A battalion commander has been disciplined with two demerits for screening a Chinese propaganda movie for troops at an army camp in Yilan County, the Ministry of National Defense confirmed today.
The Chinese movie The Eight Hundred (八佰), a war film about Chinese Nationalist soldiers during the 1937 Battle of Shanghai, has been criticized for “united front” messaging, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said during a legislative committee meeting.
The commander in January streamed the movie from YouTube for soldiers at the Sixth Army Command’s Jinliujie Camp (金六結營區), Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Chen Chien-yi (陳建義) said.
Photo: CNA
It was shown without obtaining approval at least one day in advance, as per protocol, Major General Shih Shun-wen (史順文) said.
It was also screened during a recent reservist call-up on a tour bus, Wang added.
As the film features the Republic of China flag and national anthem, the commander failed to realize that it was packaged as Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda, Chen said.
The CCP continues to use cognitive warfare tactics against Taiwan’s armed forces, including recruiting low-level military personnel and distorting perceptions as to who is the enemy and who they are fighting for, he said.
The armed forces have implemented various ideological education measures to help counter these attempts, Chen added.
The army said it was an “isolated incident” due to an individual commander’s lapse in judgement.
Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said he would urge the entire armed forces to strengthen ideological education and review related disciplinary procedures.
The same camp came under fire earlier this month after it was revealed that a commander had been removed from his post for publicly humiliating a Taiwanese-Japanese conscript for his nationality during basic training, calling him a “Japanese devil.”
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