Taiwan accused Elon Musk on Thursday of “blindly flattering” Beijing after the American billionaire described the autonomous island as an “integral part” of China.
Elon Musk, one of the world’s richest men, drew the ire of Taipei by comparing Taiwan to the US state of Hawaii in a podcast and calling the island an “integral part” of China.
Elon Musk “blindly flatters China and if (his) comments are influenced by its commercial interests, such comments do not deserve to be taken seriously and the person making them does not deserve respect,” Jeff told the press. Liu, the spokesman for the Foreign Ministry.
“We don’t know if Mr. Musk’s free will is for sale, but Taiwan is not for sale, that’s for sure.”
Beijing views the autonomous island as part of its territory that it could one day seize by force.
In recent years, China has increased its political and economic pressure on Taiwan.
Mr Liu’s statements follow those of Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, who attacked Tesla’s CEO in a post on the tycoon’s social network X (formerly Twitter).
He suggested asking Beijing to grant the Chinese access.
“I hope Elon Musk can also ask the Chinese Communist Party to provide its people with access to Starlink satellite communications to thwart Ukraine’s counterattack against Russia,” Wu wrote.
Last week, Elon Musk claimed to have prevented a Ukrainian attack on a Russian naval base last year by rejecting a request from Kiev to activate internet access via its satellite in the Black Sea near annexed Crimea via Moscow.
“Listen everyone, Taiwan is not part of the People’s Republic of China and is certainly not for sale!”
Elon Musk had already angered Taipei in May for declaring that China would inevitably integrate the island.
“China’s official policy is that Taiwan must be integrated… There is no need to read between the lines,” he said in an interview with CNBC.
“There is a certain inevitability in this situation,” he said.
The outspoken Musk, who has significant business interests in China, often addresses social and geopolitical issues in comments he posts on his social media.