All language subtitles for Inside Taiwan - Standing Up To China 1080p HEVC BigJ0554 拷貝

This narrow stretch of water
is all that separates

the People's Republic of China,
ruled by the Communist Party,

from Taiwan, one of Asia's most
successful democracies.

What happens out here
in the Taiwan Strait

isn't just about Taiwan and China,

it's got the potential to spark
a global conflict

that could threaten all of us.

Certainly, the Taiwan Strait right
now is one of the most dangerous

and unstable flash points
that is facing our world today

and for years to come.

Taiwan is a cork in a bottle.

Whoever controls Taiwan controls
the cork in that bottle.

China says it's time for
its breakaway province

to return to the motherland.

But Taiwan is standing up to China.

This is a mission impossible.

This is a mission,
if it is done or executed,

that may lead directly
to Armageddon.

I've been reporting on conflicts
in the Pacific region for decades,

but now this could just be the most
dangerous place on earth.

You have two nuclear powers,
the US and China.

There could be a disaster
for the region,

even for the whole world.

2016. Tsai Ing-wen
is elected president.

CHEERING

She's the first woman to run Taiwan.

A new era begins.

Her election is unprecedented
in another way.

She openly refuses to accept
the idea

that Taiwan is a province of China.

For her, this is
an independent country.

In China, the reaction is swift.

President Xi Jinping cuts relations.

The desire of the Taiwanese
for a more independent future

reverberates across the world.

One China, one Taiwan!

Taiwan's a country!
This is my country!

Yeah! Yeah!

Taiwan is Taiwan
and China is China. Yes.

Young people voted
overwhelmingly for Tsai Ing-wen

and her
Democratic Progressive Party.

UNTRANSLATED SINGING

Fire EX. played at
the president's inauguration.

UNTRANSLATED SINGING

The band put politics at the heart
of their music.

# Tonight we celebrate
our love... #

The danger had already been made
clear during the election campaign.

A Taiwanese star from
the K-Pop group TWICE

appeared on an international TV show

waving Taiwan's, not China's flag.

Chou Tzu-yu didn't mean it
as a political statement,

but under pressure from China,

the show's organisers forced
her to apologise.

If it was meant to frighten those
considering voting for Tsai Ing-wen,

then it backfired.

The new president promised there
would be no more such apologies.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

I've had a chance to get
to know her quite well personally.

As a woman in a predominantly
male political environment,

she faced a number of challenges,

but she was able to put
her foot down.

She has a strong personality.

And Taiwan's way of life,

its democracy,

which is now universally embraced by
people here in Taiwan,

is something that is
simply non-negotiable.

Tsai Ing-wen and her inner circle
are always careful

not to call
publicly for independence.

First of all, we emphasise
that Taiwan has been

an independent country,
so there's no need now

to declare again
the independence of Taiwan.

But we understand and we emphasise
that the people in Taiwan

should have the final say
about the solution

to the so-called "Taiwan problem".

The "Taiwan problem" began in 1949.

The Communists, under Mao Tse-tung,

forced the nationalist government
out of China.

ARCHIVE: One stronghold
after another

has fallen to the advancing Reds.

General Chiang Kai-shek fled
to the neighbouring island,

taking over a million
people with him.

ARCHIVE: War of one kind or another
has been their lot

pretty well all their lifetime.

He declared Taiwan,
just 100 miles off the mainland,

the Independent Republic of China.

Today, it's only officially
recognised as a sovereign nation

by 13 countries.

Victor Gao, a former diplomat,

is regarded as a spokesman
for the Chinese government.

From the very beginning, in 1949,

China has always been calling
for the reunification of Taiwan.

There is only one China
and Taiwan is part of China.

And people on both sides of the
Taiwan Strait are Chinese people.

Same blood, same civilisation,
same culture, same people.

23 million people live in Taiwan,

one of the richest and most dynamic
democracies in the world.

Its high-tech industries have
made it

one of the most digitally
connected societies, too.

China seized advantage of that

when Tsai Ing-wen moved into
the presidential palace

in the capital, Taipei.

From the moment she was
first elected,

the president and her government
became a thorn in the side of China

and the Chinese Communist Party.

Their reaction?

A campaign of misinformation,
intimidation and dirty tricks.

