In China, a spy drama about Taiwan became a television hit
In China, the spy series The Long Watch, or Jiaofeng, co-produced with the Ministry of State Security, became a television hit after its premiere on September 6. The 40-episode drama tells the story of spies, double agents and intelligence operations between China and Taiwan from the mid-1990s, Taipei Times reports.
Over approximately a week after the series began airing, it topped China Central Television's daily primetime drama rankings five times. According to Chinese entertainment statistics provider Maoyan, it garnered more than 50 million views across various platforms in its first week.
A combination of fiction and real events
The series combines fictional characters and locations with real ones, including Taipei. It is presented as a drama based on declassified national security cases. The creators said they spoke with former state security officers and studied 27 case files while working on the script.
At the same time, analysts find it difficult to verify how closely the plot corresponds to real events, as new episodes are still being released. In the drama, Taiwan's intelligence services are portrayed as an adversary capable of obtaining sensitive missile data, while Chinese state security personnel are presented as defenders of the country against infiltration and information theft.
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Li Fu-chung, a historian at National Chengchi University, said that through such dramas, Chinese authorities create their own historical narrative. In his view, the dramatic format can influence audiences both in China and potentially in Taiwan.
Reaction in Taiwan
The first episode, set in 1994, mentions Taiwan's then-president Lee Teng-hui. Beijing considered him a “separatist.” Lee's visit to the United States triggered Chinese missile tests and military exercises that developed into the 1995–1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis.
In Taiwan, the series has not yet sparked noticeable discussion on social media, although it is available through Tencent Video and YouTube. Taiwanese graduate student Annie Hsieh said she had not heard of Jiaofeng and was not interested in watching it because of its subject matter. Another graduate, Liang Tian-jun, said Chinese romantic dramas are more popular among his peers, but watching series would not make them more favorable toward China. According to the results of a survey conducted last month, 7.4% of respondents in Taiwan had a positive view of the Chinese Communist Party, compared with 9.6% in July.
