A trailer for Day zeroA Taiwanese television series depicting a Chinese attack on the island has sparked a wave of emotional response.
The nearly 18-minute trailer shows the landing of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in Taiwan Following a presidential election, in which a “political power vacuum” has also left society vulnerable, China creates a blockade in Taiwanese waters under the pretext of a search and rescue mission after one of the PLA’s “Y-8” aircraft goes missing.
The trailer has garnered over 307,000 views on YouTube and nearly 3,500 comments.
The 10-episode series is partly funded by the Taiwanese government as part of the Ministry of Culture’s “1 plus 4-T” content plan. The trailer’s release this week coincides with annual air raid drills that aim to prepare Taiwan’s 23 million residents in the event of an invasion by the Chinese military.
Beijing has threatened to seize the autonomous territory, using force if necessary.
Another key financier of the series is Robert Tsao, founder and former chairman of United Microelectronics Corporation, Taiwan’s second-largest contract chipmaker.
Local media reported that Day zero will air next year and the show’s producer is looking to strike a deal with a major international streaming platform to launch the series.
Cheng Shin-mei is the producer and screenwriter of Day zerowith Lin Shih-ken as executive producer.
Actors set to appear in the series include Japanese actor Issei Takahashi and veteran Hong Kong-Taiwanese actor Chapman To, as well as Lien Yu-han, Kaiser Chuang and Ko I-chen.