Taiwan on Thursday accused Elon Musk of “blindly flattering” Beijing after the American billionaire called the autonomous island an “integral part” of China.
Elon Musk, one of the richest men on the planet, drew the wrath 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 who makes them does not deserve respect,” Jeff told the press. Liu, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“We don’t know if Mr. Musk’s free will is for sale, but Taiwan is not for sale, that’s for sure.”
Beijing considers the autonomous island as part of its territory which it could one day seize by force.
In recent years, China has intensified its political and economic pressure on Taiwan.
Mr. Liu’s statements come after those of Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, who attacked the Tesla CEO in a post on the social network X (formerly Twitter) belonging to the tycoon.
He suggested asking Beijing to allow the Chinese to have access.
“I hope Elon Musk can also ask the Chinese Communist Party to allow its people to have access to satellite communication) Starlink to thwart Ukraine’s counterattack against Russia,” Wu wrote.
Last week, Elon Musk claimed to have prevented a Ukrainian attack on a Russian navy base last year by refusing a request from Kyiv to activate Internet access via its satellite in the Black Sea, near annexed Crimea. through 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, frequently wades into social and geopolitical issues in comments he posts on his social media.