Musk offended the Taiwanese government earlier this week when he declared Taiwan to be a “integral part” of China at a business event. Taiwan’s foreign minister Joseph Wu declared on Musk’s X that the island is “not for sale” days after billionaire Elon Musk compared Taiwan to Hawaii and described it as a “integral part” of China.
“Listen up, Taiwan is not part of the PRC [People’s Republic of China] & definitely not for sale,” Wu stated in a message to X. Infuriating the Taiwanese authorities, Musk earlier this week at a business event referred to Taiwan as a “integral part” of China.
According to the BBC, tensions between China and Taiwan have risen over the past year. It should be noted that China this week conducted air and naval exercises near Taiwan, which are regarded as a normal display of military power near the island.
In its territorial waters, Taiwan has counted around 40 Chinese military ships and planes.
However, Musk has previously infuriated Taiwan’s leadership with his remarks. Musk had earlier in October proposed that granting China some power over Taiwan could ease tensions between the two countries.
China’s ambassador to the US applauded Musk after he recently stated in an interview with the Financial Times that he thought the two governments could come to a “reasonably palatable” agreement.
Wu also wrote on X in response to Musk’s comments, expressing disappointment with them: “Hope Elon Musk can also ask the CCP [Chinese Community Party] to open X to its people.”
Wu reportedly claimed in January that China’s military exercises aimed to sway Taiwan’s elections. The People’s Republic of China has made it apparent that it aims to influence the upcoming national election in Taiwan, Wu wrote on X. The bully next door can’t make the decision; our citizens must.
Shanghai is home to a sizable production facility for Musk’s electric vehicle company Tesla, and in May he traveled there. The foreign ministry stated that Tesla was prepared to increase its business in China after meeting with senior Chinese authorities.
