The worry is that China, which has been threatening to attack the ROC for decades, will actually do so—will not confine itself to all manner of threats entailing ships, planes, missiles and balloons without ever quite taking the unambiguous final steps that mean war.
The Taiwanese who are more worried about an invasion hope that an upcoming TV series dramatizing a fictional Chinese invasion, “Zero Day,” will convince those who are less worried to think about “an increasingly plausible scenario. Others say the show is alarmist and a tool of the government” (The New York Times, August 25, 2025).
Election ad?
The series is subsidized by the current government, which inspires some in the Kuomintang, like Jaw Shaw-kong, former vice-presidential candidate, to say that it is merely purveying “Democratic Progressive Party propaganda. It’s tantamount to an election ad.”
Any sustained support for a political party’s viewpoint on a question may be regarded as serving that viewpoint. There is still the question of its merits. And here is a viewpoint—that a Chinese invasion is possible, that this possibility should be accepted, that it should motivate preventive and preparatory action—which is plausible with or without election ads. Nobody would say that the DPP staged China’s eternal bellicosity.
One of the directors of the series, Lo Ging-zim, “said it was normal for Taiwanese television and film productions, including comedies and horror movies, to win some government funding. He said the government had not sought to influence the direction of the drama.”
Brian Hart of the Center for Strategic and International Studies says: “In a real-world scenario, Beijing will wage political, psychological and legal warfare against Taiwan to sow divisions and confusion among Taiwan’s public. I think that is a big part of what this show is trying to emphasize to viewers. That’s important because deterring and resisting Chinese attacks requires more than just military capabilities.”
Last bastion
If the threat of China is marginal or imaginary, it nonetheless somehow manages to produce daily news about China’s military antics, like this August 25 story: “Taiwan detects 12 Chinese aircraft, 8 naval vessels around its territory.” “Seven of the aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s southeastern and southwestern Air Defense Identification Zone, Taiwan’s [Ministry of National Defense] said…. This adds to a series of similar provocations by China in recent months.”
Also in the news: pro-democracy activist and former Hong Kong legislator Nathan Law, now living in exile in London, is in Taiwan to promote his memoir When the Wind Blows: The Struggles for Freedom of Hong Kong.
“Law said his book being published in Taiwan is also an important way to share the latest developments in Hong Kong and the experience of exiled activists with people in the country. ‘It’s really important to have those stories to remind everyone [in Taiwan]: Don’t take freedom for granted and please fight and safeguard your democracy.’ ”
Also see:
StopTheChinazis.org: “What War Between Beijing and Taipei Would Really Mean”
StopTheChinazis.org: “What Is This ‘Republic of China’?”
