The two productions have somewhat the same message: the Chinese Communist Party may be coming to get you—“you” being the people of Taiwan.
Both shows are also sort of antiwar. The Taiwanese miniseries, a work of fiction, dramatizes a mainland invasion of Taiwan in hopes of inspiring viewers to better prepare for such an invasion, thereby also helping to prevent it—or stymie it, to the extent that the invasion is already happening in sundry gray-zone attacks.
Rhetoric and reality
The propaganda series produced for the People’s Liberation Army continues the CCP’s nonstop attempts to intimidate the Republic of China (and other countries) into surrendering. The People’s Republic of China would like to subjugate Taiwan without the trouble of a messy full-scale war in difficult terrain.
China-Taiwan Weekly Update reports (August 8, 2025):
The PLA has conducted shows of strength in recent days in celebration of its 98th anniversary. The PLA debuted its fourth Type 075 amphibious assault ship during an exercise in the South China Sea. The PLA also published a five-part documentary that included footage of PLA weapons and exercises and the final construction phase of the Fujian aircraft carrier. The documentary series contained unreleased footage of PLA exercises, footage of the final stage of the PLAN aircraft carrier Fujian’s development, and footage of new PLA unmanned and missile systems. The documentary echoed typical nationalist rhetoric seen in PLA propaganda, showcasing PLA strength, innovation, and technological advancement.
The documentary included some sections likely meant to intimidate PRC adversaries. The documentary included, for instance, footage of the China Coast Guard (CCG) confronting a Philippine vessel near the Second Thomas Shoal and the “infringing vessel being towed away.” This footage marks the first time that the PRC has acknowledged that it towed Philippine vessels from the area.
Before, China was coy about being a bully after it towed the Philippine vessel in Philippine waters; now, it’s bragging about being a bully. Can we call this a change in tactics? But CCP propagandists routinely do both, sometimes in consecutive sentences.
The Taiwanese miniseries Zero Day Attack, partly funded by the ROC government, premieres in August 2025. It “will depict an invasion scenario following the next Taiwanese presidential election in 2028.”
The show focuses primarily on non-kinetic aspects of warfare, particularly information operations and cognitive warfare based on actual PRC tactics. The show will also feature sabotage operations, including some targeting critical infrastructure, conducted by clandestine and criminal networks. The series focuses on the role of societal resilience and civilian preparedness, which are central elements of Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te’s plan to defend Taiwan against PRC aggression.
Zero Day Attack will air in Taiwan, Japan, and Indonesia in August. The producer, Cheng Hsin-mei, said that “the war [between the PRC and Taiwan] has already begun” through “information and infiltration” and that she hopes that Taiwanese audiences will “become more aware of the infiltration of modern grey-zone warfare.” Cheng said that the PRC has already infiltrated “temples, elections, political class, [and] organized crime networks,” and that such infiltration could compromise Taiwan in an invasion contingency.
The show has started airing in Taiwan.
Maybe about half or more of the Taiwanese especially need to heed the themes of Zero Day Attack and accept the reality of the PRC threat. Many Taiwanese are indeed already acutely aware of the threat, as demonstrated by widespread support for recent attempts to recall many “pro-China” Kuomintang lawmakers from office for working since the January 2024 elections to radically undermine Taiwan’s ability to defend itself. Some thirty recall questions got enough petition signatures to reach ballot, an achievement widely recognized as remarkable.
Yet many other people here don’t seem to see the problem, as evidenced by the uniform failure of the 24 recall measures (out of 30 or so) that were decided in the elections of July 26, 2025. Or else they believe or hope that appeasement will solve the problem. In the short term, more intensive appeasement may lead to a higher ratio of phony benevolence to saber rattling in the enemy’s propaganda. But it won’t stop the People’s Republic of China from trying to subvert and destroy the Republic of China.
Bad
The producers of Zero Day Attack are not entirely immune to the temptation to downplay the nature of the enemy. A Chinese defense ministry spokesman, Zhang Xiaogang, accused the ROC government of “[peddling] anxieties and attempting to provoke war” via the miniseries. In response to Zhang or perhaps other nay-sayers, producer Cheng Hsin-mei stresses that her show is “not talking bad about China or depicting it as evil.” How can it avoid doing that, though, when the totalitarian dictatorship constantly threatening Taiwan is bad and evil?
Of course, “China” is not necessarily intended as a shorthand for “the government of China.” And there are many good things in China the country as well as the many bad. Very true. Also true is that equivocation and evasion are not the same as candor and clarity.
Also see:
BBC: “Propaganda or fair warning? Taiwanese TV show imagines Chinese invasion”
“The Taiwanese government…hopes to raise awareness about the threat China poses. But the show has also landed at a highly divisive moment in Taiwan and attracted criticism of fear-mongering.”
