VISION

AUDIO

DATELINE STING

VO – PTT

SUPER: Jennifer Wong, reporter

Tonight, on Dateline...

In this final episode of our two-part special on the China Dream, we’ll explore what China’s rise in power means for Taiwan.

Why it's the feared flashpoint for World War three...

AYA - We are at the frontline. Where we live is the frontline.

And find out how the Taiwanese feel about their identity and future.

KOLAS: we know we are not China.  /// People have no confusion of being Taiwanese at all. /// This is our country.

PROGRAM TITLES:

THE CHINA DREAM

Jennifer Wong, Colin Cosier, Simon Phegan

Change title

PART 2: TENSIONS OVER TAIWAN

ENOCH WU

DAY – TAIPEI – EXT

LOCATION TITLE:

TAIPEI

CARDS

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TW_JW_0808 (GV)

TW_JW_0208 (GV)

FX3_3007 [00:00:38:02] ENOCH: So, we’re in one of the busier sections of Taipei

[00:00:58:22] it’s normally more crowded if it weren’t for COVID

VO: Enoch Wu is a former special forces soldier, and now a rising star politician.

And he’s concerned the Taiwanese aren’t prepared for the growing threat coming from China.

SUPER: Enoch Wu, Democratic Progressive Party

[00:04:28:00] So kids in Taiwan, y’know in elementary school, folks go through earthquake training /// we understand the dos and don’ts when we face a fire. But there’s certain more catastrophic events, // that we’re less prepared for, including a potential military attack, right, and I think there’s a heightened risk of that with all the investments that China has been making over the last few decades.

VO: This year, China upped its military intimidation of Taiwan

And whether it’s bluff or not - there’s global concern about the threat of invasion.

China’s missiles could reach every part of the island in minutes.

Enoch shows a map on his phone

MAP link

[00:03:45:01] The government has a list of all the qualified air raid shelters in the city and they’ve put it on a map and it looks like this

[00:04:02:04] And these are a mix of underground facilities beneath office buildings, shopping malls, residential complexes. ///- they’re mostly parking lots.

Car Park

VO: Enoch says Taiwan’s 20,000-plus air raid shelters are expected to accommodate more than 20 million people.

[00:08:57:06] if you look around us you’ll see it’s a nice parking lot but there aren’t a lot of facilities, a lot of items that you might need in an air raid shelter.

[00:09:38:16] for example you can feel how hot it is right now. Ventilation is important, power generation’s important, medical supplies are important, food supplies.

[05:01] And so if we believe that a missile strike on Taiwan is a possibility, /// then we need more facilities that are fitted and equipped with items that could help the general population shelter in those events.

VO: It’s one thing to have air raid shelters- even if they are just car parks.   

But how can the people be better prepared?

And do they even need to be?

INTERVIEW

JEN (00:43:12): How serious is the threat from China?

ENOCH: (43:17) So, in short, it's quite serious in my view. China spent the better part of the last couple of decades investing in its military /// one of its core missions is to take Taiwan by force, if the Beijing leadership deems it necessary.

ENOCH: (44:21) So, I think the only way that Taiwan can avoid a military conflict is to really be prepared for conflict. They always say the best way to prevent war is to prepare to fight.

VO: Taiwan’s defences are reportedly plagued by ageing military hardware, supply issues, and motivation problems.

Taiwan has mandatory conscription, but it’s been reduced from two years to just four months, and is ridiculed as a summer camp.

ENOCH: (52:03) So, there's no way of getting around the fact that conscription is unpopular in Taiwan. But it's unpopular for one main reason, which is for most of us, the time we spend in the military is too often spent on chores like /// you know marching and bayonet drills.

ENOCH: (52:49) and almost too little, or no time on combat training, then no one leaves the military better prepared for a crisis. /// But we have to change that.

ENOCH’S TRAINING VIDEO

Courtesy: Forward Alliance

 [01:56] Enoch – Everyone, right hand up.

Enoch is drawing on his special forces background - and some fancy simulations - to train up civilians to deal with disaster.

