Following a military blockade, panic and chaos rip through a besieged island: residents scramble to withdraw cash, foreign nationals rush to be evacuated, riots break out in prisons and television networks are hacked into broadcasting enemy propaganda. <\/p>\n
These fictitious scenes have stirred emotion and imagination in Taiwan over what an imminent Chinese invasion may look like, since their release last month in a trailer for \u201cZero Day,\u201d a forthcoming Taiwanese television series. <\/p>\n
The 10-part show is the first in Taiwan to dramatize a possible invasion by China\u2019s People\u2019s Liberation Army (PLA). That threat has loomed over the self-governing island for decades but is now gaining pace as a more powerful and aggressive China ruled by the Communist Party increasingly flexes its military might, pushing tensions to new heights. <\/p>\n
The 17-minute trailer hit close to home in Taiwan, making headlines in local media and garnering more than a million views on YouTube. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs a 21-year-old, I almost burst into tears when I watched it. Every scene in those 17 minutes felt so close to us. Maybe one day in the future, these scenarios will become the reality around us,\u201d said a top comment with more than a thousand upvotes. <\/p>\n
But the show also attracted criticism, including from opposition politicians, who said it created panic and exaggerating the crisis. <\/p>\n
The specter of war is nothing new for Taiwan, a progressive democracy living in the shadow of authoritarian China, which views the island as its own territory and has vowed to seize it by force if necessary. <\/p>\n
Many of Taiwan\u2019s 23 million people have grown used to Beijing\u2019s military threats, even as they become more regular and prominent under Xi Jinping, China\u2019s strongman leader. <\/p>\n
But Hsin-mei Cheng, the showrunner of \u201cZero Day,\u201d worried that her fellow Taiwan citizens have grown \u201ctoo numb\u201d to the danger of an impending conflict. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut as the crisis looms larger over the past two years, I think it\u2019s about time we take a hard look at it and open this Pandora\u2019s box,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
In late 2022, more than half a year into Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine and months after former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi\u2019s visit to Taipei prompted a massive show of force from Beijing, Cheng decided to turn China\u2019s threats against Taiwan into a TV drama. <\/p>\n
It was an unprecedented project in an industry that had traditionally shunned sensitive political topics, Cheng said, but she found no shortage of like-minded partners along the way. <\/p>\n
Robert Tsao, a chip tycoon and one of Taiwan\u2019s richest men, became the show\u2019s first major investor. The tech billionaire <\/strong>who founded Taiwan\u2019s first semiconductor company, UMC, has previously warned of China\u2019s threat and donated tens of millions of dollars to help Taiwan bolster its defense. <\/p>\n Cheng also assembled a team of 10 directors, each responsible for an episode in \u201cZero Day\u201d that tells an independent story. Her main criterion for picking the crew: not afraid of being banned by China. <\/p>\n The vast Chinese market of 1.4 billion people has long been a draw for Taiwan\u2019s actors and directors. But as tension rises across the strait, Taiwanese artists are increasingly faced with a choice between vocally toeing Beijing\u2019s political line or being blocked from its lucrative market. <\/p>\n \u201cThe existence of this series shows that there are investors and talents who are willing to resist China\u2019s aggression, and there\u2019s a market for them,\u201d said Lo Ging-zim, who directed the show\u2019s trailer and one of the episodes. <\/p>\n \u201cWe are all worried and anxious about Taiwan\u2019s present and future, and we hope to contribute what we can with our own skills.\u201d <\/p>\n Taiwan\u2019s government and its military were supportive of the series, too. <\/p>\n The Presidential Office allowed the show to film on its premises, including a room where the president delivers addresses. And with the military\u2019s approval, the production crew shot scenes aboard a warship during its routine drills. <\/p>\n Getting the authorities on board wasn\u2019t easy. <\/p>\n \u201cIt took a lot of communication and persuasion at first,\u201d Cheng said. But the officials understood the importance of the issue at stake and the power of films and TV shows in shaping public perception, she added. \u201cEventually, they decided it could be a good thing if someone makes a TV series about it.\u201d <\/p>\n The show also received funding from Taiwan\u2019s Ministry of Culture. But Lo, the director, stressed it was part of a broader program to support the island\u2019s film and TV industries. <\/p>\n Neither the funding nor the access for filming gives the government any right to interfere with the production, Lo said, adding that \u201cnot a single word of the script had been modified by the government.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cThis is not a political propaganda video or patriotic film,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n That level of artistic and political freedom would be impossible in mainland China and even in the city of Hong Kong, which once boasted a comparatively free and outspoken film industry that has been tamed in recent years as part of a wider crackdown. <\/p>\n Some Hong Kong artists have since moved to Taiwan, including Chapman To, who is starring in \u201cZero Day.