By Fabian Hamacher and Angie Teo
TAIPEI (Reuters) -A new Taiwanese television series that imagines the run-up to a Chinese invasion is getting rave reviews from viewers, who said the first programme featuring the sensitive topic is a wake-up call for the public facing heightened Chinese military threat.
In the show, “Zero Day Attack”, a Chinese war plane goes missing near Taiwan. China then sends swarms of military boats and planes for a blockade as Taiwan goes on a war footing. Panic ensues on the streets of Taipei.
At viewings in Taipei last week attendees have included the top U.S. diplomat in Taiwan Raymond Greene, who is director of the American Institute in Taiwan, and Taiwanese tycoon Robert Tsao, a strident critic of Beijing.
The series is set to premiere on August 2 in Taiwan, followed by its Japanese release on Amazon Prime Video.
“Presenting such a situation (of conflict) can lead to more discussion about what we should do if it really turns into reality one day,” said Blair Yeh, a 35-year-old engineer, after watching the first episode in the Taipei premier last week.
The premise of “Zero Day Attack” is a topic that has for years been considered too sensitive for many Taiwan filmmakers and television show creators, who fear losing access to the lucrative Chinese entertainment market.
More than half of the show’s crew asked to remain anonymous on the crew list, and some people including a director pulled out of the production at the last minute, its showrunner Cheng Hsin Mei told Reuters.
But as China steps up military threats, including at least six rounds of major war games in the past five years and daily military activities close to Taiwan, the upcoming drama confronts the fear by setting the 10-episode series around a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
The drama focuses on several scenarios Taiwan might face in the days leading up to a Chinese attack, including a global financial collapse, the activation of Chinese sleeper agents and panicked residents trying to flee the island.
“Without freedom, Taiwan is not Taiwan,” the actor who plays a fictional Taiwan president says in a televised speech, urging unity after declaring war on China, in the show’s trailer.
The live broadcast then gets abruptly cut off, replaced by a feed of a Chinese state television anchor calling for Taiwanese to surrender and to report “hidden pro-independence activists” to Chinese soldiers after their landing in Taiwan.
“We’ve been comfortable for a long time now,” said viewer Leon Yu, 43-year-old semiconductor industry professional, adding Taiwan’s freedom and democracy must be kept.
“There’s still a lot of people out there burying their head in the sand and don’t want to face the dangers of the present.”
(Reporting by Fabian Hamacher, Angie Teo and Yimou Lee; Editing by Michael Perry)
