A Taiwanese television channel on Wednesday (April 20th) apologized for "
causing panic
" among the public after it mistakenly aired a series of alerts indicating that China had launched attacks on the island during the morning edition of his newspaper.
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“
CTS sincerely apologizes for this serious mistake which has caused panic among the public and caused problems for the units concerned
,” Chinese television CTS said in a statement.
The Taipei-based Chinese media outlet raised concern after issuing several alerts, including "
New Taipei City is hit by Communist army guided missiles
" and "
Ships have exploded, facilities and boats have been destroyed."
damaged in the port of Taipei
”.
CTS attributed the error to staff who mistakenly aired the content of fire drills the station had been commissioned to produce for New Taipei City firefighters.
Another alert read, "
War may break out, New Taipei City opens joint emergency command and control center
."
Threat of annexation
The incident struck a chord at a time of fears in Taiwan that China will one day follow through on its threats to annex the Democratic Self-Governing Island, which it sees as part of its territory to be taken back by force. if necessary, are exacerbated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
CTS said it has issued corrections and apologies across multiple channels, adding that it will "
severely punish
" those responsible after launching an internal investigation.
"
Don't panic
," read a message posted on his Facebook page, adding that he "
mistakenly spread a war and disaster prevention message
".
Some Internet users reacted with anger and contempt.
However, there were no signs of panic on the streets of Taipei on Wednesday morning.
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Beijing has intensified its pressure on Taiwan since President Tsai Ing-wen came to power in 2016, considering the island a sovereign country.
Chinese intimidation tactics have increased dramatically over the past year, with warplanes breaching Taiwan's air defense zone on an almost daily basis.
Taiwan recorded 969 such incursions in 2021 according to a database compiled by AFP, more than double the roughly 380 recorded in 2020. In the first four months of 2022, some 300 incursions have already been recorded.
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