Return to Transcripts main page

NEWS STREAM

Jakarta Attacks Coordinated by ISIS from Raqqa, Government Says; Wikipedia Turns 15; Taiwan Expected to Election first Female President; Gloves off As Cruz, Trump Go After Each Other. Aired 8:00a-9:00a ET

Aired January 15, 2016 - 8:00   ET

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

[08:00:37] ANDREW STEVENS, CNN HOST: I'm Andrew Stevens in Hong Kong. Welcome to News Stream.

Indonesian police say the deadly attack on Jakarta yesterday was coordinated by ISIS from its headquarters in Syria.

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN HOST: And I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Taiwan, as the world's only Chinese democracy prepares to elect a new leader.

STEVENS: And Wikipedia turns 15. Founder Jimmy Wales speaks to us about what's next for one of the web's essential sites.

A show of defiance and a call for peace as people in the Indonesian capital mourn the victims of Thursday's terror attack. Police say it was organized

and financed long distance by ISIS in Syria from its de facto capital of Raqqa.

Well, the Starbucks cafe where a suicide blast took place is still closed. The usually busy street is much quieter than usual.

Security has been increased in major cities right across Indonesia. Well, let's take you now to Jakarta. And Saima Mohsin joins us there with the

very latest.

And Saima, a name has been talked about a lot over recent hours, Bahrun Naim, as the ringleader to this. What do we know about him and what he

did, what's his involvement in these attacks?

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Andrew, an incredibly important individual, Bahrun Naim 32 years old. We believe known to

authorities for quite some time now.

He was previously with a nonviolent extremist organization, which also wants an Islamic caliphate but through nonviolence means unlike, of course,

ISIS.

It was in 2010 when he was finally arrested and jailed for apparently hiding ammunition that was used to carry out an attack against police in

nearby Java here.

Now, he then was released in 2013, remarried a woman, a second marriage in 2014 and it was at the beginning of January 2015 that he and his new wife

apparently flipped through the net and left for Syria. And that's, as you mentioned, where in Raqqa, in Syria, alongside ISIS, he is apparently

trying to recruit, send finances for and conduct and orchestrate these attacks here in Jakarta, like the attack we saw yesterday.

There was also apparently a previously failed or rather inept attack earlier in 2015 as well, but he may well have been behind.

Now, this is an incredibly important man. There are around 500 fighters, we

believe, from Indonesia that have gone out to fight in Iraq and Syria. And it's those that either like Bahrun Naim orchestrate attacks from there, or

return to countries like Indonesia that are of great concern, Andrew.

STEVENS: As they police continue to pull together the pieces of this attack and look for how it was done and who did it, you've been speaking to

Indonesians, to people who live in Jakarta, at the grand mosque. And obviously Friday is an important day in the Muslim calendar. It is a day

of prayers. What have they been saying to you at the grand mosque today?

MOHSIN: Yeah, an extremely important voice, Andrew, in all of this, of course, as we talk about organizations like ISIS. Fears of ISIS gaining a

foothold in what is the world's largest Muslim population, the largest Muslim country. 200 million Muslims here.

Now, I've been speaking to a number of them. We spent the day at the grand mosque. People going in and coming out of prayer telling me not in my

name. These people do not represent us.

In fact, one man telling me he believes the attackers themselves are the infidels, not the people they claim to be targeting. Of course, ISIS says

they are targeting crusaders of the alliance as they refer to foreign nationals here in Jakarta in that attack in their statement when they

claimed responsibility.

So a lot of people saying, look, this doesn't represent us. Indonesian Muslims aren't terrorists. And we want the world to know that. And the

imam today making an very important statement, using his sermon at Friday prayers to

do saying that terrorism is a crime against humanity, incredibly strong words, saying that Islam should not be something to be scared of. It's a

beautiful religion. He wants us to emphasize. And said that it should not be used -- the name of Islam should not be used to try and put fear among

people.

He also referred, Andrew, to the nature of jihad, saying that, look, in Islamic history, these crusades or Islamic wars were defensive, never

offensive as ISIS claims and conducts itself.

So, some clarifications and some really important statements today, Andrew.

[08:06:00] STEVENS: Very important indeed.

Saima, thank you very much for that. Saima Mohsin joining us live from the Indonesian capital.

Now, prosecutors in Paris have identified the suicide bomber who blew himself up at an apartment in the suburb of Saint-Denis. It happened

during a police raid four days after the November terror attacks that killed 130 people.

Police say the bomber was 25-year-old, Chaib Arouh, a Belgian-Moroccan. They allege he and his accomplices were planning a separate imminent attack

in Paris. The suspected ringleader of the attacks, and his cousin, were also killed in that raid.