ENOCH’S TRAINING VIDEO

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ENOCH: (56:15) So we're holding workshops for folks like us, and we're saying, "Hey, this is how you deescalate a conflict. This is how you treat a wound. This is how to recognize when someone is bleeding profusely, and this is how you stop the bleed. /// , it's teaching everyone, how to be a first responder in emergencies.

ENOCH: And that takes preparation on our part, right. /// and it takes us coming together as a society to say, "Hey, this is going to take all of us. Not just our 160,000 strong in the military." ///

Our goal needs to be so that every morning when the Beijing leadership wakes up, from their China dream and they need to realize, "Hey, today is not the day to take military action.

EXPLAINER: THREAT OF WAR

GFX Map 1: instructions doc

VO: Located off the Chinese coast, Taiwan is about half the size of Tasmania.

GVs Taiwan

And it’s like nowhere else on earth.

Only a handful of nations recognise Taiwan as a country.

For most of the world, including Australia and the US, its status is an ambiguity.

Archive: Xi Jinping

SUPER: Xi Jinping, Chinese President

GFX MAP 5:  instructions doc

But not for China - it claims Taiwan as its own... a renegade province to be reunified.

XI JINPING: We have a resolute determination,

strong confidence, and sufficient power to defeat any form of Taiwan independence conspiracy.

The Chinese Communist Party has never actually ruled over Taiwan.

But in Xi Jinping’s China Dream to rejuvenate the nation, taking control of Taiwan is high on the to do list

It's also part of China’s ambitions to control the South China Sea... giving it an advantage over trade routes and resources, and the strategic high-ground

STRAP: Ministry of Defense Spokesperson Office

This year, a record number of Chinese military planes have flown provocatively close to Taiwan.

Archive: US military hardware

Now while the US doesn’t recognise Taiwan as a country, it does sell them military hardware.

And it’s widely assumed the US would come to Taiwan’s aid if needed.

That could rope Australia into a conflict … between the world’s two nuclear armed superpowers.

KOLAS - THREATS

 Presidential Office Building

FX3_0408 [14:32] EXT building

FX3_0308 [21:34] Kolas walkies or office

VO: I WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE TAIWANESE GOVERNMENT MAKES OF THE GROWING THREATS.

0308_FS7 - KOLAS

JEN: (35:18) Hello, Kolas.

KOLAS: (35:19) Hi, Jennifer.

KOLAS YOTAKA IS THE PRESIDENTAL SPOKESPERSON

0308_FS7 - KOLAS

SUPER: Kolas Yotaka, Taiwan Presidential Office Spokesperson

JEN: (04:44) Let's start with the big picture.

JEN: (04:47) What's Taiwan's greatest concern today?

KOLAS: (04:52) Hmm. Actually, the main obstacle for us today is our standing as an independent country has been undermined by China

KOLAS: (05:27) We have been telling people ROC Taiwan is an independent country. We are a sovereign country that has our own military, we have elections, a President. So, Taiwan’s, ROC Taiwan's independence is a fact.

VO: ROC Taiwan is the abbreviation of Republic of China, Taiwan.

Weee'll get to that later.

JEN: (05:56) At the same time as Taiwan has this stance, China in the meantime says repeatedly that they will want to one day take Taiwan by force.

KOLAS: (06:26) Actually, the threaten has been there for decades, but all we want to say is the Taiwanese want peace. We don't want a war at all. But to send war planes flying over /// 28 times in one day, it's not peace. It's destroying the status quo.

JEN: (08:43) Are there ways that China seeks to undermine the proper running of Taiwan?

KOLAS: (09:08) So misinformation and fake news have been attacking us for years

KOLAS: (11:13) This kind of attacks is try to help to create the conflicts between our governments and the people. So I think this cognitive warfare has been initiated by China and not just this year. It has started a long time ago

EXPLAINER: Grey zone / Vaccines

GFX TEXT:

1.       disinformation

2.       cyber-attacks

3.       economic coercion

These non-military threats are called grey zone tactics.

They’re designed to disrupt the status quo and wear down the target.

They include barrages of disinformation, cyber-attacks and economic coercion.

One recent example involves a stoush over COVID vaccines.

STRAP: Reuters

ABC News [0.00] - Taiwan is stepping up its pandemic measures after a huge surge in COVID 19 cases

 RTI [0.00] a vaccine shortage during Taiwan’s biggest outbreak has led to a public outcry for vaccines.

