Return to Transcripts main page

CNN NEWSROOM

Hong Kong Protesters March over Extradition Bill; African Migrants Denounce Conditions at Mexico Border; Notre Dame Holds First Mass Since Fire. Aired 3-3:30a ET

Aired June 16, 2019 - 03:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[03:00:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

CYRIL VANIER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Mass protests begin in Hong Kong. Thousands gather to demand its chief executive completely withdraw a controversial extradition bill.

Plus, stark words from the Saudi crown prince after the tanker attacks, warning his country won't hesitate to deal with any threats.

And women and children rush a fence at a migrant detention center in Mexico. They are not from Central American countries. These migrants are from Africa.

Live from the CNN Center, here in Atlanta, I'm Cyril Vanier, it is great to have you with us.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

VANIER: And we're following the protests underway right now in Hong Kong. Let's look at the live pictures of the demonstrations.

Crowds of people are marching to Hong Kong's central government offices. They are demanding the city's chief executive step down after she suspended but didn't withdraw a controversial extradition bill.

They say Hong Kong's civil rights are in jeopardy if the bill isn't killed outright. The measure sparked some of the worst violence the city has seen in decades. Anna Coren is leading our coverage in Hong Kong.

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As we can see from the pictures that say a sea of black that is heading towards us here at the legislative council, which you can see behind me.

This, of course, is where Carrie Lam, the chief executive, made her announcement yesterday, saying that she would suspend her controversial extradition bill, allowing for the extradition of suspects to Mainland China.

Now this is where the protesters are marching to. They left Victoria Park about 20 minutes ago. And, as you can see from these live pictures, they have turned out in droves.

It's hard, at this stage, to get an estimate as to how many people have taken to the streets. We are hearing that NTRS, the train system here, is just jam-packed with protesters.

They are dressed in black. That is what protest organizers asked people to wear, black, as a sign of solidarity, as a sign of protest. And they are out there in huge numbers with their signs.

They're marching peacefully, calling for the complete withdrawal of this very controversial extradition bill that brought more than a million people out to the streets last Sunday. We're expecting similar numbers today.

Now our Matt Rivers, he is down at Victoria Park where this march began.

Matt, what's going on?

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Anna, it's starting. The march has really just really begun. The numbers of people here in Victoria Park have started to clear out but it's taken the better part of 45 minutes.

The march started a little bit after 2:30 and people are still, as you can see, just trying to get out of the park. I think that shows you just some of the numbers here. It's simply difficult to move or exit the park quickly, because there's so many people out here protesting.

Most people wearing black, doing so in solidarity. And it really comes down to this extradition bill. Yes, they saw a temporary win for protesters yesterday. That was when Carrie Lam, the chief executive of Hong Kong, announced that the legislature would be suspending debate on this bill that would see suspects allowed to be extradited to Mainland China and other jurisdictions.

However, what every protester will likely tell you -- and the ones we've spoken to have confirmed this, Anna -- is that it's not over. They want to see a repeal of this bill. They say a suspension isn't good enough, because in the next couple of months they could just bring it back up again and pass it.

They're not happy about that. They're not happy about the fact that Carrie Lam didn't resign. They're not happy that she still calls it riots instead of protests. These are the kinds of things that protesters are talking about here.

This is why, despite there being a suspension of this bill yesterday, you are seeing massive amounts of protesters out and about on the streets today.

COREN: Yes, Matt, we saw up to a million people, if not more, to take to the streets last Sunday. Organizers are hoping for a similar number. I know you've spoken to people who didn't turn out last Sunday but they feel that from --

[03:05:00]

COREN: -- the clashes between police and protesters, the violent clashes that erupted during the week, they felt compelled to turn out because we know that so much more is at stake than just this extradition bill.

RIVERS: It's a really good point. I think there are definitely going to be people out Sunday that were not out last Sunday. There's a number of different reasons. You mentioned the police brutality. That is something that organizers of this protest are saying we shouldn't be forgetting about, that, yes, it's about the extradition bill.

But also they are extremely unhappy with the way police responded to protesters on Wednesday. Police have said they were attacked first, that they were restrained. That's their side of the story. But protesters clearly aren't buying that.

Furthermore it's a good point that you bring up, Anna, these protests aren't simply about one extradition bill or one case of police brutality. This is about a much broader fundamental series of issues that Hong Kong has with an encroaching Beijing.

We've seen a number of steps taken by Mainland China over the past couple of years to curtail the democratic-style freedoms Hong Kong has enjoyed for decades, restrictions on political speech, on journalists, on human rights activists.

So there are a number of things here that people are protesting. This extradition bill is certainly at the top of their list of grievances. But it's really just one specific thing that they're talking about that gives them a broader opportunity to discuss the larger issues they have with how China is dealing with Hong Kong.

