A Chinese warplane has gone missing near Taiwan. As Taiwan descends into war mode, China sends swarms of military boats and planes to blockade it. There is an atmosphere of panic on the streets of Taipei.
The premise of “Zero Day,” a new Taiwanese TV drama imagining a Chinese invasion, is a subject that has been considered too sensitive for many Taiwanese filmmakers and television show producers over the years, fearing losing access to the lucrative Chinese entertainment market. Are afraid.
But as China has escalated military threats, including a large deployment of naval forces last week and daily military activities close to the island, the upcoming drama confronts that fear by setting a 10-episode series around a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
“We thought there was freedom in Taiwan, but in film and TV production we are restricted by China on many levels,” said Cheng Hsin Mei, showrunner of “Zero Day.”
China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory over the objections of the government in Taipei, is a huge market for film and television. Taiwanese entertainers are popular there partly due to language and cultural similarities.
Cheng said producers in independent and democratic Taiwan are indirectly limited by Beijing’s powerful state censorship.
Beijing has regularly called out Taiwanese artists for violating China’s political ideology and threatened to blacklist those willing to collaborate.
China pressured a popular Taiwanese rock band for making pro-China comments ahead of Taiwan’s presidential election earlier this year, sources told Reuters. Beijing has denied putting pressure on Mayday Group.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not respond to a request for comment.
turmoil in taiwan
For the “Zero Day” crew, tackling such a sensitive subject meant facing difficulties ranging from funding and casting to finding a location to film.
Cheng said that more than half of the crew of “Zero Day” asked to remain anonymous in the crew list, and some, including a director, pulled out of the production at the last minute out of concern that it would jeopardize their future in China. The job may be in danger or the safety of their families who work there.
“Our freedom is hard-earned,” Cheng said. He said that people should not give up easily due to fear of China.
“The People’s Liberation Army has launched a massive offensive against us and they are getting closer,” he said. “We need to look at this head-on instead of pretending it’s not happening.”
The show, which is scheduled to air next year online and on yet-to-be-announced television channels, has been generating buzz in Taiwan since an extended trailer dropped online in July.
The drama focuses on several scenarios that Taiwan might face before a Chinese attack, including global financial collapse, the activation of Chinese sleeper agents, and panicked residents trying to flee the island.
“Without independence, Taiwan is not Taiwan,” the actor who plays the fictional Taiwanese president said in a televised speech, urging unity after the show declared war on China in a trailer.
Then the live broadcast suddenly stops, replaced by a feed from a Chinese state television anchor telling Taiwanese people to surrender and report “hidden pro-independence activists” to Chinese troops after landing in Taiwan. goes.
Milton Lin, a 75-year-old Taipei resident, said he was grateful the TV series was shining a light on China’s threats.
“This helps Taiwanese understand that we are facing a strong enemy that is trying to take us over and how we must remain vigilant and united in the face of such an invasion.”