Taiwan criticizes Elon Musk and says it is ‘not for sale’ and not part of China

Taiwan is “not for sale” and not part of China, the Taiwanese Foreign Ministry said, in a rebuke to Elon Musk who described the island as “an integral part of China.”

“Listen, Taiwan is not part of the People’s Republic of China and certainly not for sale!” Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said late Wednesday On X, also known as Twitter. The People’s Republic of China refers to the People’s Republic of China, which is the official name of China.

The message was in response to a comment Musk made during Comprehensive summitWhich was recently held in Los Angeles.

“I think I understand China very well,” Musk said. “I have visited there many times and met with senior leadership at many levels… for many years.” “I think I have a good understanding as an outsider about China.”

Taiwan has been governed independently from China since the island broke away from the mainland in a civil war in 1949. Beijing continues to view Taiwan as part of its territory that should be reunited with the mainland, by force if necessary.

Musk, CEO of X and SpaceX, as well as electric car maker Tesla, went on to say that China’s policy “is to reunite Taiwan with China. From their perspective, it might be similar to Hawaii or something like that, like an integral part of China, and it is not arbitrarily part of China.”

CNBC could not immediately reach Musk for comment outside business hours.

Wu added in his tweet that he hopes Musk will also ask the Chinese Communist Party to allow its people access to X, which is currently blocked in China.

“I hope that Elon Musk can also demand that the Chinese Communist Party open

In the early days of Russia’s war on Ukraine, Musk reportedly halted a Ukrainian military attack on Russia by restricting access to SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network. The move sparked a backlash from Ukraine and Senator Elizabeth Warren.

This is not the first time that Musk has angered the self-governing island.

Last October, the billionaire was also rebuked by Taiwan for suggesting that tensions between China and Taiwan could be resolved if Beijing had some control over Taiwan.