Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, on Friday said tensions between Taiwan and China could be resolved by establishing Taiwan as a “special administrative zone” of China, adding that the arrangement should be “more lenient than Hong Kong.”
The proposal has sparked outrage across the political spectrum in Taiwan, with candidates across party lines in next month’s local elections unanimously lodging strong protests.
Taiwan is not alone in its ire, even the Chinese Communist Party failed to see the “beauty” in Musk’s proposal.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Mao Ning (毛寧) called Musk’s proposal an “inappropriate statement,” saying that “the Taiwan issue is China’s domestic politics” and that China will “resolutely suppress interference by foreign forces.”
State-run China Central Television News also parroted the party line by publishing an article titled “Musk steps out of line in discussing China’s Taiwan issue, foreign ministry responds.”
As the richest person in the world, it is understandable that Musk is only concerned with economic losses in the case of cross-strait conflict, instead of taking into account that the vast majority of Taiwanese reject China’s “one country, two systems” model.
As election season enters fever pitch, Musk’s statement is likely to become material for campaigning and mudslinging.
However, will the political hacks still spare a thought for Taiwan’s future after engaging in empty rhetoric?
On Sept. 7, the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) published an article by Lee Min-yung (李敏勇) that discussed Taiwan’s and China’s opposing stances in terms of diplomacy and politics.
After World War II, Taiwan did not become an independent country like Korea did, but turned into what Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) forces after their retreat from China saw as a Chinese territory.
Lacking wisdom and insight, the administration of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) did not seek to rejoin the UN under the name “Taiwan” after the People’s Republic of China replaced the Republic of China as China’s sole representative. What was a small misstep at the time brought far-reaching consequences. In the rivalry between Taiwan and China, is time on Taiwan’s side now that China has risen to be an economic superpower?
Musk’s proposal reminded Taiwanese that in the event of conflict, the global community would rally behind Taiwan thanks to the inherent economic benefits.
For now, a large part of that is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC). If Taiwan happens to lose its trump card — for example, if TSMC moves abroad or is replaced by a rival chipmaker based elsewhere — and the nation has not yet been able to develop other leading industries, it would not be able to keep China at bay just by being in the camp of democracy and freedom.
In face of Chinese intimidation, all Taiwanese are in the same boat, and solidarity is the most effective weapon against an invasion.
Political parties are free to fight with each other for votes with their ideologies and policies, but national identity and security should remain a steadfast principle that cannot be compromised. Just as Lee wrote in his article: Taiwanese political parties should strive to put into practice “Taiwan’s stance,” for this is the responsibility and right of Taiwanese.
Lin Jin-jia is an attending psychiatrist at the Chi Mei Medical Center in Tainan.
Translated by Rita Wang
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