Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters draws flak for his 'Taiwan is part of China' remarks

Famous English rock band Pink Floyd's co-founder Roger Waters became the cynosure of criticism for his remarks where he stated "Taiwan is part of China." In a recent interview with CNN, the 78-year-old musician openly took China's side on the political status of Taiwan. "They (Chinese forces) are 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 are not reading enough. Go and read about it,' Waters remarked. 

Waters further stated that there cannot be any discussion about human rights and Taiwan without actually doing an in-depth reading. He also went on to justify Russia's invasion of Ukraine, claiming that the United States would adopt a similar approach if China attempts to launch nuclear-tipped missiles into Mexico or Canada. His remarks came as US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's recent visit to Taiwan drew strong condemnation from the Chinese authorities. Pelosi concluded her one-day visit to the self-ruled democratic island on August 3. 

Waters' remarks invite criticism on Twitter

Meanwhile, Pink Floyd's co-founder's take on Taiwan did not go down well and sparked backlash on Twitter, with many claiming that his assertions were totally absurd. Alex Bristow, deputy director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute's Defense, Strategy and National Security Program reacted to waters' remarks and stated that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has never ruled Taiwan. "What the Division Bell is Roger Waters on? He’s clearly been living on The Dark Side of the Moon. Taiwan has never been ruled by communist China [sic]," Bristow tweeted. "Arrogance is the conjoined twin of ignorance. What Roger Waters and alike think about Taiwan is mostly irrelevant. I hope it stays that way. But one has to wonder: is the CCP getting better at imparting these lies into the minds of people around the world? [sic], stated Yaqiu Wang, a researcher. 

China condemned Pelosi's Taiwan visit

It is pertinent to mention here that US House Speaker Pelosi became the highest-ranking US official to visit the self-ruled island nation in the last 25 years. However, the visit did not go down well with the Chinese government which vehemently condemned Pelosi's move. Notably, China asserts absolute sovereignty over Taiwan, despite the island's self-government for more than seven decades. However, Taipei has countered Chinese aggression by strengthening strategic ties with democracies, particularly the United States, which China frequently opposes.

Image: AP