SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, proposed the absurd “recommendation” to “figure out a special administrative zone for Taiwan.”
His proposal suggests that cross-strait tensions could be solved by handing some control of Taiwan to Beijing. Musk’s recommendation came after his last “whimsical” comment on international politics: To make peace, he said, Crimea should be officially given away to Russia.
Musk’s “unthinkable” plan was proposed in an interview with the Financial Times. He believes that conflict in the Taiwan Strait is “inevitable,” and it would cause trouble for Tesla, which operates a huge factory in China.
“Apple would be in very deep trouble,” he added.
Is there a solution for the cross-strait conflict? Musk recommended finding a way to “figure out a special administrative zone for Taiwan that is reasonably palatable.”
The proposal “probably won’t make everyone happy,” but “they could have an arrangement that’s more lenient than Hong Kong,” he added.
Pardon me for giving offense, but is this guy out of his mind? As misinformed and inappropriate as Musk might be, it is not possible for Taiwanese to accept Taiwan as “a part of China.” Nor would this be acceptable to any of the major political parties in Taiwan.
Let us also look at the international stage. With the American pivot to the Asia-Pacific and Indo-Pacific, the US has been strategically concentrating on drawing other countries to its side. This clearly demonstrates that every democratic country spearheaded by the US would not accept Musk’s recommendation.
As a white man born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Musk could and can travel around the world, deciding his place of residence as he sees fit. Holding a Canadian passport through his Canadian-born mother, he left South Africa to avoid mandatory military service. Then he went to the US to start a business.
Musk is the epitome of the less-than-charitable notion that businessmen have no motherland.
Unlike Musk, who has options and the capital to move freely, most of us do not have other choices — and we do not need one.
Our country is Taiwan. We are Taiwanese. The status of Taiwan and our future can only be determined by all Taiwanese. Outsiders should not intervene.
Hung Yu-jui is a Japanese-language teacher and translator.
Translated by Liu Yi-hung
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) were born under the sign of Gemini. Geminis are known for their intelligence, creativity, adaptability and flexibility. It is unlikely, then, that the trade conflict between the US and China would escalate into a catastrophic collision. It is more probable that both sides would seek a way to de-escalate, paving the way for a Trump-Xi summit that allows the global economy some breathing room. Practically speaking, China and the US have vulnerabilities, and a prolonged trade war would be damaging for both. In the US, the electoral system means that public opinion
In their recent op-ed “Trump Should Rein In Taiwan” in Foreign Policy magazine, Christopher Chivvis and Stephen Wertheim argued that the US should pressure President William Lai (賴清德) to “tone it down” to de-escalate tensions in the Taiwan Strait — as if Taiwan’s words are more of a threat to peace than Beijing’s actions. It is an old argument dressed up in new concern: that Washington must rein in Taipei to avoid war. However, this narrative gets it backward. Taiwan is not the problem; China is. Calls for a so-called “grand bargain” with Beijing — where the US pressures Taiwan into concessions
The term “assassin’s mace” originates from Chinese folklore, describing a concealed weapon used by a weaker hero to defeat a stronger adversary with an unexpected strike. In more general military parlance, the concept refers to an asymmetric capability that targets a critical vulnerability of an adversary. China has found its modern equivalent of the assassin’s mace with its high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP) weapons, which are nuclear warheads detonated at a high altitude, emitting intense electromagnetic radiation capable of disabling and destroying electronics. An assassin’s mace weapon possesses two essential characteristics: strategic surprise and the ability to neutralize a core dependency.
Chinese President and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Chairman Xi Jinping (習近平) said in a politburo speech late last month that his party must protect the “bottom line” to prevent systemic threats. The tone of his address was grave, revealing deep anxieties about China’s current state of affairs. Essentially, what he worries most about is systemic threats to China’s normal development as a country. The US-China trade war has turned white hot: China’s export orders have plummeted, Chinese firms and enterprises are shutting up shop, and local debt risks are mounting daily, causing China’s economy to flag externally and hemorrhage internally. China’s
RSS