chip, and a resonator in place of the catalytic converter. These 113 trucks were shipped to Saudi Arabia to be sold as Export Sales. These 113 trucks were known as the Saudi Syclones. Not all of the exported Saudi Syclones were sold immediately overseas. Out of the 113 Saudi Syclones, 31 trucks remained unsold and were eventually brought back to the United States. Rather than selling the 31 trucks to the public, GMC Truck Division set up a lottery where employees could enter their name to be drawn to have the chance at purchasing a Saudi Syclone as a significantly reduced price ($12,500) and had to take delivery through a dealership. It is alleged that not many employees knew of the lottery to purchase one of the Saudi Syclones, so almost everyone who entered got the chance to buy one, which upset a lot of GM employees in various other divisions who felt they missed out. The remaining 69 trucks were distributed throughout Europe for sale where a small number ended up in a German compound for sometime. GMC, desperate to be rid of them, sold them on a "make us an offer" basis. Lucky purchasers managed to get ahold of one for a few thousand dollars under their market value.


title: GMC Syclone

text: In 2009, a poor-condition GMC Syclone was scrapped under the U.S. federal government Car Allowance Rebate System (a.k.a. "cash for clunkers"), despite being highly collectible.


title: GMC Syclone

text: The special-edition Marlboro Syclone was the grand prize for the ten winners of The Marlboro Racing '92 Contest. To enter the sweepstakes, a form was filled out which included a questionnaire. All ten trucks were provided to American Sunroof Company (ASC), by Shinoda Design Associates, Inc., in conjunction with Phillip Morris, Inc. With the help of Larry Shinoda, designer of the Corvette Stingray and Boss Mustang, a transformation of the originally black Syclones took place. All 10 of the Marlboro Syclones were part of the production 2995 unit-built Syclones built in 1991 and started life as a standard black production truck Syclone.


title: GMC Syclone

text: The 10 grand prize winners of the Marlboro Sweepstakes not only won a 1991 GMC Syclone Marlboro Edition truck, but were treated to an all expenses paid day of racing alongside the Indy racing team and pit crew with a VIP access and tours, pit passes, photo session with the Marlboro Indy team, and a prize pack full of various Marlboro apparel.  After the raffle had taken place and the trucks claimed by the winners, Phillip Morris had each truck delivered to an allocated dealership nearest to each winner’s residence. The winners were responsible for luxury taxes and fees.


title: GMC Syclone

text: Three "Indy Syclones" were used at the Indianapolis 500 race on May 24, 1992 with the only modifications being a sticker package. One of these Indy trucks was later converted into the PPG "Syclone Pace Truck" (though it was not the official pace car) with significant modifications to be used on the track, including a multi-colored silver, magenta, and aqua paint scheme, and a molded in light bar in the roof, a racing fuel cell a built in halon fire suppression system, water cooled brakes, and color matched leather interior to the exterior paint scheme. The bed has a multi piece tonneau cover that accordion folds with the tailgate to reveal the fuel cell, batteries, and halon canister mounts. The PPG Syclone was retired to the GM Heritage Collection where it was stored and occasionally taken out for car shows until it was auctioned at Barrett Jackson in 2009, selling for $66,000. It is now privately owned, last location known to be in Colorado.


title: Michael Sandel

text: Michael Joseph Sandel (; born March 5, 1953) is an American political philosopher and the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government Theory at Harvard University Law School, where his course Justice was the university's first course to be made freely available online and on television. It has been viewed by tens of millions of people around the world, including in China, where Sandel was named the 2011's "most influential foreign figure of the year" ("China Newsweek"). He is also known for his critique of John Rawls' "A Theory of Justice" in his first book, "Liberalism and the Limits of Justice" (1982). He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2002.


title: Michael Sandel

text: Sandel was born in 1953 into a Jewish family, which moved to Los Angeles when he was thirteen. He was president of his senior class at Palisades High School and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Brandeis University with a bachelor's degree in politics in 1975. He received his doctorate from Balliol College, Oxford in 1985, as a Rhodes Scholar, where he studied under philosopher Charles Taylor.


title: Michael Sandel

text: Sandel subscribes to a certain version of communitarianism (although he is uncomfortable with the label), and in this vein he is perhaps best known for his critique of John Rawls's "A Theory of Justice". Rawls's argument depends on the assumption of the veil of ignorance, which Sandel argues commits Rawls to a view of people as "unencumbered selves".


title: Michael Sandel

text: Sandel's view is that we are by nature encumbered to an extent that makes it impossible even hypothetically to have such a veil. Some examples of such ties are those with our families, which we do not make by conscious choice but are born with, already attached. Because they are not consciously acquired, it is impossible to separate oneself from such ties. Sandel believes that only a less-restrictive, looser version of the veil of ignorance should be postulated. Criticism such as Sandel's inspired Rawls to subsequently argue that his theory of justice was not a "metaphysical" theory but a "political" one, a basis on which an overriding consensus could be formed among individuals and groups with many different moral and political views.


