An American Pope, India-Pakistan escalation and Dolphins WTF?!
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ABC News
11 hours ago
- ABC News
Zero Day Attack TV series envisions fallout of imagined Chinese invasion
A newly-elected president makes an extreme sacrifice under great political and military pressure. A local fisherman, struggling after a typhoon destroys his livelihood, acts for the enemy. A couple deliberate over whether to finalise their divorce as conflict looms — and if they should flee to China. All these scenarios are explored in a new TV series in Taiwan, which dramatises the days leading up to an imagined invasion by Beijing. "You are able to capture little snippets of humanity in this potential moment of threat," Janet Hsieh, who plays President-elect Wang Ming-Fang in the anthology's first episode, said. Inspired by the likes of Black Mirror, the series — called Zero Day Attack — consists of 10 episodes, each directed by a different person. The premise of each chapter strikes close enough to Taiwan's current reality to unsettle viewers who have been living with the threat of Beijing simmering closer and closer to the surface for years. The Chinese Communist Party claims Taiwan is part of China, despite the fact the party has never ruled the island, which is governed by a democratically elected president and legislature. Beijing has derided the series, with Defense Ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang accusing the ruling Democratic Progressive Party of "peddling anxieties and attempting to provoke war". "The film is plunging Taiwan into the flames of war," he said. What it has done is prompt discussions about everything from the political motivations behind the series through to what citizens would do if a war were really to break out. "In Taiwan, it's quite rare for productions to confront this kind of subject matter so directly — in fact, there's often an unspoken agreement to avoid it," actor Kaiser Chuang, who plays a central figure in the series' ninth episode, said. "We're not necessarily here to provide the answers — film and art rarely do — instead, we want to prompt people to think. "I see this series as a valuable opportunity to tear away the veil of 'don't talk about politics'. Funded by the Taiwanese government's culture ministry as well as a controversial and hawkish local billionaire Robert Tsao, the series is lucky to have been made. More than half of the crew asked to be anonymous in the credits for fear of reprisals and impacts on their career while some staff, including a director, pulled out of the production, showrunner Cheng Hsin Mei told Reuters. "Participating in such a production carries the risk of being blacklisted, so some crew members took part under pseudonyms," Taiwanese film critic Tang-Mo Tan told the ABC. "Many said the drama is seemingly designed to slowly stoke public fear, influence the [next] recall vote … and openly support [President] Lai Ching-te's 2028 re-election bid," Chinese state run-TV network CGTN reported. As a Taiwanese-American, Janet Hsieh is lucky she doesn't feel any such pressure on her career. Well known locally as the host of travel show Fun Taiwan, this turn to a high stakes political thriller is a major new challenge for Hsieh. Her character is a complex one, a young, newly-elected president, who comes to realise that the party — including her father — expects her to be a puppet. In one jarring scene, the president-elect's father scolds her about her manners while addressing the party's chairman. "She has pressures and stress coming from all over the place," Hsieh said. "Whether it's internal, within her party, within the government, within her family, with her father, it's coming at her from every single angle, and she has to kind of navigate this in a political and in a personal way." The series delves into the myriad of ways China could — and in some cases already does — squeeze Taiwan, well beyond military action. Episodes explore the connections many organised crime gangs have back to China and how temples are vulnerable to infiltration. "My character is someone who becomes infiltrated, he originally works in aquaculture in a rural area, essentially a fisherman, but after a devastating typhoon disrupts his livelihood, he becomes involved with people connected to infiltration activities," Chuang tells the ABC. "Infiltration, by its nature, works subtly — it gradually alters your values, your judgement, even your sense of national identity and awareness of crisis, until you grow numb to it." Hsieh describes Zero Day Attack as a series that — in a first for Taiwan — is tackling the elephant in the room. So far it has secured release in Taiwan, Japan and Indonesia, and its distributors are working to get it into more international markets, including Australia. "[This threat is] just always there, but yet, no drama has ever dramatised it before," Hsieh said. "I really hope that this series isn't about polarising. The message isn't about choosing one side or the other or even pushing a certain value or