Musk interview underscores peaceful reunification principle

Tesla CEO suggests Taiwan could be made 'special administrative zone'

China expects and is glad to see that more and more people understand and support its principle of "peaceful reunification and one country, two systems", a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Sunday after Tesla CEO Elon Musk proposed setting Taiwan up as a special administrative zone.

In a recently published interview with the Financial Times, Musk said that his recommendation for solving the Taiwan question "would be to figure out a special administrative zone for Taiwan that is reasonably palatable".

"I want to stress that 'peaceful reunification and one country, two systems' is our basic principle for resolving the Taiwan question, and the best approach to realizing national reunification," Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry, told a news briefing in Beijing.

Qin Gang, Chinese ambassador to the United States also responded to Musk's remarks, saying that he would like to thank the CEO for his call for peace across the Taiwan Straits and for his idea of establishing a special administrative zone for the island.

"Provided that China's sovereignty, security and development interests are guaranteed, after reunification Taiwan will enjoy a high degree of autonomy as a special administrative region, and a vast space for development," Qin wrote on the social media platform Twitter on Sunday.

Since Hong Kong's return to the motherland in 1997, China has established two special administrative regions, namely Hong Kong and Macao. Under the "one country, two systems", the SARs adopt different social systems and different policies from those on the mainland, as the Chinese government makes efforts to realize the peaceful reunification of China.

According to Mao, the social system and the way of life in Taiwan as an SAR will be fully respected, and the lawful rights and interests of Taiwan compatriots will be fully protected.

"China's reunification will not undermine any country's legitimate interests. Instead, it will only bring more development opportunities to other countries and inject more positive energy into the Asia-Pacific region, and the world at large," she added.

The spokeswoman also dismissed Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party for hitting back at Musk's remarks, saying that whatever DPP authorities say, they cannot change the fact that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory.

Mao said the root cause of the current tensions across the Taiwan Straits is due to collusion between DPP authorities and external forces to create provocations to seek the "independence" of the island.

"Peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits will only be safeguarded when 'Taiwan independence' separatists are resolutely deterred and external interferences are opposed," she said.

Tensions across the Taiwan Straits accelerated in August following visits to the island by US lawmakers, especially that of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, despite Beijing's repeated warnings and strong opposition. Pelosi's provocative move forced China to adopt countermeasures including sanctions against the Speaker and military drills around the island.