Elon Musk faces backlash over suggestion to make Taiwan a ‘special administrative zone’

Elon Musk on Saturday riled up controversy after suggesting in a Financial Times interview that China and Taiwan tensions could be resolved if an administrative zone is established handing some control of Taiwan to the People's Republic of China. Tesla and SpaceX CEO's comments, which have sparked a backlash, came just days after he said that the war between Russia and Ukraine might end if the latter initiated the negotiations for a peace deal, which involves formally incorporating the breakaway Crimea region under the Russian Federation.

Musk also went on to claim that the Crimean peninsula that was seized in 2014 was wrongfully handed to Ukraine by the Presidium of the Supreme authority of Nikita Khrushchev of the then-Soviet Union. In his new interview, Tesla's boss appeared to suggest that Taiwan shall cede the territory's control to Beijing in exchange for peace. Musk was asked about political tensions between US and China over Taiwan where Tesla operates a large factory in Shanghai.  

“My recommendation would be to figure out a special administrative zone for Taiwan that is reasonably palatable, probably won’t make everyone happy," Musk told the paper. He added, "And it’s possible, and I think probably, in fact, that they could have an arrangement that’s more lenient than Hong Kong.”

Taiwan calls to boycott Musk's products 

Taiwan political entities lashed out at Tesla boss as a pro-independence ruling party called on consumers to "indefinitely boycott" the automaker in the island. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chao Tien-lin labelled the South African-born entrepreneur's remarks as "absurd," the newspaper Focus Taiwan reported. He called on the democratic countries to indefinitely boycott Musk's products and insisted that the SpaceX CEO changes his perspective on the Taiwan-China issue.

Another Taiwanese politician DPP Legislator Lo Chih-cheng pointed at Musk's investments and business in China, as he said that many countries supported Taiwan's democracy and freedom but this logic did not cross Musk's mind. "The Republic of China (Taiwan's official title) is a sovereign country, and the KMT will resolutely defend its sovereignty and democratic system," he asserted. Taiwan People's Party (TPP) legislative caucus convener Chiu Chen-yuan, meanwhile, said that Elon Musk must respect Taiwan's sovereignty and the island's leverage on the global economy. 

Deputy Legislative Speaker Tsai Chi-chang said that all parties concerned in the Taiwan Strait "could sit down and talk about a lot of things based on the guarantee that Taiwan's sovereignty, democratic system, freedoms, and rule of law would continue to exist."

World billionaire’s remarks were also heeded by China and were met with angst by Taiwanese officials. Mao Ning, a spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry, responded during a press call that the root cause of tensions in the Taiwan Straits is the provocative democratic forces of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) who seek " independence" via the separatist movement. "Only by resolutely containing the 'Taiwan independence' secessionists and opposing external interference can maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits," the Chinese spokesperson stressed. She furthermore insisted that by "containing the Taiwan independence secessionists" and outdoing the external interference, peace can be established.