DW News [0.00] Taiwan has for the first time directly accused China of blocking a deal with Germany’s BioNTech vaccine developer for COVID-19 jabs.

CNA [1.04] But Beijing rejected the accusation.

U.S. triples vaccine doses for Taiwan – Reuters

Reuters [0.38] China has offered to send doses to the island, which it considers its territory, but Taipei has expressed concern about the safety of Chinese shots.

VO - By refusing vaccines from China, the Taiwanese government was accused of putting politics above health

But when Japan and the United States donated vaccines to Taiwan - China objected and warned them to stop meddling in its internal affairs

The shenanigans are just one example of grey zone conflict. There are many more, even right on China’s doorstep.

MATSU ISLAND

GFX MAP 2:  instructions doc

VO: Only nine kilometres off China’s coast are Taiwan’s Matsu Islands.  

TOUR GUIDE

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TOUR GUIDE: To the north is all mainland China, the entire area.  Can you see it?  /// This one little island is our nearest island.

Matsu used to be a frontline when the two sides were at war.

They’re so physically close, this billboard was once used to taunt China.

TOUR GUIDE: This sign reads "Pillowing the dagger-axe and waiting for dawn."

Tour guide Chen Sai-hua explains the message:

TOUR GUIDE: Put your weapon next to your pillow. Treat it like your pillow.  Get ready to fight as dawn comes.

She remembers when the island was attacked in the late 1950s.

CARD: 1208

SUPER: Chen Sai-hua, tour guide

TOUR GUIDE: If the shelling was close to our village, the sound was a "shhh", then a loud boom.

We were just kids, just listening to that sound. As soon as we heard that horrible noise, we rushed to the bomb shelter and hid. /// We were living a very frightening existence.

FISHERMEN

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[00:01] Boat GVs

[03:07] Fishermen scene starts

Today there’s a different kind of battle going on

– A fight over what’s at the bottom of the sea.

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Ku Chih-Ming – I’ve been fishing for over 20 years

Chu Kuang-Huan – All the natives here do fishing.

Chinese sand dredgers have been illegally plundering these waters - ruining both the environment and livelihoods

SUPER: Ku Chih-Ming (sunnies), Matsu local

SUPER: Chu Kuang-Huan (Adidas), Matsu local

Chu Kuang-Huan – The dredging ships have changed the ecology at the Matsu Islands.

Chu Kuang-Huan – In the past, we could fish at any time, and they were always available. /// We could catch a whole bucket of them. This is no longer the case.

Ku Chih-Ming – There were always fish to catch in the past. Not any more.

Chu Kuang-Huan – There’s none, wherever you try.

LII WEN

Impounded dredger

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WEN: (13:26) this illegal dredger has been here since October last year

VO: Wen Lii is a local politician.

WEN: (00:23) // the sand dredger was illegally mining for sand in the waters near Matsu, which are considered Taiwanese restricted waters. /// then Taiwan's coast guard detained it,

SUPER: Wen Lii, Democratic Progressive Party

WEN: (18:19) you can see shards of broken seashells, including sand and gravel and other parts of what used to be marine life. And it's just a sad sight to see.

WEN: (03:01) it just affects the people's livelihoods on so many levels, from fishing to tourism,

WEN: (02:42)  it even affects our local infrastructure, as underwater cables between the different islands of Matsu get destroyed or damaged

Taiwan’s coast guard is outnumbered, and outsized by the hulking dredgers

WEN: (20:51) the dredgers come in and out and trespass into the restricted waters and then run away, and it makes law enforcement extremely difficult for our own coast guard.

WEN: (03:58) and last year in 2020, sometimes you would see a large amount of dredgers around the waters of Matsu, up to 100 or 200 illegal dredgers surrounding Matsu

VO: Wen Lii suspects the dredgers are part intimidation tactics, part opportunism.

WEN: (06:26) Of course we cannot deny there's an economic component. China is the largest consumer of sand in the world, sand and gravel. ///

WEN: (07:00) and they are willing to use illegal means to obtain the sand, and destroy the environment

WEN: (07:13) But then again, we do not rule out the possibility of this being part of a grey zone strategy or grey zone tactic, with the goal of harassment and intimidation.