Puma Shen and his team investigate
attacks and disinformation online.

They've identified disinformation
like this -

claims farmers are being bankrupted

because Tsai's election damaged
trade with China.

As soon as social media sites
close down the accounts,

new ones pop up.

UNTRANSLATED SPEECH

The barrage is relentless.

UNTRANSLATED SPEECH

And where is most of this
disinformation coming from?

President Tsai got Taiwan's digital
community involved in the fightback.

No country is an island
in cyberspace, not even Taiwan.

So we stand ready.

Audrey Tang, a former hacker
and Taiwan's first trans minister,

is battling the online attacks
from communist China.

I think the main strategic goal
is to undermine people's trust

in democratic institutions.

There is a narrative going on

that says only authoritarian,
top-down systems

is able to tackle
systemic challenges -

trying to say that democracy
only leads to chaos.

Billion Lee, a student, became
one of Audrey's digital warriors.

Is a lot of this coming from China?

Billion and her friends created
this site,

where thousands of facts can be
checked automatically by bots.

100,000 facts?

Billion was angry about what she
saw online.

Posts undermining Tsai's
government's proposal

to make same-sex marriage legal.

This is one such post.

AIDS patients from abroad

purportedly taking advantage
of Taiwan's health system.

There were false claims that
Tsai's government

spent millions on gay pride parades.

And disinformation exploiting the
fact the president isn't married.

Why did you decide to fight back
against the disinformation

you were seeing on the internet?

It wasn't just fake news online.

Inside Taiwan, China's supporters
were using other tactics, too.

DRUMS PLAY

Chang An-lo's been campaigning for
reunification with China

for 20 years.

He was also a leader of
a criminal gang here.

He has deep connections with one
of the main Triads,

organised crime in Taiwan,
known as the Bamboo Union.

Mr Chang spent years in a US prison
on drug trafficking charges,

then had to flee Taiwan
to mainland China.

The Bamboo Union has been
implicated in recent years

in at least one assassination
attempt against a Beijing critic

here in Taiwan.

And the authorities here in Taiwan
were able to trace the money

for that particular operation
back to the PRC.

Hi.Good afternoon.

Mr Chang.

Known as the White Wolf, Mr Chang
now heads a political party

calling for unification with China.

Mr Chang is accused of receiving
money directly

from the People's Republic of China
to carry out his activities.

Are you funded by China?
Is your party funded by China?

Mr Chang's followers turn up

when people gather to defend
Taiwan's independence.

UPBEAT GLAM ROCK MUSIC PLAYS

In 2017, a Chinese talent show
staged at Taiwan University

sparked a student protest.

So, I realised there is a group
of students.

So they actually trying to boycott
the show.

They rush in

and basically they walk up the stage

and say, "Stop".

The event was staged by Chinese TV
from the mainland.

The students said it was a cultural
influence operation

by the Communist Party.

Nolan Wu was just walking by.

And then I realised there is
someone arguing

and I think they are getting
kind of physical.

SCREAMS

A group of men arrived to confront
the student protestors.

Mr Chang and his son Chang Wei
are keen to show me footage

taken that day.

So, who's this? Who's this there?
This person.

These are your people. But they've
got big sticks.

SHOUTING

Amongst the fray,
one man holds a baseball bat.

Chang Wei rushes out of a car
towards the students.

SHOUTING

He throws a punch and the other
man hits out with the bat.

So I got hit with a fist here,

and then I got hit at my back
with a baseball bat.

That's you, Chang Wei, there.

Did you use violence?
Did you hit anybody?

So what happened in the end?

Four students were taken
to hospital.

Nolan was one of them.

I was really, really scared.

I was really, really like,

"This should not happen
here in Taiwan."

Chang Wei and the man with the bat

received detention orders
for assault,

later reduced to fines.

Mr Chang still insists
he's just a politician

who believes in reunification.

Do you think that one day
there will be peaceful unification

between China and Taiwan?

Two years on from
her election victory,

it's 2018 and President Tsai's
facing her first big test -

midterm parliamentary elections.

As the campaign progressed,
her political opponents

began to push a story.

They claimed Tsai had
fabricated her PhD

from the London School of Economics.

A journalist even tried to find
her thesis in the library there.

