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‘Taiwan Is Part Of China’: Roger Waters And CNN Reporter Trade Barbs On Geo-Politics

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Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters and CNN’s Michael Smerconish clashed on the reporter’s show Saturday regarding multiple geo-political events.

Waters joined Smerconish for an interview on the program ‘Smerconish,’ declaring Taiwan a “part of China” and berating President Joe Biden as a “war criminal” for fueling the war in Ukraine and not doing enough to halt the fighting by diplomatic means, according to Ultimate Classic Rock.

The program began with Smerconish and Waters discussing the musician’s controversial political rhetoric shown on big screens at shows across his current tour. The conversation grew tense after the topic changed to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

“This war is basically about the action and reaction of NATO pushing right up to the Russian border,” Waters said according to Ultimate Classic Rock, “which they promised they wouldn’t do when Gorbachev negotiated the withdrawal of the U.S.S.R. from the whole of Eastern Europe.”

Waters attributed the Russian invasion of Ukraine to a failure by NATO and thus the Biden Administration for allocating forces close to the Russian border.

The conversation continued to heat up after Smerconish asked Waters about the U.S.’ role as “liberators.” (RELATED: House Brings Back World War II-Era Weapons Program To Support Ukraine, Biden Expected To Sign)

“[The U.S. has] no role as liberators… you got into World War II [because of] Pearl Harbor. You were completely isolationist until that sad, that devastating, awful day,” Waters said. “Thank God the Russians had already won the bloody war, almost, by then. Don’t forget 23 million Russians died protecting you and me from the Nazi menace.”

Waters went on to ponder the hypothetical prospect of China building up nuclear arms and military forces in Canada and Mexico, saying “Try to figure out what the United States would do” if that were the case, according to the outlet.

Smerconish responded to the hypothetical, stating that China was already occupied militarily with currently “encircling” Taiwan. (RELATED: Chinese Military Conducts Large Attack Simulation In Taiwan Strait)

Waters responded that “[China isn’t] 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.”

A China Foreign Ministry spokesperson signaled support for Water’s statement on Twitter:

The rocker also claimed that allegations against the CCP of committing human rights violations was “bullocks,” comparing the alleged violations the the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, according to Ultimate Classic Rock.