Trailer released for Taiwanese cross-strait war drama 'Zero Day'

Taipei, July 24 (CNA) A 17-minute trailer for Taiwanese TV series "Zero Day" (零日攻擊), which depicts an invasion of Taiwan by Chinese military forces, was released at a press event in Taipei Tuesday, coinciding with the Wanan air raid drill in the capital city.

The trailer showed young soldiers defending the country, a bank run, people trying to leave the country, and individuals collaborating with Beijing and initiating cognitive warfare in the prelude to combat.

When the trailer was played, the air raid siren for the Wanan drill in Taipei was heard, with the warning message on people's mobile phones reading "incoming missile/rocket threat; seek immediate shelter," and with local supermarkets emptied by consumers anticipating a typhoon, some netizens called it an "immersive experience."

The trailer was produced for one of the 10 episodes of the drama, which received funding from the Ministry of Culture's "1 plus 4-T-content plan." It portrays how Taiwanese people react to an imminent invasion by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) following a blockade.

The "1 plus 4-T-content plan," with a budget of NT$10 billion (US$305 million) over four years, aims to revitalize Taiwan's cultural content industry, including film and television, with a goal to promote Taiwanese works globally, according to the ministry.

The trailer was also released on Youtube.

"I'm blown away emotionally, when I think that the reality might be more severe than the drama," and "without freedom, it is no longer Taiwan," were some of the comments made online.

The 10 independent episodes of Zero Day will be filmed by different directors.

The trailer, which depicted different parts of Taiwanese society in a time of crisis, was part of the episode directed by Lo Ging-zim (羅景壬), who said "our homeland is the most likely next flashpoint" after the Ukraine-Russian War.

"Drama is a form of fable, as drama is not presenting the truth but metaphor as to how we might react to the challenges in reality," Luo said, calling Zero Day a fable, awakening the public about how to face a possible invasion.

The drama will cost about NT$230 million, with some of the investment coming from Robert Tsao (曹興誠), the founder of contract chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp., who invested in Taiwanese drama for the first time.

Tsao was present at the Tuesday's press conference to show his support. "Taiwanese people's preparation and understanding is crucial when facing a cross-strait crisis," he said.

"Drama can have an impact on how people perceive, and we hope that this drama sends some kind of warning because Taiwan is now under cultural attack," Tsao said.

Tsao made a NT$1 billion donation in 2022 to Kuma Academy, a volunteer civilian training organization with a mission to "prepare a pre-war mentality for civilians and cultivate self-defense capability." It opened in 2021.

Several notable actors appear in the drama, including Japanese actor Issei Takahashi and Hong Long-born Taiwanese actor Chapman To (杜汶澤), as well as award-winning Taiwanese actress Lien Yu-han (連俞涵) and actors Kaiser Chuang (莊凱勛) and Ko I-chen (柯一正).

It is the first Taiwanese drama Takahashi has been involved in, playing a half-Japanese, half-Taiwanese character who speaks Mandarin, English and Japanese in the show.

"It is quite awkward for me to play this role (a Hong Konger who tries to infiltrate Taiwan on a mission for the People's Republic of China), but the character itself was not difficult to depict, as I had seen many in Hong Kong already."