Taiwanese TV scene misrepresented as genuine military clip

Published on April 24, 2025 at 09:37
2 min read
By Carina CHENG, AFP Hong Kong

As Beijing intensifies military pressure on Taipei, posts surfaced online mocking a Taiwanese soldier apparently in shock after finding out he would be stationed at the Kinmen islands close to the Chinese coastline. The clip in the posts is from an old television drama that Taiwan's defence ministry helped produce.

"Stunned! Taiwan's new recruits draw lots," reads a simplified Chinese Weibo post on March 14, 2025.

It features a clip showing a lottery that decides where soldiers will be posted. The first soldier looks at his comrade in surprise after the result posts him to Kinmen, a string of islands Taipei administers but located just five kilometres (three miles) from China's mainland.

A second soldier yells out in celebration after he was assigned to a food service contingent in New Taipei City.

Further Chinese text overlaid to the video largely repeats the clip's content.

Screenshot of the false post, taken April 22, 2025

China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control.

Tensions have escalated since Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te took office in May 2024, adopting tougher rhetoric than his predecessor.

The conscription age in Taiwan is 18 with deferment granted for higher education -- though all men are required to serve in the military for one year by the time they turn 36 (archive link).

Mandatory military service was extended from the previously obligatory period of four months, taking effect at the beginning of 2024.

Recruits are assigned to different units by drawing lots, according to Taiwan's defence ministry (archived link).

Similar posts on Weibo, X and China's version of TikTok Douyin also shared the video, drawing reactions from users who believed it showed a genuine military scene.

"Taiwanese soldiers are even worse than security guards," one wrote. Another said: "And people like this still think about counterattacking, lol."

A reverse image search on Google found the clip was taken from the series Rookies' Diary, produced and uploaded by Taiwan-based broadcaster Formosa TV Dramas to YouTube on December 7, 2023 (archived link).

The falsely shared video can be seen starting from the original clip's 27:08 mark.

Screenshot comparison of the false Weibo post (L) and the YouTube clip showing the TV episode

Taiwanese media reported the series was produced with help from the island's defence ministry and first aired in 2010 (archived here and here).

AFP has fact-checked other misinformation about Taiwan's military.

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