ZERO DAY ATTACK- A WARNING SHOT FOR TAIWAN

The first three episodes of the Taiwanese TV drama “Zero Day Attack” (零日攻击) started out by presenting an impending Chinese invasion of Taiwan from the perspective of key decision makers in Taipei, before zooming in to examine how the lead up to a cross-straits war would affect ordinary people on the island. Episodes 4 and 5 link both perspectives together, expanding on and going beyond themes introduced in episodes 2 and 3 to offer a human-centric account of the hypothetical conflict presented in the show. The episodes go beyond showing how average individuals are affected by geopolitical crisis to examine how it is these same individuals who willingly or not, are draw in and become vital to the machinations of governments.

Episodes 3 and 4 emphasize the central role of technology in modern cross-strait conflict, from military use to hybrid warfare. However, both stress that such operations ultimately hinge on human motives and relationships. In episode 4, influencer Lin Chi-Chi is drawn into Chinese information warfare through social media networks, but her manipulation hinges on a fictional AI persona she falls in love with. Likewise, episode 5’s missile-espionage plot follows NSB employee Paul Wang, whose actions are driven primarily by his romantic involvement with an enigmatic woman called Mia.

Warfare in the Technological Domain

Episodes 4 and 5 primarily show the information and tech aspects of Chinese hybrid warfare, with episode 4 meant to caution the show’s primary audience (likely young and chronically online) of the potential dangers of cyberspace. There is thematic foreshadowing from the very beginning, as a newscaster reports on the online circulation of deepfake sex tapes of president-elect Wang Ming-fan. This highlights the ease with which it is possible to fabricate visual evidence and thus push falsified media narratives. As the episode progresses, it hints at a broader network of actors that work together to fabricate events and media to assist the Chinese information campaign. Lin Chi-Chi shifts to ‘Horizon,’ a new streaming platform that collects users’ backend data- presumably to train A.I. models on. The final product of this network is entirely fabricated online personas such as ‘Yun Shou,’ an A.I. bot who makes Chi-Chi fall for its masquerade as a famous influencer.

Perhaps the most frightening aspect of this information campaign is the extent to which its subjects remain oblivious to it. Even as Chi-Chi begins diversifying her content towards putting out sensationalized headlines calling out ‘Taipei elites’ for warmongering and being American puppets, she retains the illusion of agency, unaware that the algorithms pushing her propagandistic content are being controlled by the Chinese information machine. This kind of messaging seems especially pertinent, considering the context of increasing media polarization in Taiwan leading to the rise of echo chambers, stifling diverse perspectives and undermining informed decision-making, even as the individuals within remain unaware. Concurrently, the 2024 Taiwanese presidential elections saw a rash of A.I.-generated disinformation videos, making the show’s presentation of A.I.-generated internet personas scarily plausible. The overarching message then, is one of vigilance- people should critically examine their opinions and social media feeds, to see if they are truly their own.

There is a stark contrast between the nature of Chinese hybrid activities presented in episodes 4 and 5, serving to highlight their truly cross-domain nature. While episode 4 focuses on subversion at the individual level of social media feeds, episode 5 deals with the much broader national-level risk of a Chinese plot to gain control of the launch codes for Taiwanese coastal-defense missiles. The central plot point of high-level Taiwanese National Security Bureau (NSB) officials defecting to the side of the People’s Republic reflects real-life arrests of NSB personnel on espionage charges in recent years. Similarly, the vulnerabilities of Taiwanese missiles demonstrated in the show hark back to an episode from 2023, where concerns over the security of Hsiung Feng III (HF-III) were raised after it was revealed that some missile components had reportedly been sent to the mainland for servicing.

Material Pressures

While focusing on technological subversion, episodes 4 and 5 suggest that it succeeds only when it exploits human vulnerability. In episode 4, Chi-Chi faces financial pressure from her parents, who disparage her husband’s bento business and repeatedly demand money for expenses like medical bills. This material strain makes her susceptible to Horizon’s offer to let her keep 80 percent of her earnings, an appeal strengthened by lavish gifts such as designer shoes and paid vacations. The scenario of tacit bribery presented in the episode highlights the very real threat of the People’s Republic using material incentives to induce Taiwanese influencers to produce propaganda. This ties back to the earlier message of media vigilance- be careful, because you never know who is funding the people you watch.

Similar pressures drive episode 5’s espionage plot. Mia facilitates a Chinese intrusion into software controlling the HF-III missiles in exchange for a payment of five million dollars, a U.S. Green Card, and a plane ticket to America. The broader message of the episode, however, is to highlight the risks that disenchantment with mainstream Taiwanese society may pose to national security. In episode 4, if people see no alternative to ‘being an office slave’ in Taiwanese society, they may begin to question the value of defending that society in the first place, in a tacit nod to the growing number of younger individuals choosing to ‘lie flat’ and opt out of conventional career and lifestyle choices. Episode 5 challenges stereotypes of Taiwanese patriotism by centring on unlikely heroes: Paul Wang, a half-Chinese and seemingly inept junior NSB employee, and Mia, a Japanese undocumented hostess. They thwart the espionage plot, while Paul’s superiors are exposed as Chinese double agents, underscoring that anyone can threaten- or defend- national security.

Human Factors

The other human vulnerability that subversion operations exploit, and the one that forms the core of the episodes’ messaging, is that of interpersonal relationships. While Chi-Chi dreams of a materially better life in episode 4, the reason she falls as far down the information warfare rabbit hole as she does, is because she essentially falls in love, or convinces herself that she has fallen in love with, an A.I. persona. ‘Yun Shou’ uses classic manipulative tactics such as flattery, blowing hot and cold, and emotionally isolating Chi-Chi from her husband to make her feel as though it is the only individual or rather thing which can truly understand or love her. Once again, the themes seem especially pertinent, given that Taiwan, like elsewhere, has begun to see some people purportedly fall in love with A.I. chatbots. The sinister consequences are laid bare in the show. ‘Use your platform for good,’ the A.I. tells Chi-Chi, urging her to sow panic as blackouts begin and war seems imminent. This final act of manipulation serves to underscore both the inversion of Chi-Chi’s sense of reality, as well as the perversion of human love in the service of a geopolitical subversion campaign, that has come full circle over the course of the episode. 

While it initially seems as though episode 5 copies episode 4, with Paul Wang’s infatuation for Mia blinding to the fact that he is being used by Chinese intelligence, this expectation ends up being subverted. Unlike in episode 4, the romantic connection is a genuine one, and it is Mia’s decision to trust Paul that allows them to secure the chip that is meant to inject malware into the HF-III missile software. Messaging about the value of relationships with real people as opposed to artificial intelligence aside, the core point of episodes 4 and 5 seems to be about the power of human belief. Paul and Mia choose to believe in the idea of each other and find the strength to do the right thing, for themselves and for Taiwan, while Chi-Chi is duped into putting her faith in the wrong thing, to Taiwan’s peril, and her own.