I can try the author if you want me
to search by author?

Yeah. T-S-A-I.

Hmm. It's not coming up
by author either.

China spotted an opportunity.

Finally, the LSE confirmed
she had earned her PhD there.

Tsai's fortunes were at
an all-time low.

Her party lost the election,

though she remained the president.

China was winning the war for hearts
and minds without firing a shot.

SOLDIERS CHANT

Meanwhile, China was building
up its military too,

though President Xi said he wanted
peaceful reunification.

I think President Xi Jinping
has the full support

of the 1.4 billion Chinese people,

as well as the soldiers

and the officers of
the People's Liberation Army.

Does anyone really expect
that President Xi Jinping

will abandon the One China policy?

Absolutely not.

China's assertive stance
alarmed America,

Taiwan's closest and most
powerful ally.

Taiwan is a cork in a bottle.

Whoever controls Taiwan

controls the cork in that bottle.

It's important geographically,

it's important technically
because of the industry...

..and it's important
because it's a significant

and vibrant democracy.

America supplies Taiwan
with weapons, but has always

been careful not to openly
support its independence.

It's called strategic ambiguity.

What strategic ambiguity is about

is being unclear

as to what American actions
would be

should Beijing move
with force on Taiwan.

It blurs the calculus that Beijing
would have to deal with.

The United States is illogical,
illegitimate, illegal, in a sense,

and it is very much misleading
the whole world.

I think it's absolutely absurd for
the United States to be so-called

ambiguous about
the Taiwan situation.

They need to come up with clarity
as to what exactly they want.

Taiwan's close links with
the US military has made it a target

for Chinese espionage.

Captain Lu says he was approached
with an offer

of an all-expenses-paid trip
to the mainland.

He says he refused the offer, but
Chinese agents have wined and dined,

and turned, dozens of
military officers.

Chinese intelligence services
have used honey traps

to snare their prey.

China has even targeted
President Tsai herself,

infiltrating her innermost
protection ring.

Two officers from her
security detail

were found guilty of spying
on her.

Chinese spying operations
have taken their toll.

Our military is one of the targets
that China

has been trying to influence.

So, of course, we have
counter-intelligence,

countermeasures to deal
with the problem.

But I have to say, it's not 100%
that we can defend ourselves

from that kind of penetration.

Though the Chinese mainland
is just across the water,

the People's Liberation Army
would find it difficult

to invade Taiwan.

The island has a spine of high
and rugged mountains.

It's only when you get up here
in the mountains that you realise

what an incredible natural
geographical defensive position

Taiwan has, even though it's one of
the most densely populated

countries in the world.

Taiwan is building up a bristling
array of formidable weapons,

all part of what they call
their Porcupine Strategy.

Taiwan may have these
advanced weapons,

but Chinese forces are 12
times bigger.

Taiwan has been slow to arm itself.

It still depends heavily
on America for advanced weapons.

The idea is to begin to take
advantage of the technology

that's available today, to be able
to put in place small numbers

of weapon systems that, for want
of a better term, could shred

an invading force that wanted
to come across the beaches.

After her party's poor election
showing, President Tsai

is under pressure.

President Xi is about to show Taiwan
he means business.

CROWD CHANTS

Taiwan watched as China
took back control

of another wayward territory.

Hong Kong.

A pro-democracy movement
was ruthlessly put down there.

So what's this, Kasey?

Performance artist Kasey Wong

was amongst the protesters
in Hong Kong.

That's you dressed as the policeman?

That's right.

And what's the meaning?

The Chinese government try to treat
the Hong Kong citizens

as if they are the Chinese citizens

and send the Hong Kong people

to mainland for unfair trial.

So I want to express that.

Kasey fled to Taiwan, like many
others from Hong Kong.

He's holding an exhibition
in an old jail in Taipei.

Chiang Kai-shek locked up political
prisoners here

during years of martial law.

It's a reminder to people
of the fragility of their democracy.

I kind of know the future
of Hong Kong is doomed.

Why I decided to come to Taiwan?

Because I know the next battlefield
will become Taiwan.

China had promised Hong Kong
it could still remain a democracy,

though it would be part
of communist China.

The same offer was also
made to Taiwan.