COREN: Well, Matt, as somebody who's lived here for more than a decade, I can tell you that China has certainly tightened its grip on this very international city that, as you say, has enjoyed this one country, two systems, semi-autonomous rule.

Matt Rivers at Victoria Park, thank you. We'll check in a little bit later.

But somebody who is also fighting for more than just the extradition bill, fighting for the future and the freedoms of Hong Kong is Petula Ho, a professor at Hong Kong U but has been on a hunger strike. That hunger strike has just ended.

Why the hunger strike?

PETULA HO SIK-YING, PROTESTER: I was very, very angry by the way the government has treated the 1.3 million people of Hong Kong. We have this thundering voice but the government just refuse to listen to us. And I was more disappointed at the way the police has treated our young protesters. It was too violent.

COREN: And it wasn't just you on this hunger strike for 103 hours, which you say 1.03 million turned out last Sunday. There was another 23 people.

HO: Yes.

COREN: Who joined you for this hunger strike.

Do you feel it's made a difference?

Do you feel that people care?

HO: Actually, we pleasantly surprised. During those 103 hours that the international community is so supportive of us. And we felt so encouraged. And when the Hong Kong citizens are also supportive of all kinds of actions and we are, for the first time, after a long while, we are appreciative of each other's effort. I mean, you can try to dismantle a tear gas bomb. You can fight at the forefront but you can also do other things.

As mothers of Hong Kong, can you do a candlelight vigil; as academics and artists, you can do other things. But I can go hungry. So I just do my part.

COREN: As you say, there was a lot of international attention, more so when the violent clashes erupted between protesters and police. There was obviously those accusations of excessive force. We saw the tear gas and rubber bullets being fired at very defenseless protesters.

Are you concerned that today's protests could turn ugly?

HO: Nobody knows. In the past 10 days, every day we are surprised. So I, I'm not sure. But then every time there will be some form of, what should I say, clashes. There will be. There will always be unless the government --

(CROSSTALK)

COREN: People are angry, aren't they?

Give our viewers a sense of how angry people here in Hong Kong are. They feel as if they've not nothing to lose. They must fight for Hong Kong's future.

HO: Yes, we must fight, because if this proposed bill is going to be passed, we don't have a future anymore. We don't have personal security. We don't have freedom of speech. We don't have academic freedom, because everyone will be so scared. And this kind of censorship will destroy Hong Kong.

COREN: This isn't just about the extradition --

[03:10:00]

COREN: -- bill which would allow extradition of suspects to Mainland China, potentially political dissidents, those people speaking out about Beijing.

It is Hong Kong's future, isn't it?

HO: Yes, it is about our freedom and democracy, because our chief executive is not elected by us. She's not accountable to us. She's just elected by 1,200 pro-Beijing people.

And we want genuine democracy. We want to be able to have someone who will care about us, who will listen to our voices. So down with Carrie Lam.

COREN: I want to ask you about that because the protesters who are marching here to the legislative council, they are chanting, "Carrie Lam must go."

Is she on borrowed time?

We heard her come out yesterday. She's suspended this controversial bill. Beijing came out saying they support her decision but is she on borrowed time?

HO: I really hope so. But if she's down, we still need a better system where we can elect someone who can represent us. I think that's the crux of the problem.

COREN: What is the chance of that, when you have Xi Jinping running China?

And you know this is not going to change his resolve. He wants control of Hong Kong and of Taiwan.

HO: Before we become one country, one system, we must show them Hong Kong people is not going to give up so easily. So the message we want to send to President Xi Jinping is we will fight a good fight.

COREN: Petula Ho, thank you so much for coming and speaking to us.

HO: Thank you.

COREN: We really appreciate it.

So Cyril, there is so much passion, so much commitment to this fight here in Hong Kong. Really, there was hope, I think, from the Hong Kong legislative council that this would somewhat appease the protesters. But it just has not. A little bit earlier, I spoke to Priscilla Leung. She is a pro-Beijing lawmaker and I asked if she was disappointed with Carrie Lam's decision to suspend the extradition bill.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRISCILLA LEUNG, PRO-BEIJING LAWMAKER: We were pretty disappointed but we were prepared that, at one of the options would come out and that would be the suspension.

I think the disappointment came together with the time that we were informed of the decision. I would like to call for all walks of people to come down at this moment because we also have a lot of supporters who really do not want to see the bill being suspended.

But I also have to say I raise no objection to the decision.

COREN: Why is that?

Why do you feel there is such a rush to push through this extradition bill, that would allow for the extradition of suspects to Mainland China?

