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  • 2021-10-26 (xsd:date)
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  • This video was filmed at a memorial event in the US (en)
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  • A video has been viewed tens of thousands of times on Twitter alongside a claim that it shows the US military officially entering Taiwan. The claim is false: the video was filmed in the United States and shows a Second World War memorial event held in 2018. The video was published here on Twitter on October 12, 2021. It has been viewed more than 40,000 times. Screenshot taken on October 13, 2021, of the misleading Twitter post The footage shows a guard of honour featuring men and women in uniforms marching past a building as music plays, carrying the national flags of the United States and Taiwan. Simplified Chinese language characters overlaid on the video read: The US military has officially entered Taiwan / This time, (China) not only dare not start a war, but also dare not condemn. The Twitter post's simplified Chinese-language caption translates as: US troops in Taiwan! The United States provides Taiwan with military equipment to defend itself, in an unofficial, non-diplomatic relationship. Beijing views the democratically ruled island as its territory and has vowed to one day seize it, by force if necessary. Although Taiwan is self-governed, it has never formally declared independence and lives under the constant threat of invasion by China, with tensions escalating recently. China's President Xi Jinping said on October 9 that peaceful reunification with Taiwan will be and can be realised. His comments came days after Chinese warplanes made record incursions into Taiwan's air defence zone, AFP reported here . Xi has also warned against foreign interference in Taiwan after a Pentagon official confirmed US special operations forces have been quietly training Taiwanese troops for months, the AFP report said. The video of the guard of honour with the overlaid text claiming US troops had entered Taiwan also circulated on Twitter here , here and here alongside a similar claim. However, the video was filmed in the United States. California venue A user commenting under one of the misleading posts pointed out that the building in the video resembles Monterey Park City Hall in the US state of California. Screenshot of the comment A further keyword search found a photo of Monterey Park City Hall on Google Maps here . Below are three screenshot comparisons of the video shared in the misleading posts (L) and the photo on Google Maps (R): Screenshot comparisons between the video shared in the misleading posts (L) and the photo on Google Maps (R) In the first pair of images, the video and the Google Maps photo show a paved square next to a piece of grassland, as well as a corresponding lamppost. The second comparison shows corresponding signage on the front of the building as well as an identical sculpture outside. The final pair of images shows the strips of tiles on the building's roof and trimmed shrubbery below it. Memorial event A keyword search found this Facebook post about a memorial event at the city hall in July 2021. The event commemorated the Marco Polo Bridge Incident , a 1937 battle between Chinese and Japanese troops regarded as the catalyst for the Pacific side of the Second World War. The clash is also known as the Double-Seven Incident because it began on July 7. Footage from the July 2021 memorial event contains similar scenes to the footage seen in the misleading posts -- including the guard of honour carrying flags of Taiwan and the US, as well as the blue tent and chairs next to the grass. Steve Kuo, President of the joint Chinese University Alumni Association of Southern California told AFP on October 21 that the video shows a memorial event for the Marco Polo Bridge Incident at the Monterey Park City Hall in 2018. The blue uniform a female staff member is wearing is from 2018, he said. Kuo also sent AFP this report by US-based Chinese news site NewsAgencyAmerica.com, which states the memorial event was held on July 1, 2018. Amy Wang, Press Division Director from Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles, told AFP the video shows a memorial event for the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. Every July, the Los Angeles overseas Taiwanese groups hold the anniversary of Double-Seven Incident at the World War II Monument Square of Monterey Park City Hall, she said. (en)
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