Taiwanese war drama 'wake-up call' to Chinese invasion threat

A Chinese subject blockade of Taiwan ignites panic crossed the self-ruled land arsenic banks unopen down, families flee, fake quality spreads and Taiwanese troops brace for attack.

The on-screen chaos is the ground of a caller Taiwanese tv bid called "Zero Day", which creators anticipation volition "awaken" radical to the real-life menace of a Chinese penetration of Taiwan.

Beijing has agelong vowed to annex Taiwan, by unit if necessary.

But alternatively than dramatise the cross-strait tensions, Taiwan's movie and tv manufacture has shied distant from the taxable for fearfulness of losing entree to the world's biggest Chinese connection market.

Lo Ging-zim, 1 of 10 directors progressive successful "Zero Day", said the warfare successful Ukraine, resurgence of the China-friendly Kuomintang enactment successful Taiwan and China's increasing efforts to power the land meant it could nary longer beryllium ignored.

"Media astir the satellite were talking astir the adjacent battlefield could beryllium the Taiwan Strait," Lo told AFP, recalling 2022 erstwhile the thought for "Zero Day" emerged.

"It started from a radical of radical each disquieted and anxious astir the aforesaid thing, deciding to stitchery and instrumentality action."

"Zero Day", which refers to the archetypal time Chinese troops onshore successful Taiwan, features 10 standalone episodes and is expected to premiere this year.

The trailer shows chaos erupting crossed Taiwan arsenic Chinese forces situation the land connected the pretext of searching for unit members of a subject level that disappeared implicit adjacent waters.

Chinese disinformation floods Taiwan's internet, currency machines halt working, banal markets clang and families dragging suitcases question to escape.

The histrion playing Taiwan's president urges radical "to unite" successful a televised address, informing "without freedom, Taiwan is not Taiwan".

- 'Looming menace of war' -

Real-world analysts person warned a Chinese blockade of Taiwan could precede an invasion, and China's subject has practised cutting disconnected the land during drills.

Taiwan would beryllium outgunned successful immoderate struggle with China and would request the United States and different countries to travel to its defence.

"Zero Day" shaper Cheng Hsin-mei, who wrote 1 of the episodes of the series, said she wanted to "awaken Taiwanese radical to the looming menace of war".

She besides hoped to pass the planetary assemblage that Taiwan was not portion of China.

"We indispensable archer the satellite we are not the aforesaid governmental strategy -- we are a escaped and antiauthoritarian spot and we elite our ain president," Cheng said.

"So erstwhile the authorities launches an autarkic enactment of aggression, it is not a civilian war, it is an invasion."

The "Zero Day" formed includes actors from Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan.

Cheng said 70 percent of those approached for the bid declined to instrumentality part, disquieted they would beryllium blocked from productions hoping to participate China.

Taiwanese histrion Kaiser Chuang plays a businessman successful fiscal trouble who unwittingly receives assistance from Chinese collaborators.

Chuang believes his engagement successful "Zero Day" has already outgo him 1 role, but helium firmly insists the bid "needed to beryllium made".

"A beingness of peace, information and state doesn't travel done fearfulness and submission," said Chuang, describing "Zero Day" arsenic a "wake-up call".

"It lone comes from changeless vigilance, making ourselves stronger, individuality with our state and land, and unity among radical surviving here."

- 'Not governmental propaganda' -

To marque "Zero Day" much realistic, creators consulted subject and governmental experts and changeable cardinal scenes connected site, including a Taiwanese naval vas and the Presidential Office successful Taipei.

Lawmaker Lin Chien-chi from the Beijing-friendly main absorption Kuomintang enactment criticised the bid for creating "an ambiance of panic" and blurring "reality and fabrication excessively".

"It inevitably leads to speculation astir whether the filming position and reasoning down this bid are related to the ruling party's governmental agenda," Lin told AFP, referring to the Democratic Progressive Party.

While the accumulation received NT$230 cardinal (US$7.6 million) successful backing from the authorities and backstage sector, the manager Lo insisted it was not propaganda.

"We are not making a governmental propaganda film, nor is it immoderate benignant of informational oregon civilian defence acquisition video -- it's nary of those," Lo said.

"It is simply a drama. It should pull the assemblage done quality nature, quality emotions and quality vulnerability."

Cheng, the producer, said determination had been beardown planetary involvement successful the bid and the squad was present successful talks with respective online streaming platforms and tv networks astir the world.

"It's besides a mode to beryllium that adjacent without entree to the Chinese market, Taiwanese play tin inactive interruption into different regions," she said.

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