LEUNG: Let me -- I can only tell you what I observed, OK. I do think that this is a coincidence of the Taiwan murder suspect case. And the issue started with a legal amendment, escalated to a political debate and then to an international issue.

You know, I belong to the business and professional alliance. We belong to the earlier legislature. We did make a lot of comments about the original bill and, you know, the business sector also belong to those sectors, professional sectors. You saw some concern of this stop (ph) and also of the way --

(CROSSTALK)

COREN: Serious concerns, Priscilla, because if Hong Kong is to be seen as just a big Chinese city, then you are at risk of losing so many international companies, so many global firms. There's some 1,300 global firms have their regional headquarters in Hong Kong.

If this is just seen as another part of China, they will leave, they will pack up and move elsewhere. So there is more at stake than just this bill getting through and this one murder suspect being extradited to Taiwan.

LEUNG: I think this has been conveyed before also by our party. I think we are willing to plug the loopholes, of course. However, we also do not want to change the investment environment. And we do address that there is some political fear.

If you say we are talking about law, there are so many objective reasoning about the draft and the international practice. But, as we all know, we also address the concern that, because under one country, two system, we do have people who don't have trust in the China judiciary system. So actually, we make some effort, we --

[03:15:00]

LEUNG: -- we try to ask for, which has been accepted by the government, three rounds of amendment. Of course, apparently, it cannot solve the problem of political fear by many of others.

So I -- that's why, at the end -- let me tell you. We don't raise any objection for this suspension. But I also want the demonstrators today to learn that Hong Kong is very split. We also have nearly reaching 1 million signatures of people who supported the bill.

Based on such circumstances, I hope both party, both group could come down, not to instigate the youth and other people, because the bill has already been suspended, the government already made a big compromise. It may not be perfect to the demonstrator.

But maybe 1 million people are also very disappointed. So we just draw the line to keep peace of Hong Kong but not just continue to spread this clash.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: That was Priscilla Leung, a pro-Beijing lawmaker of the Hong Kong legislative council. She says there's a lot of support for that extradition bill, obviously, among lawmakers.

But I can tell you, Cyril, there is a lot of opposition. And as we are seeing from those incredible scenes, those live pictures on the streets, people have turned out in their tens, hundreds of thousands. Organizers are hoping to see the same numbers as we saw last week, up to a million people. It goes to show that the passion and the commitment of these people who are fighting for so much but more. They are fighting quite literally for Hong Kong's freedom.

VANIER: Anna, thank you very much. We're looking at the same pictures as you are. It's the middle of the afternoon where are you in Hong Kong and those pictures leave little doubt that the turnout is absolutely massive.

Anna Coren and Matt Rivers leading our coverage in Hong Kong. Thank you very much. Do come back to us if there's any sudden development.

Now 23 rescued sailors taken to Iran after their oil tanker was attacked and caught fire, their employer says they are all safe and in good health. We'll get the latest reaction from Tehran to this crisis.

Plus, desperation mounts at a migration center in Mexico. We'll tell you what's happening there and why this case is so different.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

VANIER: We're still following breaking news in Hong Kong and we're keeping an eye on the live pictures there. A mass protest is underway against the controversial extraditioyn bill. Huge crowds are marching through the city as we speak. They're demanding that Hong Kong's chief executive, Carrie Lam, fully withdraw the bill and step down.

Ms. Lam suspended the bill but also defended it, saying it has merit and --

[03:20:00]

VANIER: -- the government is open to revising it. Activists fear the bill could give China too much control over Hong Kong and chip away at the city's basic freedoms. Saudi Arabia is now blaming Iran for Thursday's tanker attacks in the Gulf of Oman. In a published interview, crown prince Mohammed bin Salman said Tehran was responsible for attacking the two tankers, including a Japanese-owned one while the Japanese prime minister was in Iran.

The crown prince called on the international community to take a firm stand against Iran and its support of terrorism and destruction. The crew of the Norwegian oil tanker that was attacked have now arrived in Dubai. The 23 sailors were rescued by the Iranian Navy after their ship caught fire.

The ship's owner says they were treated well by the Iranians and all of them are in good condition. Tehran insists it is being unfairly accused of carrying out these attacks. We get more from CNN's Frederik Pleitgen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A lot of details are still murky about what actually went down in the Gulf of Oman as those two tankers were attacked.

The Iranians continue to maintain that they had absolutely nothing to do with it but, at the same time, they're not reacting from some of the allegations from the United States that are still out there. The U.S. now saying that apparently the Iranians fired a missile at a U.S. drone that was tracking two Iranian zips.

Also the Iranians not commenting on that video that was put out by the U.S. of an Iranian patrol boat apparently coming to one of the stricken tankers, taking something off the side of the tanker which the U.S. believes is an unexploded mine, and then driving away.

