The billionaire Elon Musk proposed that tensions between China and Taiwan could be settled by handing over some authority of Taiwan to Beijing, just days after floating a hypothetical settlement to end the war between Russia and Ukraine that garnered condemnation in Ukraine.
Beijing claims democratic Taiwan to be one of its provinces and has long threatened to put it under its control by any means necessary, including the use of force. The government of Taiwan has voiced its strong opposition to China’s sovereignty claims, arguing that the island’s 23 million residents alone should have the last say on the matter.
After Beijing enforced a strict National Security Law on the city in 2020, the Chinese government offered Taiwan the “one nation, two systems” model of autonomy enjoyed by Hong Kong. However, this proposal was rejected by all major political parties in Taiwan and enjoys little public support.
Source: Bloomberg
“My proposal… would be to find a special administrative zone for Taiwan that is relatively palatable, probably won’t make everyone happy,” the world’s richest person told the Financial Times in an interview published on Friday.
Specifically, Musk was answering a question about China, where he has a major plant for producing Tesla (TSLA.O) electric vehicles in Shanghai.
The publication cited Musk as stating, “And it’s possible, and I think probably, in fact, that they might have an agreement that is more liberal than Hong Kong.”
Musk stated that he believes a fight over Taiwan is imminent and warned of the potential repercussions on Tesla, Apple, and the economy as a whole. That was all the interview offered in terms of context.
The Foreign Ministry of Taiwan has stayed silent since Musk’s Saturday statements.
Taiwanese politician Wang Ting-yu, a senior member of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and a member of parliament’s foreign affairs and defense committee, criticized Musk on Facebook.
Individual, privately-held businesses “must take their ownership as a joke,” Wang emphasized. “Why should the democratic rights, sovereignty, and way of life of Taiwan’s 23 million people be so easily dismissed? Ukraine finds it unacceptable, and Taiwan won’t stand for it.”
“Musk has to find a clear-headed political adviser,” a senior Taiwanese source versed in regional security planning.
“The world has seen clearly what happened to Hong Kong,” the official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. Under Beijing’s dictatorial leadership, “Hong Kong’s economic and social liveliness died quickly.”
When asked about Musk’s comments, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning called Taiwan an “internal affair” and said that Beijing would remain committed to the principle of peaceful reunification while “resolutely demolishing” Taiwanese independence.
Approximately half of all Tesla vehicles delivered worldwide in 2018 came from the Shanghai facility. Musk claimed that the Chinese government had asked for guarantees that SpaceX’s Starlink internet service would not be made available in China.
Musk has suggested that Ukraine agree to neutrality, give up control of Crimea permanently to Russia, and hold new referendums under U.N. auspices to determine the destiny of territories currently under Russian authority.
After Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy harshly criticized his proposal and suggested his own Twitter poll, he reached out to the public for feedback by asking for it “To which @elonmusk do you most closely relate? someone rooting for Russia or anyone rooting for Ukraine.”
Watch the video here:
