After mistakenly announcing China’s invasion of Taiwan, the Chinese Television System (CTS) channel apologized on Wednesday, April 20.
“CTS sincerely apologizes for this serious error which caused panic among the public and caused problems for the units concerned”, justified the chain in a press release.
In its morning edition on Wednesday, CTS issued alerts indicating a Chinese-led attack on Taiwan, specifically targeting the city of Taipei.
“The city of New Taipei is hit by guided missiles from the communist army”, affirmed the CTS, before announcing another alarming message on the air: “Ships have exploded, installations and boats have been damaged in the port of Taipei”.
After opening an internal investigation, the television station cited a mistake by its staff, saying it would “severely punish” those responsible for broadcasting prevention exercises produced by the station on behalf of the city’s firefighters.
Bullying tactics doubled in 2021
This erroneous announcement was made in a difficult context between China and Taiwan, in particular with the election of President Tsai Ing-wen in 2016, leading a fight to have the island recognized as a sovereign country.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine a few months ago, tensions have been heightened and the threat of annexation of the self-governing democratic island has resurfaced.
The number of intimidation maneuvers carried out by China on Taiwanese territory has increased considerably in recent months, with more than 300 incursions recorded since the beginning of 2022. In 2021, it reached a total of 969 incursions, more than double the figure carried out in 2020, with nearly 380 air raids.
