Elon Musk launched an idea for Taiwan that was well received in Beijing and criticized in Taipei

(CNN Business) – With tensions between China and Taiwan reaching their highest level in decades, officials on both sides have clashed in recent days over an idea from billionaire Elon Musk that no one asked for.

During an interview, Musk suggested that hostilities between China and Taiwan could be resolved if Taipei handed some control of the democratically governed island to Beijing. This has won praise in China and expected anger in Taiwan.

“My recommendation … would be to find a reasonably acceptable special administrative region for Taiwan. It probably won’t make everyone happy,” Musk told the newspaper. financial times In an interview published on Friday. “And it is possible. I think it is likely, in fact, that they would have a more lenient agreement than Hong Kong“.

China’s ambassador to the United States, Chen Gang, thanked Musk for his suggestion in a tweet on Saturday. From this standpoint, he called for “peaceful unification and one country, two systems.”

But Taiwan’s representative to the United States, Bi Kim Hsiao, Wrote: “Taiwan sells many products, but our freedom and democracy are not for sale.”

The ruling Communist Party of China considers Taiwan to belong to its territory, although it has never ruled it. In addition, he has long promised to “reunify” the island with mainland China, by force if necessary. Taiwan, a democracy of 23 million people, vehemently opposes Beijing’s claims to the island.

Beijing offered Taiwan a “one country, two systems” option similar to Hong Kong. However, this idea was rejected by the main political parties on the island and did not have much popular support.

On October 7, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said, at a press briefing, that “the Taiwan issue is China’s internal affair.”

He said, “China’s position on resolving the Taiwan issue is consistent and clear. We remain committed to the basic principle of peaceful reunification and ‘one country, two systems’. At the same time, we will firmly defeat attempts to realize the separatists. The ‘Taiwan independence’ agenda, we will reject the interference of outside forces and maintain Our sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Wang Tingyu, a senior lawmaker from Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, criticized Musk in a Facebook post on Saturday. “Musk’s solution is only limited to making concessions to the victims,” ​​he said.

The billionaire’s comments on Taiwan come days after Musk angered Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for tweeting a “peace” plan between Russia and Ukraine that called on Kyiv to permanently cede Crimea to Moscow and hold new referendums in Russia-annexed territories, this time under supervision. to the United Nations.

Zelensky asked his Twitter followers, using the platform’s poll function:

“Who supports Ukraine” or “Who supports Russia”.