They wouldn't. Was thinking of two cities and fleets (1 frigate for each, 1 Corvette for rebel, 2 Corvette for empire). They'd work to each expand (think of it as 1 faction with a civil war)
Perhaps re-work the faction so it represents 'The Government and People of [Planet Name]' that way you can change the focus from Rebel to Empire and vice versa, letting the members choose a side and so on and so forth.
Would this count as 1 faction or two? It is an idea someone had for the Zhenxing faction.
The Initiative has the required 3 members, with more coming. I'm curious if you can look it over and approve it or tell me what needs to be changed to let it be approved... The corvettes currently being used on it are a placeholder, the actual frigate that will be used is the Justice-class Corvette of which there will be a total of 2. I'm still debating exactly what starfighter to use, but the numbers aren't subject to change.
In regards to your post on Zhenxing, I agree fully. Hubris was a major reason their country decayed after contact with the British. But Chinese still feel their culture is superior to all others even today. Their SciFi's tend to reflect this, like the most popular one 'Santi' which analyzes the social impacts of an Alien invasion from a Chinese perspective - Santi is actually being translated at the moment, so keep an eye out for it on the bookshelves, I hear it is an amazing story.