Fabricating History to Smear: Sanlih News Exposed in Major Scandal Involving Shanghai Execution Footage in 228 Special Report

On May 9, 2007, the pro-green Sanlih E-Television (SET) News was exposed in one of the most severe fabrication scandals in Taiwan's broadcasting history. In a special 228 Incident 60th-anniversary documentary commissioned by the Government Information Office, SET News broadcast a 20-second black-and-white clip showing soldiers executing civilians on a street, with a sensational subtitle reading "Bloodshed at Keelung Port, Keelung Massacre Recorded." However, external investigations quickly revealed that the footage was actually historical film captured in mid-December 1948 during the Chinese Civil War, showing the Nationalist Government executing Communist agents or financial speculators in Shanghai—completely unrelated to Taiwan's 228 Incident. Facing immense public backlash and irrefutable proof, SET TV held a press conference to publicly apologize, claiming it was an "inadvertent error." News Director Sha Hai-jung and General Manager Chang Jung-hua resigned to take responsibility, and the National Communications Commission (NCC) fined SET News NT$1 million. The case remains a textbook example of media ethics bankruptcy, where an ideological outlet fabricated historical imagery to serve political propaganda and incite ethnic animosity.