title: Michael Sandel

text: Sandel joined the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University in 1981. He has taught the Justice course at Harvard University for two decades. More than 15,000 students have taken the course, making it one of the most highly attended in Harvard's history. The fall 2007 class was the largest ever at Harvard, with a total of 1,115 students. The fall 2005 course was recorded, and is offered online for students through the Harvard Extension School.


title: Michael Sandel

text: An abridged form of this recording is now a 12-episode TV series, "Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?", in a co-production of WGBH and Harvard University. Episodes are available on the Justice with Michael Sandel website. There is also an accompanying book, "" and the sourcebook of readings "Justice: A Reader".


title: Michael Sandel

text: The popularity of the show is attributed to the discussion-oriented format (the Socratic method)—rather than recitation and memorization of facts—and to Sandel's engaging style, incorporating context into discussion; for example, he starts one lecture with a discussion of the ethics of ticket scalping.


title: Michael Sandel

text: In April 2012, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a three-part series and later podcast presented by Sandel titled "The Public Philosopher". These followed a format similar to the Justice lectures, this time recorded in front of an audience at the London School of Economics. Across three programs, Sandel debates with the audience whether universities should give preference to students from poorer backgrounds, whether a nurse should be paid more than a banker, and whether it is right to bribe people to be healthy.


title: Michael Sandel

text: On April 29, 2013, the philosophy department faculty of San Jose State University addressed an open letter to Sandel protesting the use of MOOCs (massively open online courses) such as his Justice course. Sandel publicly responded: "The worry that the widespread use of online courses will damage departments in public universities facing budgetary pressures is a legitimate concern that deserves serious debate, at edX and throughout higher education. The last thing I want is for my online lectures to be used to undermine faculty colleagues at other institutions."


title: Michael Sandel

text: Sandel also co-teaches, with Douglas Melton, the seminar "Ethics and Biotechnology", which considers the ethical implications of a variety of biotechnological procedures and possibilities.


title: Michael Sandel

text: Sandel is the author of several publications, including "Democracy's Discontent" and "Public Philosophy". "Public Philosophy" is a collection of his own previously published essays examining the role of morality and justice in American political life. He offers a commentary on the roles of moral values and civic community in the American electoral process—a much-debated aspect of the 2004 US election cycle and of current political discussion.


title: Michael Sandel

text: Sandel gave the 2009 Reith Lectures on "A New Citizenship" on BBC Radio, addressing the "prospect for a new politics of the common good". The lectures were delivered in London on May 18, Oxford on May 21, Newcastle upon Tyne on May 26, and Washington, DC, in early June, 2009.


title: Michael Sandel

text: He is also the author of the book "What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets" (2012), which argues some desirable things—such as body organs and the right to kill endangered species—should not be traded for cash. In the book, Sandel argues that stimulating a market-oriented approach in people may lead to relaxation or even corruption of their moral values.


title: Michael Sandel

text: Citing Michael Young's work as a precedent (he coined the term "meritocracy"), and developing a line of thought shared with Daniel Markovits's "The Meritocracy Trap", Michael Sandel in his 2020 book "The Tyranny of Merit." makes a case for overhauling western neo-liberalism. Elite institutions including the Ivy League and Wall Street have corrupted our virtue, according to Sandel, and our sense of who deserves power. Ongoing stalled social mobility and increasing inequality are laying bare the crass delusion of the American Dream, and the promise "you can make it if you want and try". The latter, according to Sandel, is the main culprit of the anger and frustration which brought some Western countries towards populism.


title: Micro Center

text: Micro Center is an American computer retail store, headquartered in Hilliard, Ohio. It was founded in 1979, and , has 25 stores in 16 states.


title: Micro Center

text: Micro Center was founded in Columbus, Ohio in 1979 by John Baker and Bill Bayne, two former Radio Shack employees, with a $35,000 investment. The first Micro Center store was established in a storefront located in the Lane Avenue Shopping Center in Upper Arlington, Ohio. The store benefited from its proximity to Ohio State University and the scientific think-tank Battelle Memorial Institute, which provided a large customer base and a source of computer-literate salespeople. Their goal for the first year was $30 million in sales, and they achieved $29.9 million. In 2009, Micro Center developed an "18-minute pickup" service where customers who order merchandise on their website can pick it up from the store in 18 minutes.


title: Micro Center

text: , there are 25 Micro Center stores nationwide in 16 states, including California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia.


title: Micro Center

text: Micro Center is a subsidiary of Micro Electronics, Inc., a privately held corporation headquartered in Hilliard, Ohio.


