CTS TV station mistakenly announced a Chinese invasion of Taiwan: “It was hit by guided missiles of the communist army”

A Taiwanese television station apologized on Wednesday for “spreading panic” among the population after mistakenly spreading a series of alerts about China's attacks on the island.

“CTS sincerely apologizes for this serious error that caused panic among the public and caused problems for the affected units,” Chinese television CTS, based in Taipei, said in a statement.

“Citizens, please don't be too scared. We hereby clarify the information and apologize,” said a presenter in the network's newsletter at 10 a.m.

The chain caused nervousness after issuing several alerts, including “The city of New Taipei was hit by communist army guided missiles” and “Ships exploded, facilities and ships were damaged in the port of Taipei.”

CTS attributed this error to staff, who posted content intended for a drill with the Fire Department in New Taipei City on Tuesday, but were mistakenly displayed on Wednesday morning due to a technical error.

This incident comes at a time when Taiwan fears more than ever that China will carry out its threats to annex the autonomous democratic island as part of its territory, in a context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

CTS added that it would “severely” punish those responsible for the error, after having opened an internal investigation.

Beijing has intensified its pressure on Taiwan since the coming to power in 2016 of President Tsai Ing-wen, who considers the island a sovereign country.

Chinese intimidation maneuvers increased considerably in the past year, and Chinese warplanes violate the Taiwan air defense zone almost daily.

DEFENSE MANUAL AGAINST POSSIBLE ATTACKS

The war in Ukraine, which Russia calls a “special military operation,” has sparked a debate about the implications for Taiwan and ways to advance preparedness, such as reforms in the training of reservists.

Last week, the Taiwanese Armed Forces published for the first time a manual on civil defense, which provides citizens with a guide to survival in a war scenario.

As explained by the director of the Department of Material Mobilization of the Department of National Defense Mobilization, Liu Taiyi, this document seeks to improve public awareness of security preparedness and self-help.

Thus, in the face of possible future threats, the island's Government has planned air defense and the evacuation of civilians, as well as the possibility of power cuts and the preparation of materials for the prevention of a hypothetical war, according to the Taiwanese Military News Agency.

The manual has a QR code to facilitate access to citizens, as well as illustrations “suitable for the reference of people of different ages” in order to effectively guide the population to possible conflict scenarios. It also details the responsibilities that local, regional and national authorities will have in this context.

Liu pointed out that the program will be published on the website of the Ministry of Defence, where videos and audios will also be available to the civilian population with information on possible distribution points or emergency hospitals, among others.

(with information from Reuters and AFP)

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