WEN: (07:35) If we just allow this to happen, then we just allow the destruction of our property and our environment, however, if we respond with military force on these civilian dredgers, then it gives China a further pretext to further escalate tensions.

HOSTEL OWNER

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VO: The far south-western tip of the island is the closest point to where the dredgers usually work.

Aya Liu's hostel has an uninterrupted view.

OUTSIDE ROOF TOP

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Aya Liu: You can see them now. /// Not too many today.

Look at that ship on the left. It has a pointy bow. /// 

These would be in Taiwan’s waters.

VO: Last year, Aya didn’t have to look far

An impounded dredger was made to discharge its sand on the beach next to his hostel.

AT COMPUTER

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SUPER: Aya Liu, no. 55 Hostel

AYA

You can see the photos

are taken from just here.

///

The dredging ships

pass by our entrance.

This hostel was converted from

a barrack, it’s at a strategic location.

///

In the past, the soldiers

had to observe the enemy,

the Chinese Communist Army.

Now, in some ways it’s quite similar.

Now we are observing

these sand dredgers.

Residents feel scared.

It feels like a war is around the corner

and we are besieged.

AYA We are at the frontline.

Where we live is the frontline.

And not only on the sea.

In recent years, there have also been

many military aircraft about.

That means they’ve been putting

pressure on us

both on the sea and in the air.

The fishermen believe China wants more than sand... more than even Taiwan itself.

They think China is playing a bigger game.

Ku Chih-Ming – They are fighting for the sea.

Chu Kuang-Huan – So they can enter and exit conveniently.

Chu Kuang-Huan - The coastline of Taiwan is a springboard that blocks the mainland. It’s like a checkpoint for their import and export. That’s why it’s so important.

EXPLAINER: HISTORY

GFX Map 3: instructions doc

VO: To understand Taiwan, it helps to understand its history.

Austronesian Indigenous peoples have long called the island home.

The Dutch and Spanish tried to colonize it.

Map colour: yellow

Text: Qing dynasty

Date: 1683 - 1895

And China’s Qing Dynasty held it for a little over 200 years... which is why today China claims historical ownership[1].

Colour: Japanese flag

Text: Japanese rule

Date:1895 – 1945

They lost it to the Japanese, who colonised the place for 50 years until the end of World War Two

Colour: blue (like in map 4)

Text: Republic of China

Date: 1945

It then became part of the Republic of China

Archive: Chinese Civil War

This was also the time of the Chinese Civil War... when Mao’s Red Army was pushing out China’s nationalist rulers: the K-M-T.

MAP 4 instructions doc

Mao won... and about 2 million K-M-T soldiers and refugees fled to Taiwan, their last remaining part of the Republic of China.

Mao’s communist land became: The People's Republic of China.

And the world found itself with two Chinas.

Archive: Chiang Kai-Shek

At first, Taiwan was seen as the real China

But that changed in the 70s when the US and the UN recognised Beijing as the official China.

Taiwan’s Republic of China became… well, that’s where we are today: a largely unrecognised non-state.

KOLAS – WHAT IS TAIWAN?

SUPER: Kolas Yotaka, Taiwan Presidential Office Spokesperson

JEN: (17:04) What's stopping other countries from recognizing ROC Taiwan as a country?

KOLAS: I cannot speak for other countries, but ROC Taiwan is an independent and sovereign country.

JEN: I wonder if you could help me understand Taiwanese identity and the different ways that people identify?

KOLAS: People who consider themselves Taiwanese /// The numbers is getting bigger and bigger.

JEN: Why do you think that is?

KOLAS: We are living here. People are born here. /// People have no confusion of being Taiwanese at all. /// This is our country.

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FAMILY

 Being Taiwanese means different things to different people.

While nearly everyone agrees Taiwan is not today’s Communist China, there’s a divide between those who say Taiwan is the Republic of China, which is the status quo, and others who say Taiwan is just, well, Taiwan.

LOCATION TITLE:

TAINAN

Dong Zhijie is in the Republic of China camp.

This is common for families like his who arrived from China after the civil war seventy years ago.

