The trailer of a new TV series portraying a Chinese attack on Taiwan has prompted a wave of emotional response and discussion in the nation.
The teaser for Zero Day (零日攻擊), a Taiwanese production partly funded by the government and is expected to air next year, has given many viewers a sense of urgency.
Its release this week coincided with annual air raid drills to prepare the nation’s 23 million residents in the event of an invasion by the Chinese military.
Photo: Chen Yi-chuan, Taipei Times
“I burst into tears watching this. I feel heavy-hearted, and it is scary. However, this is what we need to face as Taiwanese,” a person wrote in a comment on YouTube.
“We need to make the best preparation for the worst scenario,” another person said in a comment.
The nearly 18-minute-long trailer depicts a fictitious ploy by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army to mount a naval blockade of Taiwan in the guise of a search-and-rescue mission.
It also shows cyberattacks disrupting infrastructure and sabotages by Beijing’s collaborators in the prelude to war.
“The threat is not something new, but we have been avoiding talking about it due to its sensitivity,” the series’ producer Cheng Shin-mei (鄭心媚) said.
The heightened emotions might help the Taiwanese military recruit more personnel.
Security analysts generally see Taiwan as ill-prepared to deter or resist China, citing Taiwan’s shrinking military and number of volunteer soldiers.
In a sign that it is serious about defending itself, Taiwan in 2022 announced an extension of its compulsory military service from four months to one year, which is to take effect this year.
Funding for the 10-part series came from the Ministry of Culture and Robert Tsao (曹興誠), founder and former chairman of United Microelectronics, Taiwan’s second-largest contract chipmaker.
Tsao has been a vocal advocate of stronger national defense in recent years.
Cheng said her team is in talks with a major international streaming platform to release the series, hoping to draw more global attention to the threats Taiwan faces from China.
She declined to publicly name the company.
The prospect of a cross-strait military conflict has been present for decades, but rarely addressed bluntly in Taiwanese TV shows, partly due to the topic’s sensitivity and commercial implications.
Several actors and directors dropped out of the project due to fears of offending China, Cheng said.
“They usually have to sign contracts with clauses that forbid them to be involved in politically sensitive topics, and violators would need to pay for any loss caused by that,” Cheng said.
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