I think the Taiwan people sees
what happened to Hong Kong

could happen to their own city.

One country, two systems happened
to Hong Kong, and see what happened?

It become one country, one system.

And I don't think
the people of Taiwan will buy that.

BAND PLAYS

The events in Hong Kong revived
President Tsai's fortunes

just in time. She was reaching the
end of her four-year term in office

and was now campaigning
for re-election.

China has been selling the so-called
one country, two system model

to Taiwan, and they try to show
that it's workable

or it's working in Hong Kong, so it
should be applicable to Taiwan.

But, you know, it turned
out not to be the case.

So it becomes a
very difficult product

for Beijing to sell
to the people in Taiwan.

The future of Taiwan will never
be decided by the 23 million people

in Taiwan themselves.

The future of Taiwan will be decided
by the more than 1.4 billion people

on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

The President already
had the support of the younger

generation, but Hong Kong changed
views across Taiwanese society.

In the parks here,
older residents gather

for their daily dancing sessions.

Many of them, or their parents,
came from mainland China.

This generation didn't used
to be strongly

in favour of independence.
It's different now.

China's heavy-handed approach
to Taiwan, as we've seen in places

like Hong Kong as well,
has actually backfired.

So rather than win the hearts
and minds of the Taiwanese,

it ends up alienating them
and further compounding a desire

among the Taiwanese to defend their
way of life and their democracy.

CROWD CHEERS

PERSON SHOUTS OVER MICROPHONE

After the events in Hong Kong,
in 2020 Tsai Ing-wen wins her second

presidential term with a landslide.

In the weeks following the election
result, Taiwan was hit with a series

of cyber attacks. Petrol stations
across the land were disabled -

people couldn't use their
cards to pay,

sparking fears China was targeting
vital services here.

What they have achieved
is just very shallow on the surface.

But information manipulation,
the disinformation,

tries to exaggerate it and say that,

"Oh, we've taken over critical
infrastructure," and so on,

which was not the case.

And we also think that a lot of it
is about getting people's, uh,

like, anxiety level high so that
even though they only achieve

a little bit, they get amplified

so that people feel very anxious
all the time.

That year, the pandemic -
which began in China -

added to the anxiety.

Taiwan had one of the lowest
death rates in the world.

But a new wave of disinformation
was directed at its citizens.

There have been false claims
on social media of a mass outbreak

of Covid here. Even fake news

the President herself had been
infected and it was covered up.

All attempts to discredit
Taiwan's strong performance

during the pandemic.

China's campaign to undermine
their government was affecting

how Taiwanese people see
their identity.

Traditional houses in the mountains
specialise in the tea ceremony.

People still value their Chinese
heritage, but polls suggest

that attitudes to reunification
are changing.

The desire of the Taiwanese people
to have political union with China

is at an all-time low, under 10%.

The majority of people just want
things to stay as they are.

But the numbers in favour
of independence are growing.

A third of the population believe
they're both Taiwanese and Chinese,

but nearly two thirds now
say they're Taiwanese only.

Language has become important
in forging a separate identity.

HE SINGS IN TAIWANESE

Fire EX. mostly sing in Taiwanese,
not Mandarin -

the main language of China
imposed on the population

by Chiang Kai-shek.

As the gap between the generations
narrows, it becomes harder for China

to win hearts and minds.

In Taiwan's National Museum,
children learn

about their Chinese heritage.

We have great paintings
and calligraphy and ceramics.

So over here, you see
a Qing dynasty jade cabbage.

Jadeite cabbage, to be specific.

It's beautiful.

This sculpture came from the palace
of the Chinese Emperor

in Beijing's Forbidden City.

Chiang Kai-shek brought it to Taiwan
with thousands of other treasures,

and China wants them all back.

That's why our collection never
travels, and is never publicly

displayed in countries without
immunity from legal seizure.

Because of China's desire
to have them back again?

Yes. Yes, that's the fear.

Late last year, it was discovered
three porcelain pieces

in the collection were broken.

The museum had known for a while,
but hadn't admitted it.

The breakages were seized on
by the Chinese government,

who slammed the Taiwan authorities.

In a state newspaper, they said,

"Only under reunification
can national treasures be better

"protected and better play their
role in passing on the bloodline

"of the Chinese civilisation."

