Chen Wu Corporation

"'Where humanity saw the final frontier of space, Chen Wu saw an untapped consumer market.' —Eon Magazine, March 2099 Issue" The Chen Wu Corporation is a pan-Coalition megaconglomerate primarily involved in the industries of shipbuilding, the construction of Anaheim Cylinder space habitats, computers, medicine, aerospace and aeronautics research, cybernetics and television & film production. It is considered one of the Big Four of Coalition megacorps, dominating in its focus field of heavy industry and shipbuilding.

The Corporation's primary products are civilian and military shipbuilding, Anaheim Cylinders and the Chen Wu PCX series of personal computers. Chen Wu products primarily operate on the operating system cwOS, which is renowned for its security. Chen Wu also has the rights to a variety of products pertaining to its operating system, including cwDocs and cwMail, among others. The Corporation also has a stake in smart systems, in particular cwHome, cwOffice and cwCity. The latter program has seen increasing implementation across metropolitan infrastructure, leading to the expansion of what are commonly referred to as 'smart cities'.

The Chen Wu Corporation traces its history to Chen's Practical Industries Corporation. Its founder, Chen Shengde, operator of the Fushan Quarry, formed the Corporation with his business partners, English businessman and investor Michael Walford and mining magnate Li Zhengfu, merging their operations together. A heightened industrial demand in the British Empire, paired with a high demand for heavy industry, quickly elevated the corporation to a meteoric ascent that would follow it throughout the 20th century.

Chen Wu officially formed in 2095, under the Chen-Wu merger. At over 580 million employees across the extent of the Coalition, the Chen Wu Corporation is considered the largest corporate enterprise in human history, and is the chief sitting member of the Coalition Corporate Advisory Committee (CCAC), where the various mega-corporations of the CCR are able to exercise advisory over government decisions as a result of their strategic triumph in the Corporate Wars of the 2200s, of which Chen Wu played a significant role.

Origins
Founded in 1901 as Chen's Practical Industries Corporation (陳氏實業集團), it began in (then British-controlled) Hong Kong during a period of heightened industrial demand in the British Empire, operating a variety of iron and coal mines in the area. It quickly branched out to encompass the industries of shipping, sustaining a fleet with its own coal supply. The high-profile purchase of Neilingding Island in 1915 saw the development of the vast Neilingding copper mine, which became one of the then-largest mining operations in history. Profits sustained from shipping across the Empire permitted the Chen Corporation to expand into aviation, acquiring a majority share in English Electric.

20th century
The Handover of Shancheng in 1997 saw continued business as usual for the Chen Corporation within the liberalizing People's Republic of China, with the Corporation rapidly becoming one of the main Caifa (財閥), or 'financial cliques' prominent in late-20th century China. The end of the British Empire led to a serious restructuring of the Corporation on multiple levels, including the alleged sale and proliferation of British military secrets to the Chinese government in future aircraft developments. The scale of these restructurings, and what they would culminate in, would ultimately not be seen through by its founder, Chen Shengde, as he had passed away in December of 1975 of liver cancer, at the age of 105.

Chen Guanyuan, his grandson, would take up the company's mantle at the age of 55. An aggressive businessman, he moved swiftly to acquire Shenji Electronics and push for the release of the ChenCorp PC-2 personal computer, which saw immense success in Asian markets upon its release. Chen Guanyan would move the Corporation towards acquiring many Chinese post-British assets, with the Chen Corporation becoming the most prominent Caifa in the People's Republic of China by 2005.

21st Century
By the beginning of the 21st century, significant reforms to Chinese anti-trust laws were instituted, allegedly in favor of the Corporation. The Chen Corporation was the prime source for defense developments, technological output and aviation in China, steeply competing with the Wu Corporation over the shipbuilding, mining and shipping industries. This period of growth would continue into the early 21st century, with the acquisition of Chinese All-Nation Broadcast Company (夏囯全國廣播公司) in 2004 effectively giving the Chen Corporation control over the Republic of China's airwaves.

