57. “Zero Day Attack”: a TV show on Chinese invasion of Taiwan
About this episode
The episode features an interview with Hsin-mei CHENG discussing her television series 'Zero Day Attack' and the implications of a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
We speak to Hsin-mei CHENG , producer of the 2025 television series “ Zero Day Attack” (零日攻擊) - a 10-episode drama that imagines Taiwanese internal divide and cohesion after the Chinese PLA have launched an invasion of Taiwan. She speaks about her experience developing the show and the challenges of censorship and self-censorship in the creative industries in Taiwan. Hsin-Mei CHENG (鄭心媚) is an award-winning screenwriter of television drama that often tell stories of Taiwanese society after WWII. She began her career as a print journalist covering national disasters and crises, most notably the 921 Earthquake in 1999 and the SARS outbreak in 2003. The episode was recorded on August 3, 2025, one day after the release of the first episode. The term Zero-Day (Z Day) that’s used to describe the notional date of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan was first used by American security analyst Ian Easton in his 2017 book, “The Chinese Invasion Threat”. He laid out the Zero Day scenario: first by blockade, then amphibious landing, then a total takeover of Taiwan. In computer terms, Zero-Day (0-Day) is a security flaw of the software, hardware, or firmware…
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