In museum work, incidents
like this are not very rare

because sometimes,
due to structural...

Um, due to the composition of
the object, due to age,

objects would deteriorate. Yes.

But China's been able to use it
to say the museum is not capable

of looking after the treasures -
they should go back to China.

SHE CHUCKLES

Right.

What I say represents my
personal opinion,

but I do think here we take
great care

of this cultural heritage
passed on to us

that belongs to people
around the world.

After Tsai Ing-wen is re-elected,
China steps up its military activity

in the Taiwan Strait.

Xi Jinping repeats his warning.

Tsai responds on Taiwan's
National Day.

America sends warships
through the Strait.

Strategic ambiguity now becomes
a firm pledge

to come to Taiwan's
defence if China attacks.

The stalemate in
the Taiwan Strait continues...

It's happened before, in the 1950s.

Batteries on Red China's mainland
have almost sealed off

the island from help.

When Chinese artillery bombarded
Taiwanese islands closest

to the mainland, America stepped in.

Kinmen was one of those islands,

only a few miles from China
in the Taiwan Strait.

You can see the mainland and
the skyscrapers of a Chinese city

from Kinmen's beaches.

This place has borne the brunt of
war with its neighbour for decades.

These rusting relics hold memories
of an earlier conflict

that people here hoped they'd
never see again.

Kinmen's still on the front line.

Councillor Tung Sen-Pao
knows everyone here.

What do people here feel
about China?

It's so close, just over the water.

Local people are ambivalent
about their relationship

with China today.

Wu Tseng-Dong grew up under fire.

Now he makes his living turning
old shells into knives

for sale to Chinese tourists
from the mainland.

In the local market,

memories of the last war
with China are still strong.

But there are also close family
and economic ties with the mainland.

And more support
here for reunification.

SHOUTS ORDERS, THEY CHANT

Chinese tourists are trickling
back to wartime sites here

after the pandemic.

They're a vital economic lifeline
for the island,

which now capitalises
on its troubled history.

SHOUTS

LOUD BANG

In Kinmen, they still feel
like a pawn between the superpowers.

China doesn't treat any
of the Strait

as Taiwan's territorial water.

Out there in the sea is
the median line,

the invisible boundary
between Taiwan and China.

It was defined by America,

but has never
been recognised by China.

There are massive Chinese dredgers
here digging up sand to build

infrastructure on the mainland.

They also create new islands and
military outposts in the Pacific.

These dredgers are stretching almost
as far as I can see.

I'm counting more than a dozen,

and there are more up ahead.

SIREN WAILS

UNTRANSLATED

In just three years, the number
of dredgers expelled

by the Taiwanese coastguard has
gone up from 600 to nearly 4,000.

Dredgers have damaged internet
cables on the seabed

connecting Taiwan with
the rest of the world.

SPEAKS OVER RADIO

China is accused of using vessels
like this in a campaign

of grey-zone warfare.

What Beijing is doing is creating an
environment where they can be

much more aware of everything
that is moving above,

on and under the water,
which would give them

tremendous advantage should
there be a conflict in the Strait.

An invasion, a naval blockade,

destruction of
global communication links -

a lot's at stake here.

If there were to be war
in the Taiwan Strait,

the impact, if only in economic
terms, would be in the trillions

of dollars for the first year.

Not to mention the fact that
the Chinese would then access

the world's key producer
of the most advanced semiconductors

that now fuel the entire
global economy.

90% of advanced semiconductors -

the chips we all use in our digital
devices - are made in Taiwan.

America's racing to build
chip factories in Arizona

with Taiwanese partners,
but it will take years.

China's top priority is to develop
its own high-end chip industry.

There have been accusations
of dirty tricks here, too.

So there was human espionage.

They have recruited individuals,
offered them large sums of money

to be employed in semiconductor
firms back in China, but also

with them in their luggage would
carry hard drives

that contain plans for
a semiconductor,

and try to replicate
that back in China.

But China still relies heavily
on Taiwan's advanced technology.

This science park near Taipei,
full of semiconductor companies,

is Taiwan's jewel in the crown.

Some see it as a silicon shield
because it's just too valuable

to damage or destroy.

China ramps up its military activity
in the Taiwan Strait in 2022.