title: Micro Center

text: Stores are sized up to , stocking about 36,000 products across 700 categories, including major name brands and Micro Center's own brands. Micro Center is an approved seller of all Apple products. The company has had Apple departments in all stores since 1982, and has included "Build Your Own PC" departments, "Knowledge Bars" for service and support, and "Knowledge Theaters" for free classes on weekends since 2007.


title: Micro Center

text: Micro Center was the first retailer in the United States to sell the DJI Mavic Pro drone, launching it by hosting a three-day demonstration in their Columbus store's parking lot which was open to the press and the public.


title: Micro Center

text: In a 2015 interview, Micro Center CEO Rick Mershad described how their product line is changing: the STEM movement is driving students and adults to make their own creations, and Micro Center is focusing on Arduino projects and Raspberry Pi, which require more consultative selling.


title: Micro Center

text: Joan Verdon of "The Record" noted that meeting customer's needs with a high level of service and skilled salespeople are Micro Center's "claim to fame". She also quoted Doug Olenick, editor at "TWICE", a major consumer electronics trade publication, who said that the store's salespeople, compared to others in the industry, are extremely well trained.


title: Micro Center

text: In 2021, the store started to offer a free solid-state drive to new customers, but "Storage Review" was not sold, concluding "it's free, but it's still not worth it". More generally, they noted that: "Micro Center's Inland brand is to tech what Amazon's dozens of brands are to toilet paper, shampoo, and such."


title: Micro Center

text: In 2014, Micro Center was ranked number 93 in the list of 100 hottest retailers in the US, compiled by the National Retail Federation.


title: Micro Center

text: In 2015, the industry trade journal "Dealerscope" ranked it as the 18th largest consumer electronics retailer in the United States and Canada.


title: Micro Center

text: In October 2016, Micro Center stores won first and second prizes in Intel's annual "Score with Intel Core" competition, and donated their prize money to local schools.


title: Micro Center

text: In 2019, Micro Center stores won first and third prizes, making two more prize money donations to local schools.


title: Micro Center

text: According to the American business research company Hoover's, the major competitors to Micro Center's parent company Micro Electronics are:


title: Premature ventricular contraction

text: A premature ventricular contraction (PVC) is a common event where the heartbeat is initiated by Purkinje fibers in the ventricles rather than by the sinoatrial node. PVCs may cause no symptoms or may be perceived as a "skipped beat" or felt as palpitations in the chest. PVCs do not usually pose any danger.


title: Premature ventricular contraction

text: The electrical events of the heart detected by the electrocardiogram (ECG) allow a PVC to be easily distinguished from a normal heart beat. However, very frequent PVCs can be symptomatic of an underlying heart condition (such as arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy). Furthermore, very frequent (over 20% of all heartbeats) PVCs are considered a risk factor for arrhythmia-induced cardiomyopathy, in which the heart muscle becomes less effective and symptoms of heart failure may develop. Ultrasound of the heart is therefore recommended in people with frequent PVCs.


title: Premature ventricular contraction

text: If PVCs are frequent or troublesome, medication (beta blockers or certain calcium channel blockers) may be used. Very frequent PVCs in people with dilated cardiomyopathy may be treated with radiofrequency ablation.


title: Premature ventricular contraction

text: Although there are many possible symptoms associated with PVCs, PVCs may also have no symptoms at all. PVCs may be perceived as a skipped heart beat, a strong beat, palpitations, or lightheadedness. They may also cause chest pain, a faint feeling, fatigue, or hyperventilation after exercise. Symptoms may be more pronounced at times of stress. Women may be more aware of PVCs at the time of the menstrual period.


title: Premature ventricular contraction

text: Premature ventricular contractions may be associated with underlying heart disease, and certain characteristics are therefore elicited routinely: the presence of signs of heart disease or a known history of heart disease (e.g. previous myocardial infarction), as well as heart disease or sudden cardiac death in close relatives. PVCs and palpitation associated with syncope (transient loss of consciousness) or provoked by exertion are also concerning. Physical examination is focused on identifying evidence of underlying heart disease.


title: Premature ventricular contraction

text: Premature ventricular contractions occur in healthy persons of any age, but are more prevalent in the elderly and in men. In a very significant proportion of people they occur spontaneously with no known cause.


title: Premature ventricular contraction

text: Normally, impulses pass through both ventricles almost at the same time and the depolarization waves of the two ventricles partially cancel each other out in the ECG. However, when a PVC occurs the impulse nearly always travels through only one bundle fiber, so there is no neutralization effect; this results in the high voltage QRS wave in the electrocardiograph.


title: Premature ventricular contraction

text: There are three main physiological explanations for premature ventricular contractions: enhanced ectopic nodal automaticity, re-entry signaling, and toxic/reperfusion triggered.


