Recently, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) conducted a two-day military exercise aimed at pressuring Taiwan’s newly elected President, Lai Ching-te. However, the people of Taiwan, accustomed to such displays, paid little attention to the maneuvers. In the eyes of Taiwan’s residents, the CCP’s military drills pale in comparison to the gossip surrounding Japanese celebrities.
On May 23, the CCP’s Eastern Theater Command announced the commencement of the “Joint Sword-2024A” exercise involving land, naval, air, and rocket forces in Taiwan and the surrounding areas. While this news garnered some coverage in Taiwan’s media, many Taiwanese were more interested in celebrity gossip and daily life than the military exercises.
As the CCP conducted military exercises around Taiwan, news about Japanese celebrities dominated the online discussions in Taiwan. On the first day of the CCP’s drills, reports about Japanese entertainers gained more attention among Taiwanese netizens.
On May 23, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) set up a special page titled “China holds military drills around Taiwan as punishment,” providing continuous updates on the military exercises and related reports. By midday, the BBC page featured an article titled “In Taiwan, celebrity gossip takes the spotlight at the same time,” accompanied by a photo of Japanese actress Yui Aragaki.
The report highlighted that in the past few hours, searches related to Taiwanese singer Gen Hoshino, who was rumored to be having an affair, spiked on Google Trends in Taiwan. Both Gen Hoshino and Yui Aragaki denied the rumor. Even with ongoing news about the military exercises, the celebrity gossip managed to captivate a significant amount of attention in Taiwan.
According to a report by Agence France-Presse on May 24, the historically significant Kinmen Island, under Taiwan’s jurisdiction, was within the range of the CCP’s military exercises. Despite this, 32-year-old fisherman Chen Chien-chou, who braved the rain to fish overnight around Kinmen Island, remarked that “everything was normal” in the area.
Chen stated, “The exercises did not have any real impact and made no difference to the people.” While he spoke, dock workers were busy packing dozens of small sharks to be sent to the market.
Wu Wei-kuo, a 40-year-old owner of a historical homestead-turned-guesthouse in Kinmen, expressed that the escalating intimidation tactics by the CCP did not concern local residents. “We cannot put our lives on hold for things beyond our control,” he mentioned.
Similarly, a report by Reuters highlighted that the 23 million residents of Taiwan carried on with their lives as usual, showing no significant signs of worry. Over the years, Taiwanese people have grown accustomed to the threats posed by the CCP.
Mr. Chen, a 66-year-old tire repair shop owner in Kaohsiung, emphasized that the CCP’s military drills did not affect their daily lives. Kaohsiung, the location of a major naval base in Taiwan, remained unaffected by the exercises.
“From childhood to adulthood, we have become accustomed to these threats,” Mr. Chen stated, regarding the CCP’s military exercises as a form of intimidation and a display of power toward Taiwan’s new leadership. “They talk a lot but take no real action. If they truly wanted to take over Taiwan, they would have done so by now.”