Days after publishing “his vision” for ending the Russian-Ukrainian war, billionaire Elon Musk made another controversial statement, suggesting that tensions between China and Taiwan could be eased by handing some control over Taiwan to Beijing.
He touched on this topic in an interview with the Financial Times published on October 7, answering a question about China – where his electric car company Tesla operates a large factory in Shanghai.
“My recommendation… would be to find a special administrative zone for Taiwan that would be quite acceptable, although probably not everyone would be happy. In my opinion, it is likely that they will be able to conclude a deal on more favorable terms than Hong Kong,” Musk said.
Beijing, which claims that Taiwan “is one of its provinces”, has long promised to take the Republic of China under its control and does not rule out the use of force to do so. Taiwan’s government strongly rejects China’s claims, replying that only the 23 million people who live on the island can decide its future.
China has offered Taiwan a “one country, two systems” model of autonomy similar to Hong Kong’s, but it has been rejected by all of the island’s main political parties. And the proposal did not receive public support, especially after Beijing introduced a tough national security law in the city in 2020.
Wang Ting Yu, a senior lawmaker from Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party who sits on the parliament’s foreign affairs and defense committee, responded to Musk on his Facebook page.
“Individual independent companies cannot accept jokes towards their property. So why can they casually give up the democratic freedoms, sovereignty and customary way of life of 23 million Taiwanese? This is unacceptable for Ukraine, and Taiwan will certainly not allow it,” Wang wrote.
An official familiar with security planning in the region told Reuters that “Musk needs to find a political adviser.”
“The world clearly saw what happened to Hong Kong. Its economic and social “vigor” suddenly ended under Beijing’s totalitarian rule,” the official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning, when asked about Musk’s statement, said Taiwan was a “domestic matter,” adding that Beijing would continue to adhere to the principle of peaceful reunification by “resolutely crushing Taiwan separatism.”
The entrepreneur believes that the conflict over Taiwan is inevitable, and warned about its potential impact not only on Tesla (the factory in Shanghai accounted for about half of the company’s global supplies last year), but also on Apple, as well as the economy as a whole. Musk’s remarks were not explained in detail in the interview.
Earlier this week, the billionaire suggested that Ukraine permanently cede Crimea to Russia, hold new referendums under the auspices of the UN to determine the fate of the occupied territory, and that Ukraine agree to neutrality.
He asked Twitter users to weigh in on his plan, drawing sharp criticism from Ukrainians, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, who offered his own poll on Twitter:
Which @elonmusk do you like more?
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 3, 2022