title: Premature ventricular contraction

text: Ectopic enhanced nodal automaticity suggests foci of sub-pulmonic valvular pacemaker cells that have a subthreshold potential for firing. The basic rhythm of the heart raises these cells to threshold, which precipitates an ectopic beat. This process is the underlying mechanism for arrhythmias due to excess catecholamines and some electrolyte deficiencies, particularly low blood potassium, known as hypokalemia.


title: Premature ventricular contraction

text: Reentry occurs when an area of 1-way block in the Purkinje fibers and a second area of slow conduction are present. This condition is frequently seen in patients with underlying heart disease that creates areas of differential conduction and recovery due to myocardial scarring or ischemia. During ventricular activation, one bundle tract's area of slow conduction activates the other tract's bundle fibers post block after the rest of the ventricle has recovered. This resulting in an extra beat. Reentry can produce single ectopic beats, or it can trigger paroxysmal tachycardia.


title: Premature ventricular contraction

text: Triggered beats are considered to be due to after-depolarizations triggered by the preceding action potential. These are often seen in patients with ventricular arrhythmias due to digoxin toxicity and reperfusion therapy after myocardial infarction (MI).


title: Premature ventricular contraction

text: This ectopy of the ventricles when associated with a structurally normal heart most commonly occurs from the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) under the pulmonic valve. The mechanism behind this is thought to be enhanced automaticity versus triggered activity.


title: Premature ventricular contraction

text: PVCs may be found incidentally on cardiac tests such as a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG/EKG) performed for another reason. In those with symptoms suggestive of premature ventricular complexes, the ECG/EKG is the first investigation that may identify PVCs as well as other cardiac rhythm issues that may cause similar symptoms. If symptoms are infrequent, other forms of continuous heart beat recording may be used, such as a 24 or 48-hour Holter monitor or even 14- to 30-day recorders if the symptoms are very occasional. The advantage of these monitors is that they allow a quantification of the amount of abnormal beats ("burden") and ensure that there are no heart arrhythmias present that might require attention, such as ventricular tachycardia. If symptoms are associated with exercise, a supervised cardiac stress test may be required to reproduce the abnormality. Specifically, if this shows exercise-induced ventricular tachycardia this would require specific treatment. If PVCs are suppressed by exercise, this is an encouraging finding.


title: Premature ventricular contraction

text: On electrocardiography (ECG or Holter) premature ventricular contractions have a specific appearance of the QRS complexes and T waves, which are different from normal readings. By definition, a PVC occurs earlier than the regular normally conducted beat. Subsequently, the time between the PVC and the next normal beat is longer as the result of a compensatory pause. PVCs can be distinguished from premature atrial contractions because the compensatory pause is longer following premature ventricular contractions, in addition to a difference in QRS appearance.


title: Premature ventricular contraction

text: In some people, PVCs occur in a predictable pattern. Two PVCs in a row are called doublets and three PVCs in a rows are triplets. Depending whether there are one, two, or three normal (sinus) beats between each PVC, the rhythm is called bigeminy, trigeminy, or quadrigeminy. If 3 or more consecutive PVCs occur in a row it may be called ventricular tachycardia. The precise shape of the QRS can give an indication as to where precisely in the heart muscle the abnormal electrical activity arises. If someone has PVCs that all have the same appearance, they are considered "monofocal", if PVC’s have different appearance, they are considerevole “multifocal”.


title: Premature ventricular contraction

text: Isolated PVCs with benign characteristics and no underlying heart disease require no treatment, especially if there are limited symptoms.


title: Premature ventricular contraction

text: The most effective treatment is the elimination of triggers (particularly stopping the use of substances such as caffeine and certain drugs, like tobacco). If frequent, it’s possible to use:


title: Premature ventricular contraction

text: PVCs are harmless, but frequent PVCs may increase the risk of developing cardiomyopathy, which can greatly impair heart function. On a more serious and severe scale, very frequent PVCs can accompany underlying heart disease.


title: Premature ventricular contraction

text: People who do not have heart disease (with ejection fractions greater than 40%) have the same long-term prognoses as the minorance of people without PVCs on the 24 hours. Emerging data also suggest that very frequent ventricular ectopy may be associated with cardiomyopathy through a mechanism thought to be similar to that of chronic right ventricular pacing associated cardiomyopathy. For patients with underlying chronic structural heart disease and complex ectopy, mortality is significantly increased.


title: Premature ventricular contraction

text: In meta-analysis of 11 studies, people with frequent PVCs (≥ once during a standard electrocardiographic recording or ≥30 times over a 1-hour recording) had risk of cardiac death twice as great as that of participants with occasional PVCs. Although most researchers attempted to exclude high-risk subjects, such as those with histories of cardiovascular disease, they did not test participants for underlying structural heart disease.