The Ministry of National Defense (MND) is to screen select scenes from the Taiwanese TV drama Island Nation 2 (國際橋牌社2), which portrays the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis, to boost troop morale ahead of the annual Han Kuang military exercises on Wednesday next week to July 18, a military source said.
The ministry would screen the series for military officers and troops set to take part in the drills as part of this year’s “Morale and Psychological Readiness Education Program,” which runs through Thursday, said a military source involved in the designing of a previous edition of the program.
Launched in 2005, the program is held annually ahead of the live-fire portion of the Han Kuang drills and is aimed at bolstering service members’ patriotism and mental resilience by instilling in them the purpose of the military and the importance of combat preparedness.
Photo courtesy of the Public Television Service
Island Nation 2 producer Isaac Wang (汪怡昕) said a version of the series had been edited for the occasion, comprised of scenes depicting the experiences of Taiwanese soldiers stationed on Gaodeng Island (高登島), one of Taiwan’s frontline islands near the Chinese coastal city of Fuzhou.
The selected scenes portray the soldiers’ day-to-day training and how they supported one another to hold the frontlines at all costs during the crisis, Wang said.
Rather than “putting on a show for the higher-ups,” the program aims to elicit a response from its intended audience, the source said.
Island Nation 2, set against the backdrop of the Taiwan Strait Crisis from 1995 to 1996, resonates deeply with many service members, as it reflects a time and environment they can relate to, they said.
Compared with outdated anti-Japanese or counterinsurgency films and lectures, the series is far more effective at eliciting emotional responses, the source added.
Just as the 1996 crisis involved attempts by China to interfere in Taiwan’s democracy, today’s challenges are similar, the source said.
By showing the military’s role in defending democratic freedoms, the program also fosters a shared sense of purpose and unity among the troops, the source added.
Institute for National Defense and Security Research research fellow Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲) said the ministry’s decision to incorporate a Taiwanese drama into the program reflects a shift in policy toward more diverse and engaging approaches to boost the morale of service members.
This not only makes the program more effective, but also introduces opportunities to collaborate with domestic film and creative industries, turning defense education into a form of public-private partnership, he said.
The plot of Island Nation 2 is highly realistic, especially in the portrayal of events from the perspective of rank-and-file soldiers, making it easier to spark an emotional resonance, Su said.
The government should improve children’s outdoor spaces and accelerate carbon reduction programs, as the risk of heat-related injury due to high summer temperatures rises each year, Greenpeace told a news conference yesterday. Greenpeace examined summer temperatures in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to determine the effects of high temperatures and climate change on children’s outdoor activities, citing data garnered by China Medical University, which defines a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 29°C or higher as posing the risk of heat-related injury. According to the Central Weather Administration, WBGT, commonly referred to as the heat index, estimates
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taipei placed 14th in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Best Student Cities 2026 list, its highest ever, according to results released yesterday. With an overall score of 89.1, the city climbed 12 places from the previous year, surpassing its previous best ranking of 17th in 2019. Taipei is “one of Asia’s leading higher-education hubs,” with strong employer activity scores and students “enjoying their experience of the city and often keen to stay after graduation,” a QS staff writer said. In addition to Taipei, Hsinchu (71st), Tainan (92nd), Taichung (113th) and Taoyuan (130th) also made QS’ list of the top 150 student cities. Hsinchu showed the
Environmental groups yesterday filed an appeal with the Executive Yuan, seeking to revoke the environmental impact assessment (EIA) conditionally approved in February for the Hsieh-ho Power Plant’s planned fourth liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving station off the coast of Keelung. The appeal was filed jointly by the Protect Waimushan Seashore Action Group, the Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association and the Keelung City Taiwan Head Cultural Association, which together held a news conference outside the Executive Yuan in Taipei. Explaining the reasons for the appeal, Wang Hsing-chih (王醒之) of the Protect Waimushan Seashore Action Group said that the EIA failed to address
RSS