The entrepreneur had recently caused a sensation with a proposal to end the Ukraine war.
(Photo: Reuters)
Taipei After his controversial proposals to end the Ukraine war, US billionaire Elon Musk has caused further turmoil with new ideas for solving the Taiwan conflict. The government in Taipei on Monday called its proposal to make Taiwan a “special administrative region” under Chinese rule “unacceptable”.
A spokesman for the Council for Relations with Mainland China (MAC) in Taipei said of Musk’s interview in the “Financial Times” .
China regards the democratic island republic as part of the People’s Republic and threatens to conquer it. In contrast, the 23 million Taiwanese have long seen themselves as independent. The US has committed to Taiwan’s defense capability. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had raised concerns that China could soon take similar action against Taiwan. In the interview, Musk called a conflict over Taiwan inevitable and expressed his concern that the global economy would suffer a severe blow.
The government in Beijing welcomed the proposal, which is in line with its “one country, two systems” approach. A spokesman promised Taiwan “a high degree of autonomy” as a “special administrative region”.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
Musk caused irritation last week when he proposed a neutral status for Ukraine, the country’s renunciation of Russia’s annexed Crimea peninsula and UN-supervised referendums on state ownership of the other Russian-held territories. The billionaire had commented on Twitter that he wants to buy.
More: Arms deal worth billions: Biden massively arms Taiwan