Making things even more difficult, the crew of that ship apparently told the management of the company that they don't believe that their ship was struck by a mine. Apparently some of the sailors say they saw projectiles flying toward the ship, which they believe caused the damage.

Another thing that still remains unclear is a U.S. allegation that apparently the Iranian Navy was impeding the recovery of the other tanker that was hit. Iranian naval vessels, the U.S. said, were apparently getting in the way of tugboats trying to attach themselves to that other tanker.

The company that runs that tanker telling CNN that they had no information about any sort of interference by the Iranians and the Iranians are now saying that both of these vessels have now been towed out of Iranian territorial waters.

But again, the Iranians flat out denying they had anything to do with either of these two incidents and the Iranians also throwing accusations back at the U.S., saying that it's America that is destabilizing the situation in the Persian Gulf -- Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Tehran. (END VIDEOTAPE)

VANIER: "The New York Times" reports that the U.S. is stepping up its cyber attacks on Russia. According to the paper, the U.S. is targeting the Russian power grid and has placed potentially crippling malware inside the Russian system.

The report adds U.S. president Donald Trump has not been briefed in detail about the operation, reportedly because of concerns that he may shut it down or even share the information with Russia other foreign officials.

Mr. Trump fired back on Twitter, calling the article false and an act of treason.

He writes, "The corrupt news media will do or say whatever it takes, with not even the slightest thought of consequence."

There is growing unrest and desperation at a detention center at Mexico's southern border. Migrants held there are denouncing what they say are poor living conditions and long processing times. But what makes them different: they're not from Central America, where much of the current migrant crisis stems from. They're from Africa. CNN's Michael Holmes reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): As the Mexican government prepares to send thousands of its troops to its border with Guatemala, African migrants at one detention center here in Tapachula have been protesting what they say are poor conditions at the center and are calling on Mexican officials to process their claims to stay here quicker.

CNN can't confirm the women's claims of poor conditions but it is worth noting that these migrants are not from the so-called Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. These women say they are from a number of African nations.

One woman from Cameroon told us they had traveled from Africa to Colombia and journeyed from there to Mexico, hoping to get to the U.S.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: America, (Speaking foreign language).

HOLMES (voice-over): There's been a reported spike in the number of Africans reaching the U.S. border in recent weeks and the presence of the African migrants is complicating the task facing Mexico in terms of language difficulties and numbers.

Mexico continues to process thousands of migrants who continue to arrive here, many of them sleeping on the streets as they wait for permission to stay in Mexico. It is a problem Mexico says it cannot handle alone. It is simply too big, as they call on the U.S., the United --

[03:25:00] HOLMES: -- Nations and other nations to help them cope -- Michael Holmes, CNN, Tapachula, Mexico.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VANIER: Notre Dame celebrated its first mass Saturday since the fire in April that ravaged the centuries-old cathedral. It was a small, private service, with hard hats mandatory. CNN's Jim Bittermann is in Paris.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: In many ways it was an ordinary mass and an extraordinary mass at the same time. Ordinary in the sense that it followed the regular mass but extraordinary in the sense that it was celebrated by the cardinal archbishop of Paris.

In fact, he said in his message that he wanted to celebrate mass just two months to the day after the fire in Notre Dame in the cathedral itself because he wanted to give a sign of hope.

And later on in his message he said, we hope that we can regain the spirit of those who built this cathedral in the first place. During the mass which was streamed live on Catholic television and was also streamed live on the website of the Catholic Church, you could see very clearly the devastation caused by the fire two months ago.

There were piles of debris in the middle of the church, in the main nave area; holes in the ceiling. You could see protective structures built along important treasures like statues and whatnot.

In all, I think this kind of thing is perhaps -- it's going to be a big job to return the cathedral to anything like its normal shape. The church wanted to have a vespers service out in front of the cathedral in the parvis area but that area is still so fragile, because of what's happened underground in the vaults area, that authorities wouldn't allow them to take -- let the public take part in any kind of a ceremony like that -- Jim Bittermann, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VANIER: All right, before we leave you, a word on the women's football World Cup, another record-breaking performance as two more teams advance to the round of 16. Let's take a look.

The Netherlands booked a spot in the knockout stage by topping Cameroon. Wait for it. And there it is. They top Cameroon 3-1. The Dutch striker scored twice, breaking the all-time scoring record for the Netherlands women's team.

Meanwhile, Canada also moved on to the last 16 with a 2-0 victory over New Zealand. That was the 1-0.

And more football action is just hours away. First, Sweden will take on Thailand in the city of Nice and the U.S. will play its first game since thrashing Thailand, 13-0 last week. The reigning champs will face Chile in Paris.

Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Cyril Vanier, I'll be back with the headlines in just a moment.