Widespread expansion would follow in the decades to follow, with widespread acquisitions and expansions into Japan, Korea and India, with C-Pop becoming a staple of Chinese consumer culture and soft power in the Orient. The Third World War of 2065 saw the Chen Corporation become among the prime defense contractors for the Chinese and Russian armed forces in the war, which served as an immensely profitable endeavor. The Chen Corporation's capitalization on medical services in this period led to the eventual emergence of Revenants, along with the eventual Chen Wu Cryogenics Division. The Chen Corporation also had a significant role in the Second Heran-Terran War, although it was negatively impacted by the 2080s Oriental Financial Crisis immediately following the formation of the Coalition of Congressional Republics in 2077.

The economic downturn of the 2080s would ultimately lead the Chen Corporation to pursue a merger with the Wu Corporation in 2095, effectively leading to the formation of the Chen Wu Corporation. Under its first official CEO, Chen Liangmu, the Corporation pursued an aggressive expansion into space industries, with the first Anaheim Cylinder, Maia, being built on Earth's L4 lagrange point in 2098. This aggressive approach would see the Chen Wu Corporation gain a sizable stake in the shipbuilding industry, sponsoring many of the earliest colonization endeavors; particularly the colonization of Hyperion.

Subsidiaries
As of 2698, the Chen Wu Corporation owns a grand variety of subsidiaries operating in different industries, though most prominent are the 'Big Five', its main, most profitable divisions and subsidiaries.

Chen Wu Heavy Industries
Founded in 2065 as Chen Heavy Industries, Chen Wu Heavy Industries was founded to match the booming demand for spatial shipbuilding and asteroid mining. The advent of the Tepiltzin-Csanád Drive further elevated the division's role and utility, and, by the late 2090s, Chen Wu Heavy Industries was the prime contractor for the assembly and construction of space habitats, space vessels and asteroid mining infrastructure.

Chen Wu Cryogenics Division
Initially a joint venture between the Chen Corporation and Housheng Medical Group, the Cryogenics Division quickly became a primary source for life extension research and cryogenics development. Many deceased personnel from the Third World War were preserved on ice until technology had sufficiently advanced, and then promptly healed through nanotechnology. The Chen Wu Cryogenics Division is a particularly controversial subsidiary of Chen Wu, due to its 'emergency cryogenics reserve' of Revenants being kept alive in indefinite stasis on the company's whim.

Jiangwei CyberAug Co. Ltd.
Jiangwei CyberAug was initially an independent cybernetics company aiming to develop cheap, cost-effective and functional augments for heavy industry workers, sating demands for increased weightlifting ability and, in some cases, combat effectiveness. This close relationship culminated in Chen Wu's acquisition of Jiangwei in 2601. Jiangwei CyberAug is now the prime source of worker augmentations for Chen Wu personnel. Rumors are circulating that Jiangwei intends to develop a cheaper imitation of the InfoLink, referred to as Project Datong.

Tang Optiworks
Largely focused on retinal implants, medical research and optical prosthesis, Tang OptiWorks initially formed as a cost-effective alternative to MinervaCorp products. Tang OptiWorks was acquired by the Chen Wu Corporation in 2639, after the Tang OptiWorks Retinal Virus Incident led to the decimation of the company's stocks and reputation. Critics of the Chen Wu Corporation suspect this was an act of deliberate corporate hacking on the behalf of the Corporation, with the intent of conducting a hostile takeover of Tang OptiWorks. Repeated investigations by the CCR's Department of Justice have turned up no conclusive evidence supporting this theory.

Moutan Visual Media Co. Ltd.
The Moutan Visual Media Corporation was established by Chen Wu, unifying all of its preexisting media subsidiaries into a single conglomerate. Moutan Visual Media has a significant stake in the film and television industries, and is responsible for landmark films such as Tomorrow Aflame, and television series such as Rise of the Undead. Moutan also operates the Sol Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), the second-largest news network in the CCR after ICN. The SBC has been accused by critics of having a conservative bias.