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By Khaleda Rahman
National Correspondent
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Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters has been slammed on social media over comments he made about Taiwan and Russia.
CNN's Michael Smerconish recently questioned Waters about political aspects of of his "This Is Not a Drill" show, during which the audience is shown a montage of "war criminals" that includes a photo of President Joe Biden.
"He's fueling the fire in the Ukraine, for a start," Waters told Smerconish about why Biden was included in the lineup.
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"That is a huge crime. Why won't the United States of America encourage [Volodymyr] Zelensky, [Ukraine's] president, to negotiate, obviating the need for this horrific, horrendous war?"
Smerconish responded that Waters got it "reversed" and was "blaming the party that got invaded," but Waters disagreed, saying it was about the "action and reaction of NATO pushing right up to the Russian border."
Waters went on to tell Smerconish that he should "try and figure out what the United States would do if the Chinese were putting nuclear-armed missiles into Mexico or Canada."
Smerconish interjected saying that "the Chinese are too busy encircling Taiwan as we speak."
That prompted Waters to respond: "They're not encircling Taiwan! Taiwan is part of China. And that's been absolutely accepted by the whole of the international community since 1948 and if you don't know that, you're not reading enough. Go and read about it."
Waters' comments sparked a backlash on Twitter.
Taiwan has never been ruled by Communist China, noted Alex Bristow, deputy director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute's Defense, Strategy and National Security Program.
"What the Division Bell is Roger Waters on? He's clearly been living on The Dark Side of the Moon," Bristow wrote in a tweet.
Olexander Scherba, Ukraine's former ambassador to Austria, wrote: "Hey @rogerwaters, first you say there won't be a war, because Putin is too good.
"[Then] there is a war - and you say well, it's a war for a good reason. Why don't you already move to Russia, you gutless, heartless, merciless, lost little person?"
Olga Lautman, a senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, replied: "According to the Chinese garbage propaganda he was spewing about Taiwan it seems he has a choice of where to move. Russia and China. Wonder if he is on the payroll of both."
Journalist Jojje Olsson wrote: "Seems to be a shortage of Taiwanese analysts or even just citizens in the contact list of CNN. And a shortage of intellectual flexibility in the mind of Roger Waters."
However, some defended Waters.
The musician had attempted "to educate @smerconish of CNN about the propaganda they spread," tweeted Johnny Akzam, a former Democratic Minnesota congressional candidate.
Actor Jesse Metcalfe said Waters was "dropping knowledge!"
Newsweek has contacted Waters' representatives for comment.
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