Taiwan TV Show Imagines Chinese Invasion and Debate

Chinese fighter planes crashed in waters near Taiwan’s coast, prompting Chinese warships to block the island for “search and rescue and rescue.”

Taiwanese soldier Dadan Island, a rock outcrop just kilometres from the coast of China, began to mysteriously disappear.

Then one night, a fishing boat landed in Dadan. The signal flashed into the dark sky – and illuminated the Chinese soldiers who overflowed from the ship and accumulated on the beach.

This is a key situation in the Zero Day Attack, a new TV show about the fictional Chinese military invasion. Beijing has long regarded self-spoken Taiwan as part of its territory, vowing to “reunite” with it one day, while not excluding the use of force.

The first episode aired over the weekend, a series that was partially funded by the Taiwan government, hopes to raise awareness of the threat posed by China.

But the show also landed at a highly divided moment in Taiwan and has sparked criticism of fear.

The focus of the zero-day attack is how various parts of Taiwanese society respond to invasions from the president to rural villagers.

The anthology series describes several situations about how the invasion unfolds, provided by defense experts consulted by the production team.

These include destroying Taiwan’s exchange lines; China’s false propaganda campaign; and China’s “Fifth Column” supporters stir up unrest. Military officials became collaborators conspiring to oppose Taiwan.

Show host Chen Hsin-Mei told the BBC that she wanted to produce the series “warns Taiwan’s people’s war to be truly imminent”, citing China’s increasing “false propaganda movement” and “grey regional warfare” has caused our society to mess up and confusing us about our identity”.

The message of the zero-day attack echoes remarks from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government and its leader, William Lai, who warned about China’s threat and promoted the need to increase the island’s defense.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture partially funded zero-day attacks, while the military provided support for filming and production. Chunghwa Telecoms, the largest telecom company in Taiwan, owns a minority stake in it and also provides funds.

Other private investors include billionaire Robert Tsao, a prominent supporter of Taiwan’s independence Funded Civil Defense Efforts.

Ms Chen told the BBC that authorities will never try to influence the show. She also said she is not a member of the DPP or any political party.

But given the alleged topic, even before an episode was aired, the Zero Day attack has become a political lightning rod.

Last year, the production team quickly received hundreds of thousands of views and comments on the 17-minute trailer released online.

While some praised its message, others criticized it for sowing anxiety and discord with China.

The debate exacerbated the series’ premiere, the most watched show on several platforms on Saturday, according to the production company.

Wang Hung-wei, an outstanding MP of the opposition Kuentan Party, criticized the zero-day attack as a “selling mangoes”, a euphemism in Taiwan that means that damage to his own country is unnecessary.

Ms. Wang pointed to the government’s funding for the exhibition, saying the DPP “used state institutions to achieve its political goals”.

Wang Kunyi of the Taiwan International Strategic Research Association accused the performance of promoting Taiwan’s independence “so that Taiwan becomes a place where peace will never be known”.

He added that this is evidence that the Lai government “against all channels to play ‘anti-communist cards’ and stimulates war anxiety”.

DPP and LAI are often accused by critics, including the opposition and China, to promote Taiwan’s independence. Any formal statement will be considered an act of war in Beijing.

Although Lai has described himself as a “pragmatic worker for Taiwan’s independence” in the past, he also insists that Taiwan does not need to formally declare independence because it is already a sovereign state.

The Zero Day Attack also received positive comments. A public broadcaster PTS said it “expresses the worries and anxiety of Taiwanese in various political camps in a highly realistic and reasonable way.”

“This is a good watch,” a commenter said on the Facebook page of the Zero Day Attack. “The people of Taiwan can contact it because it reflects our current situation and as their tactics have been exposed, the Chinese Communist Party must be excluded.”

Some praised the first episode, which depicts the invasion quietly begins, a presidential election marked by violence and political battles.

They were shocked by how ruthless the episode reflected The current fragile sentiment in Taiwan politics. Last month, the island was held Controversial Failed Recall Voting Accused of being too friendly with China, Kuentan. Another round will be held later this month.

This has led to questions about the timing of the show and whether it is intended to influence the recall ticket. Ms Chen told the BBC that production of the show began long before the recall campaign began.

The discussion of the performance is at the heart of one of Taiwan’s most existing problems: how real is the threat of China’s invasion?

Taiwan has established its own government since the 1949 civil war. Over the next few decades, the island was largely stronger with peace relations and economic ties to China.

Polls show that most Taiwanese do not think Beijing will be unfortunately attacking and prefer the “status status” in Taiwan’s relationship with China, which neither means reunification with Beijing nor formally declared independence.

However, in recent years, the issue of China’s invasion has become more acute and more politicized.

Chinese grey Regional warfare The spikes fear that Chinese fighter jets and ships would repeatedly enter Taiwan’s airspace, and Waters could trigger a conflict.

The United States warned this year that China poses an “imminent threat” to Taiwan. U.S. officials have repeatedly claimed that Chinese President Xi Jinping is building his army to invade Taiwan by 2027.

Beijing has never confirmed this date. But it was a warning that Lai took it seriously.

He has promised to increase military spending in Taiwan, his government has reformed in the military, which was staged last month in Taiwan The largest and longest Han Kuang exercise ever Aim to defend a possible Chinese attack.

Lai stressed that these efforts aim to protect Taiwan and Don’t seek war. However, his political opponents say he is in a confrontation with Beijing, which restores Lai to a “separatist” and is leading a bigger conflict between Taiwan and China.

Beijing has repeatedly stressed that it seeks “peaceful reunification” with Taiwan. It dismissed any claims about the Chinese invasion, an excuse made by those who supported Taiwan’s independence in support of support.

The zero-day attack was seen as a provocation. Last week, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaoda accused the DPP government of using the show “to sell anxiety and trying to cause war.”

He said the zero-day attack was “Taiwan fell into the flames of war and used the Taiwanese people as the cannon feed for Taiwan’s independence.

However, Ms. Chen insists that her show is “not good for China, or portrayed as evil words.”

“We are talking about war, and how the people of Taiwan struggle and respond to war. This is because the horror of war never ceases, all over the world.”

Other reports by Joyce Lee of BBC Chinese.