\u201d A vocal supporter of Hong Kong\u2019s pro-democracy movement, To became a naturalized Taiwanese citizen in 2022. <\/p>\n The shooting of \u201cZero Day\u201d, which started in March, is expected to be wrapped up by the end of November and the show is planned for broadcast in Taiwan next year. <\/p>\n The production team is also in touch with streaming services including Netflix for a potential international release, though discussions are still in the early stages, Lo said. <\/p>\n Most of the series takes place in the week-long countdown to \u201cZero Day\u201d \u2013 the day of the fictional attack. <\/p>\n It starts with Beijing imposing a naval and aerial blockade on Taiwan, under the pretext of search and rescue for a PLA aircraft that \u201cvanished\u201d near the island. In the final episode, Chinese soldiers make landing in Kinmen, a frontline island controlled by Taiwan. <\/p>\n Cheng noted the show doesn\u2019t feature many bloody scenes of military combat \u2013 instead, much of the focus is placed on \u201cred infiltration\u201d by China\u2019s ruling Communist Party. <\/p>\n \u201cFor me, the war has already begun in Taiwan. It is not being fought through guns and cannons, but through information and infiltration. It\u2019s permeating our daily lives,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n Taiwan officials have increasingly warned against China\u2019s cognitive warfare operations, including disinformation campaigns to sway public opinion. <\/p>\n In \u201cZero Day,\u201d Chinese infiltration and cognitive warfare takes on many forms \u2013 from the lure of money and power to the threat of violence. <\/p>\n In the trailer, a Taiwanese influencer casually encourages her fans to give up the fight and endorse a \u201cpeace agreement\u201d with Beijing while livestreaming herself savoring an ice cream; elsewhere, a group of felons walk free from prison and instigate unrest, attacking those who refuse \u201cunification.\u201d <\/p>\n Neither of these scenarios are unimaginable. Thanks to the island\u2019s free speech protections, which were hard won after decades of martial law rule, it is not unusual to see Taiwanese celebrities and influencers parroting Beijing\u2019s talking points. Meanwhile, Taiwan authorities have long publicly accused certain organized crime groups of spreading pro-Chinese Communist Party influence. <\/p>\n In another chilling scene in the trailer, the president\u2019s emergency address to Taiwan is hacked during a live broadcast, with an AI deepfake declaring war on China. Then, television screens across the island abruptly cut to a newscast on Chinese state TV. With an eerie smile, an anchor in a pink suit announces, \u201cthe PLA promises all Taiwanese compatriots will be fully protected\u201d and urges them to report any \u201cpro-independence forces\u201d in hiding. <\/p>\n Su Tzu-yun, a military expert at Taiwan\u2019s Institute for National Defense and Security Research who has served as an adviser to \u201cZero Day,\u201d said the series would be \u201can important force in countering China\u2019s \u2018gray zone tactics\u2019\u201d \u2013 or actions just below what might be considered acts of war. <\/p>\n \u201cIn the face of fear, people can build up confidence, and this can indirectly and partially offset China\u2019s influence warfare.\u201d he said. \u201cAt the same time, when this film is shown on international streaming platforms, viewers around the world can learn about Taiwan from a new perspective,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n The teaser has drawn praise as well as criticism. <\/p>\n Some blamed the series for creating panic. Lee Yen-hsiu, a member of parliament from the opposition Kuomintang party \u2013 which in recent decades has pushed for closer ties with China \u2013 accused the show of exaggerating the threat of war and further deterring international tourists from visiting Taiwan. <\/p>\n Others accused the trailer of making the Taiwan government look too feeble in the face of aggression from China \u2013 which has a military, population and economy that dwarfs Taiwan\u2019s. <\/p>\n Lo, the director, said the government\u2019s capability and Taiwan\u2019s social cohesion were deliberately weakened in the show to highlight the power of Chinese infiltration \u2013 and alert Taiwanese people to be more vigilant in real life. <\/p>\n \u201cWe want to explore what part of humanity will show up in such a state \u2013 would it be fragility, fear and greed or courage and empathy?\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cI believe every Taiwanese person has their own version of Zero Day attack in their mind. We were just the first to make it into a series.\u201d <\/p>\n Cheng didn\u2019t mind the mixed reaction. <\/p>\n \u201cWe all think it\u2019s a good thing. As long as the show generates attention and discussion, it means that it resonates with something in people\u2019s hearts,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n Cheng said she didn\u2019t want the show to cause division in Taiwan. During the production process, the crew tried to search for a common denominator that could represent the aspirations of all Taiwanese people. <\/p>\n They found an answer and placed it in the trailer \u2013 in the form of a line in the presidential address \u2013 \u201cWe will always believe, without choices, there\u2019s no freedom. Without freedom, there\u2019s no Taiwan.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cI hope the show can serve as a wakeup call to the Taiwanese people: what should we do when we still have the right to choose?\u201d Cheng said. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Following a military blockade, panic and chaos rip through a besieged island: residents scramble to withdraw cash, foreign nationals rush to be evacuated, riots break out in prisons and television networks are hacked into broadcasting enemy propaganda. These fictitious scenes have stirred emotion and imagination in Taiwan over what an imminent Chinese invasion may look <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5928,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5927","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5927"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5927\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} \u2018Red infiltration\u2019<\/h2>\n