In February, there's a wake-up call.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine

alarmed a lot of people in Taiwan.

And in other words,

war is not unthinkable.

So people begin to believe
that we should prepare ourselves

for the worst-case scenario.

That's one lesson we learned
from the Ukrainian war.

Taiwan's young people
are realising they, too,

may have to defend their homeland.

This is Camp 66, a civilian
defence training unit.

They're drawing lessons here
from what happened in Ukraine.

A citizen force galvanised
into action against an invader,

and holding fast against
all expectations.

The number of people paying to come
to private camps like this

quadrupled in the past year.

Compulsory military service
has been increased

from four to 12 months.

I hope that I don't need
these skills.

I hope I don't ever need to do
this at all.

But when it comes to it,
I need to be prepared.

You're determined to fight?

I think so. This is my home.
This is my family. Yeah.

I should.

Ukraine taught Taiwan it was vital
to stay connected

in the event of war.

They're developing their own
satellite network

to keep communications going.

We're quite similar in the sense
that we're both,

well, in the front line,
standing firm

in the face of
authoritarian expansionism.

If, for example, we didn't
have the broadcasting,

the daily addresses from Kyiv
and so on,

then of course
the information manipulators,

the deepfakes and so on,
will probably win the day.

As tension increased in the Strait
last summer, a top US politician,

Nancy Pelosi, made a controversial
visit to Taiwan.

During her visit, there was another
wave of cyber attacks.

Electronic boards at train stations
and thousands of convenience stores

were hijacked. She was branded
a witch, a warmonger.

Nancy Pelosi's illegitimate visit
to Taiwan

was only serving one purpose
and one purpose only.

She was encouraging
Taiwan independence.

The visit coincided with emerging
signs of instability in China,

a slowing economy, and a Xi Jinping
who was seeking a third term

later in the year as well.

So anything that appeared as a slap
in the face, that undermined his

hardline position on Taiwan,
was also something

that was deemed provocative.

Nancy Pelosi is playing with fire -

with the lives of
the American soldiers,

with the lives of
the American people,

with the lives of the Chinese people
on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

Hours after Nancy Pelosi left,
China launched live fire exercises,

unprecedented in recent history.

11 missiles landed in Taiwan's
territorial waters

and flew over the island
eastwards, towards Japan.

SHOUTS

Was it wise for her to come?

Wasn't it just antagonising
China unnecessarily?

I think China just used
that as a pretext

to justify its military
exercises in the region.

China would do it with or
without Nancy Pelosi's visit.

They just used that as an excuse.

Chinese jets crossed the invisible
boundary in the Taiwan Strait...

..to show it would never deter them.

This was psychological warfare aimed
at the Taiwanese to punish them,

to try also to demonstrate that
the Taiwanese military does not

have the ability to counter
these activities very close

to Taiwanese-controlled waters.

China has demonstrated
to the United States that China

has the military capabilities
to completely encircle Taiwan,

to cutting off its connection by
sea or by air, if necessary,

with the rest of the world.

And China has the political will
as well as military capabilities

to achieve national reunification
by force if it is necessary.

Life goes on here, though China
keeps ratcheting up the threat.

BELL DINGS

President Tsai is in the last year
of her final term,

and many people are fearful.

Fire EX. still play the song
they wrote nearly a decade ago.

They believe their fight
for independence

is even more vital today.

Sam, if there was military action
by China, even an invasion,

would you fight for Taiwan?

Sure.

ECHOEY MUSIC PLAYS

On Kinmen Island, propaganda songs
played during the war in the '50s

still drift across
the Strait at night.

A ghostly echo of the unfinished
business between China and Taiwan.

You have two nuclear powers,
the US and China.

So it's not just a war
between Taiwan and China.

There could be a disaster
for the region,

even for the whole world.

How likely is that, do you think,
from where we sit now?

Well, again, the ball is not
in our court.

The ball is in Beijing's court.

How can any power in the world
of today really believe

they have the wherewithal to take
Taiwan away from China?

This is a mission impossible.

This is a mission, if it is done
or executed,

may lead directly to Armageddon.

The last seven years have turned
most Taiwanese against reunification

with the mainland. China is
running out of options

to solve its Taiwan
problem peacefully.