Taiwan fires back at Elon Musk, says its not part of China nor ‘for sale’
September 14, 2023
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly rejected Elon Musk’s assertion that Taiwan is “an integral part of China.”
Musk’s comments: During the recent All-In Summit in Los Angeles, Musk said that China’s policy “has been to reunite Taiwan with China. From their standpoint, maybe it is analogous to Hawaii or something like that, like an integral part of China that is arbitrarily not part of China.”
“I think I understand China well,” the Tesla chief executive added. “I’ve been there many times and have met with senior leadership at many levels … for many years. I think I’ve got a pretty good understanding as an outsider of China.”
Taiwan’s response: Taiwan, which has governed itself since 1949, is viewed by Beijing as part of its territory. Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu called out Musk on X, formerly Twitter, emphasizing that “Taiwan is not part of the [People’s Republic of China] and certainly not for sale!”
Wu also urged Musk to ask the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to allow access to X for Chinese citizens, highlighting Musk’s past involvement in limiting access to services during international conflicts.
“Hope Elon Musk can also ask the CCP to open X to its people. Perhaps he thinks banning it is a good policy, like turning off Starlink to thwart Ukraine’s counterstrike against Russia,” Wu tweeted.
Musk’s previous Taiwan comment: This is not the first time Musk has caused controversy regarding Taiwan. He previously suggested Beijing should have some control over Taiwan’s affairs to resolve tensions, drawing rebuke from Taiwan.
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