COOKING

SUPER: Dong Zhijie

Zhijie:  I learned to make scallion pancakes from my father.

/// My father came to Taiwan from Hebei. So he mainly eats wheaten food. My mother is an authentic Taiwanese.

She likes eating rice. Therefore, we had a mix of wheaten

food and rice when we grew up.

Sorry, it’s a little burnt (laughs)

LIVING ROOM

Dong Zhijie lives with his wife, two kids and his elderly father.

 Huang Lijia - Do you want some kelp, Grandpa

 Dong Yuzhu – No thanks

- Grandpa. (think we need to see a pic of the kid looking at a photo first or we don’t know what he’s talking about)

- That’s him.

///

Grandpa is making scallion pancakes.

- Cakes.

- Yes, cakes. (laughs)

Grandpa was a KMT soldier who fought against Mao’s Red Army

Like many, he fled to Taiwan in 1949

SUPER: Dong Yuzhu

34:42 Dong Yuzhu: When I first came to Taiwan, life here was really hard. /// The roads were covered with stone. /// No one wore shoes. They either wore wooden slippers or went barefoot. /// I was shocked.

But the new arrivals from mainland China weren’t always welcome.

SUPER: Dong Zhijie

Dong Zhijie – /// so local Taiwanese called them ‘outsiders’ or ‘taro’. (28:13) Local Taiwanese were called ‘sweet potato’. I was called ‘taro sweet potato’ because I was the son of a mainlander and an outsider who got married.

Being a so-called “taro sweet potato”, meaning a mix of Chinese and Taiwanese, meant Dong Zhijie’s school life wasn’t easy.

/// In the past, we called it mocking. Now, we call it bullying.

16:45 Dong Zhijie - How did you meet Mum? (16:49) How did you know Mum, then fall in love and get married?

16:53 Dong Yuzhu – I knew your mum through a distant uncle. Aunty Gu.

17:19 Dong Yuzhu  On hearing that I was from the mainland, her uncle and all her relatives told her not to marry me. (17:31) Everyone /// said, ‘Your daughter can’t marry a mainlander. Your daughter will be ruined when the mainlander goes back.’ (17:42)

(19:10) After we got married, /// her relatives said, ‘A-Zhu is so nice! A-Zhu is great!’ (19:28)

(20:07) So this was how we met, got married and had the two of you.  (20:14)

This family is typical of many Taiwanese families who arrived 70 years ago.

They identify as Taiwanese. But are clear about their Chinese heritage.

And the name they like to give the place they live

23:17 Interviewer – Regarding nationality, does grandpa feel that he is Chinese, Taiwanese, or Taiwanese of the Republic of China?

23:27 Dong Zhijie – He probably thinks he belongs to the Republic of China.

(23:55) He was a soldier, so he swore lifelong allegiance to the country. This idea of belonging to the Republic of China is deeply rooted in his heart. (24:08) I think China and Taiwan is one family and there should be no distinctions.

GLOJ (rapper)

FYI: Language is a mix of Chinese and Taiwanese Hokkien (in red)

But the idea of the Republic of China - Or ROC Taiwan - doesn’t sit well with everyone.

FOOD SHOP

Many people, especially younger generations, identify as Taiwanese full-stop.

People, like Ar Ji.

SUPER: Ar Ji

[00:29:47] [Ar Ji GLOJ] Right, the Taiwanese and the Chinese are not the same.

VO: Ar Ji’s ancestors came from China a couple of hundred years ago.

But he’s a sweet potato through and through

[00:29:51] Take me for example, I was born in Taiwan, right?

[00:29:57] I have nothing to do with China.

FOOD SHOP

And his pork on rice shop is a shrine for his beliefs

TV cabinet

[00:27:51] We grew up attending rallies and campaigns with our dad.

[00:28:50] [Journalist] Does your dad also support building an independent country?

[00:28:54] [Ar Ji GLOJ] Yes, very much so. We were brought up with that idea as the norm.

[00:28:56] [Ar Ji GLOJ] It’s our duty.

[00:29:00] [Ar Ji GLOJ] That's how I was brought up. [29:03]

Gloj leaves shop – arrives at studio

[00:41:19] Shop EXTs

[00:42:34] Gloj leaves on scooter

[00:53:24] Gloj arriving at studio

Serving pork on rice is his day job...