thought on anybody. "It is bringing out a subject that is on the forefront of everybody's minds, presenting it in a way that is saying: 'Look, here it is. What do you think about it? Let's talk about it.'" Last year a 17-minute trailer was released and created a lot of hype, and in central Taipei at least, it seems a lot of people are interested in watching the series. "The atmosphere in the trailer was quite intense," local Wang Shengfu said. "It really gave me the sense that a cross-strait conflict might actually happen. "Taiwan's political divide is quite clear-cut, works like this could spark discussion but I also think there's a chance that politicians might use the show to promote their own political agendas." That has already happened. Mr Tsao has also funded other resilience efforts, including the Kuma Academy, where many Taiwanese citizens go for "civil defence" classes. "This film isn't meant to scare people, we simply hope it helps everyone be a little more prepared for situations that could potentially happen," Mr Tsao told reporters at the premiere of the show's first episode at a cinema in Taipei's trendy Xinyi district. "In fact, many foreign journalists visiting Taiwan find it puzzling, they see how nervous the international community is for us, but wonder why the Taiwanese themselves don't seem worried at all. "This film also aims to strengthen people's psychological resilience — meaning, when something happens, we don't panic and we know what to do." Chinese state media reporting on Zero Day Attack has accused it of being "built on [President Lai Ching-te's] fear and distortion". President Lai is loathed by Beijing, which calls him a "dangerous separatist". "Many said the drama is seemingly designed to slowly stoke public fear, influence the [next] recall vote … and openly support [President] Lai Ching-te's 2028 re-election bid," state run-TV network CGTN reported. Very recently Mr Tsao backed a mass recall motion, seeking to unseat more than 30 legislators from the main opposition party the Kuomintang. This came after months of political gridlock and division in the parliament, where the KMT, in alliance with a minor party, has the majority. In the days leading up to the July 26 vote, the KMT released a parody of Zero Day Attack. While seven lawmakers are yet to be voted on, the majority of the ballots took place late last month, and not a single person was successfully recalled. Taipei resident Chen Hongzhu predicts this political polarisation will impact the viewership of Zero Day Attack. "Some of my friends with different political views tend to look into whether the creators have any political affiliations before deciding whether they're willing to trust or to watch," she says.
The Australian
18 hours ago
- The Australian
Best bets and expert tips for Geelong races Friday
News Corp form analyst Brad Waters looks at Friday's meeting at Geelong. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! ■ ■ ■ ■■ BEST BET BOSSY STAR (Race 8 No.6): Charged home when narrowly at Geelong last time. The bigger field should ensure more pace is on, which will suit the five-year-old. NEXT BEST WELL I'LL BE (Race 2 No.6): Trialled well before closing strongly until running out of room late on debut. Will be better for the experience and should be thereabouts. MERIMBULA (Race 3 No.11): Well in the betting and not disgraced on debut on this track. Fitter for that and has drawn to have the perfect run on Friday. VALUE BET MRS SECOMBE (Race 7 No.7): The four-year-old raced consistently last time in, including at her last outing at Flemington. Has trialled well leading up to this and could fire fresh. LAY OF THE DAY HOT TOO GO (Race 3 No.3): Had 11 goes without a win and starts his campaign over 1500m but might need firmer footing than what he will encounter at Geelong on Friday. THE JOCKEY DECLAN BATES Jockey Declan Bates heads to Geelong for six rides on Friday. TERRORTORIAN (Race 3 No.5 – $13), OCEAN SYMPHONY (Race 4 No.8 – $5), MORTHAN EFFICIENT (Race 5 No.7 – $3.60), ALPINE ROCKET (Race 6 No.3 – $26), STAR TERRITORY (Race 7 No.5 – $26), BELLALIQUE (Race 8 No.12 – $13). Read related topics: News Corporation
Man of Many
20 hours ago
- Man of Many
Man of Many's Staff Favourites—9 August, 2025
By Dean Blake - News Published: 9 Aug 2025 |Last Updated: 8 Aug 2025 Share Copy Link 0 Readtime: 5 min Every product is carefully selected by our editors and experts. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Learn more. For more information on how we test products, click here. With another week behind us, and a weekend to enjoy (even though it's very wet here in Sydney again), it's about time for our weekly collection of Man of Many's favourite things! This week, we're showing off what could be the best horror movie of the year so far, as well as highlighting an upcoming explosive musical tour, some delicious wine, comfy pants, and some laid-back beats. Enjoy! Hickinbotham 'The Peake' Cabernet Shiraz | Image: Nick Hall/Man of Many Hickinbotham 'The Peake' Cabernet Shiraz Nick Hall – Editor-in-Chief When I first got into wine, I started with shiraz. I figured that if you were going to go red, you may as well go hard, leaning into the bold, flavour-rich notes of the iconic Australian drop. In the years that have passed, my preferences have wavered, and I often find myself dipping my toes into the world of pinot noir, but every so often, a drop comes along that changes all that. Just this week, we were lucky enough to sit down with Chris Carpenter, the man behind the classic Hickinbotham Clarendon Vineyard and 2024 Master Winemaker of the Year. In our discussion, Chris took me through the highs and lows of being an international winemaker and why Cabernet remains his favourite varietal. Best of all, he also shared a bottle of the 2022 Hickinbotham 'The Peake', the label's much-loved cabernet shiraz blend. It was, in a word, transcendent. Heavy with notes of blackberry, blueberry and dark chocolate, the bold red provided a remarkably long tannin structure, filling the mouth with an extended feeling of rich, robust intensity. As a firm pinot drinker, The Peake was the ultimate indulgence, so it's little wonder why it remains one of the nation's most revered releases. Favourite Article of the Week: OMEGA x Swatch's New 'Mission to Earthphase' Moonshine Gold Coming This Week Weapons (2025) | Image: IMDB Weapons Dean Blake – Entertainment Writer I was lucky enough to get a chance to check out the brand new horror thriller Weapons earlier this week, and while my interest was already pretty high, the movie somehow delivered on what I wanted and subverted my expectations. I'm not going to spoil anything here, but as with director Zach Creggar's previous flick, Barbarian, Weapons is a sometimes tense, sometimes funny ride through an absolutely horrific situation. Here, though, it's a whole town suffering. 17 kids, all from the same class, have gone missing in the middle of the night, and parents are pointing the finger at class teacher Ms. Grady. Things slowly spiral out of control as individuals throughout the town start getting sucked into the escalating mystery. Again, no spoilers here, but keep an eye out on Man of Many next week for our full review. If you've got any interest in seeing it, I'd honestly advise you to go to the theatre this weekend. Article of the Week: Razer Blade 16 Review: A $7,000 'Portable' Gaming Rig Video of the Week: Exactly why Ferrari's hand-painted fender shield costs $15,000 ONEFOUR | Image: City Recital Hall ONEFOUR's First Ever Sydney Show Aussie hip hop fans rejoice. ONEFOUR are finally getting to perform their debut headline show in Sydney for the first time ever. ONEFOUR have been unable to perform in Sydney for years due to sustained police pressure on venues over concerns about public safety and harmful lyrics effectively blocking their shows. There is an amazing Netflix documentary 'Against All Odds' that showcases their meteoric come up, the police resistance to them performing live, and the debates around freedom-of-expression that arise from that. They have turned streaming platforms on fire with 3.2 million monthly Spotify listeners and amassed over 155 million YouTube views across their videos. The band's current Australian Tour looks insane and the final stop is Sydney. It's going be a huge cultural moment in the Aussie rap game and god damn am I excited. ONEFOUR are being supported by another group I absolutely love called The 046 which just makes this a dream night for me. Long live Aus Rap & Hip Hop. Article of the Week: Male Birth Control Pill Passes Safety Trial in US Video of the Week: How many subscriptions do you pay for? Universal Works' Duke Pant | Image: Universal Works Universal Works Duke Pant Frank Arthur – Co-Founder The Duke Pant from Universal Works is so nice, I bought it twice. These versatile trousers sit at the top of my wardrobe rotation and have already clocked countless miles. With my first pair nearing retirement, I've just ordered a fresh set. Cut in a roomy, wide leg that tapers ever so slightly, they strike the perfect balance between relaxed and refined. The cotton twill keeps things casual, while a single front pleat lends a subtle touch of tailoring, making them easy to dress up or down. For comfort, durability and understated style in one neat package, the Duke Pant is my effortless favourite. Article of the Week: GT-Based Lexus LFR Rumoured to Take On Porsche GT3 RS With 900HP Twin-Turbo V8 Slo Jams with Coffee in the Morning and DJ JLiu Scott Purcell – Co-Founder Coming to you LLIVE from Canada are these silky smooth beats from DJ Jliu. I'm not sure if it's the tempo, but there's something absolutely intoxicating about the way this dude mixes. This is the perfect music and jams to get work done in the morning with a hot coffee. Hosted by 'This Moment' in collaboration with Slo Coffee, they're all about creating a space for slow beats, relaxed vibes, and good company (even as I sit here at my desk working from home!). Article of the week: 10 Best-Selling Utes in Australia Video of the week: When you're just trying to have a quiet weekend