Ar Ji is also a rapper.

RAP

CARD: 1108_FS7

Clean version of song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22gyj8xPLvc

(41:23) Gloj – This song is called “White Terror”.

Before Taiwan became a democracy, it suffered almost 40 years of military dictatorship under the nationalists that came over from China

That time is known as the White Terror

And it’s why Ar Ji has little love for the idea of the Republic of China

(43:06) Taiwan can’t talk,

its status is too low.

Only VIPs get attention.

Taiwan has no status and no money.

They’d sell out Taiwan for profit

in an instant.

No one dared speak up,

speaking Hokkien was banned.

We were under the white terror

of autocratic threats from China.

We were in despair because of

the Nationalist Party’s occupation

///

The people of Taiwan have given

their lives to safeguard Taiwan.

If you want to sell out Taiwan to China like a lowly traitor, I say “Fuck off, White Terror!”

Hopefully music break is okay here?

I forgot the lyrics.

That’s this song.

I haven’t sung it for a long time.

Ar Ji even makes a point of rapping in the Taiwanese Hokkien language – not in Chinese.

1108_FS7

GLOJ: (0:20)

It says here

“Speak Taiwanese Hokkien.”

This is Taiwanese, Kong Tai-Gi.

1108_FS7

GLOJ (36:11) I often say, if you want to make a contribution to Taiwan, you just do it in your own way. Writing lyrics is my way of doing my bit.

Whether you’re overseas, or in Taiwan,

or in Hong Kong,

I hope you’ll all stay safe

and come forward for Taiwan. (37:22)

Taiwan HK protest pics @ 15.26

LIB 040120 RTV TAIWAN ELECTION FILE_SBS_ID_7605277

Upsot: (01:06) GLOJ - It's a great honour to be here supporting Hong Kong, and also supporting Taiwan.

Ar Ji and many others in Taiwan watched China’s recent crackdown of freedoms in Hong Kong in horror. And they worry: is Taiwan next?

1108_FS7

(32:33) I think “supporting Hong Kong” is only the slogan. What we are really doing is supporting people who uphold democracy. (32:45) /// The problems that Taiwan has been facing from the past to the present are what Hong Kong is facing today. (32:58)

1108_FS7  [57.06] sunset

Breather – music change

HIS FRIENDS ALSO HAVE STRONG OPINIONS ON TAIWAN’S IDENTITY AND FUTURE

FRIENDS

1108_FX3

1108_FX3

[01:00:01] [Ar Ji GLOJ] Hi Lao Q. (Cheers) Yeah.

[01:00:09] [Ar Ji GLOJ] There's more, there's more.

[01:00:11] [Cameraman]More?

[01:12:40] [GLOJ] Let me ask a rather pointed question...//

Recently China

has been provoking Taiwan.

To the Chinese, is there anything

you’d like to say to them? ///

[01:13:03] [Lao Q] Actually, I just ignore them, they don’t worry me.

[01:13:07] [GLOJ] (Laughter)

///

GLOJ - A typical Taiwanese.

Lao Q - We Taiwanese people carry on with our lives. ///

GLOJ - We’re different countries.

Lao Q - Exactly!

GLOJ - Taiwan and China are independent.

1108_FX3

VO: The thing is, while many Taiwanese say their country already is independent, that’s not recognised internationally.

It’s stuck in the Chinese Civil War limbo as the Republic of China. That’s the status quo.

[01:24:28] [Female talent] As for Independence, I still think it’s important to have it as a goal, and with the right kind of leadership, Taiwan will fare better and better.

[01:25:35] [Ar Ji GLOJ] As long as we keep doing the right things, we chant the right slogans, and we stay true to our identity, that's good enough.

[01:25:45]

VO: The status quo has meant relative peace and stability for Taiwan.

But with China saying it’s determined to claim the place as its own – how long can the status quo last?

CREDITS

Checklist link

NWT

Next week on Dateline:

As the Taliban take control of Afghanistan, we follow former contractors of the Australian Defence forces through the turmoil.

We find out why some have managed to escape, whilst others are left behind.

And up next, The Feed.