The U.S. Republican presidential hopefuls went after each other at Thursday's debate and tried to win over the public before voters begin to

have their say in just a few weeks from now.

Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are fighting for the number one spot in the key state of Iowa. And as CNN's John Berman now reports, they took the chance

to take shots at each other.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the race between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, the current Republican frontrunners, two things now

abundantly clear: it is truce off and game on.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Back in September my friend Donald said that he had his lawyers look at this from every which way. And

there was nothing to this birther issue.

BERMAN: Cruz mocked questions Trump is now raising about the fact he was born in Canada and whether he is even eligible to run for president.

CRUZ: Since September, the Constitution hasn't changed, but the poll numbers have.

BERMAN: Trump acknowledged, yes, that is part of it.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Because now he's doing a little bit better. No, I didn't care before.

BERMAN: But in their most pointed exchange in this race so far, he said there is more.

TRUMP: Here's the problem. We're running, we're running, he does great. I win. I choose him as my vice-presidential candidate, and the Democrats sue,

because we can't take him along for the ride. I don't like that. OK?

CRUZ: Well, listen, I've spent my entire life defending the Constitution before the U.S. Supreme Court, and I'll tell you, I'm not going to be

taking legal advice from Donald Trump.

TRUMP: You don't have to.

BERMAN: The battle moved from Canada to New York in the charge from Ted Cruz that Donald Trump represents what he calls New York values.

CRUZ: Everyone understands that the values in New York City are socially liberal or pro-abortion or pro-gay marriage, focus around money and the

media. Not a lot of conservatives come out of Manhattan. I'm just saying.

BERMAN: Trump responded, uncharacteristically somber, by invoking September 11.

TRUMP: We rebuilt downtown Manhattan, and everybody in the world watched. And everybody in the world loved New York and loved New Yorkers. And I have

to tell you, that was a very insulting statement that Ted made.

BERMAN: For the most part, the other candidates focused their fire on the president...

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This guy is a petulant child.

BERMAN: ... and Hillary Clinton.

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She's under investigation with the FBI now. If she gets elected, her first 100 days, instead of setting an

agenda, she might be going back and forth between the White House and the courthouse.

BERMAN: Though Chris Christie unleashed on Marco Rubio for dodging a question on entitlements.

CHRISTIE: You already had your chance, Marco. You blew it.

BERMAN: And Marco Rubio, with just a few minutes to spare in the debate, did some unleashing himself on Ted Cruz.

RUBIO: Ted Cruz, you used to say you supported doubling the number of green cards. Now you say that you're against it. You used to support a 500

percent increase in the number of guest workers. Now you say that you're against it. You used to support -- you used to support legalizing people

that were here illegally. Now you say you're against it. You used to say that you were in favor of birthright citizenship. Now you say that you are

against it.

BERMAN: Cruz fought to respond.

CRUZ: At least half of the things Marco said are flat-out false. They're absolutely false.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STEVENS: Some pretty vigorous sparring there. That was CNN's John Berman.

Now an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll taken before the debate showed Donald Trump well ahead of the pack. He had the support of 33 percent of

likely Republican primary voters polled, followed by Ted Cruz at 20 percent.

Remember, though, this was taken before this latest debate.

Now, China's cooling economy and sliding oil prices are weighing heavy on global investors this hour. We're just about 90 minutes away or so from

the start of the trading day on Wall Street and that is the picture as it looks this hour.

Futures, as you can see, down by more than 1.5 percent right across the three key indexes.

Now, stocks seem to be following the trend, what we've seen across Europe and also in Asia-Pacific. Most of the major markets in Europe are now

lower. Stocks in London, Paris and Zurich are now all down between 1.5 and 2 percent.

In the Asia-Pacific region, another day of losses for the Chinese market. After yesterday's brief spike, the composite, the Shanghai composite, was

as you can see there, now down by some 3.5 percent. That puts it officially into bear market territory. And that's defined by a fall of

more than 20 percent from its high. That high was reached just on December the 22nd.

Now the dramatic volatility we have seen in Chian's stock markets have taken its toll on the so-called mom and pop investors who go to theirlocal

brokerage to make a trade.

Now, some have lost their life savings over the past few months. CNN's Matt Rivers spoke to one student struggling to pay for college now that

almost half of her investments have disappeared.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: How many 22-year-olds do you know that check stocks before Twitter, futures before Facebook? In China, it happens

more than you think.

ANNIE AN, STUDENT(through translator): When I got into the market, everybody made money. People thought even fools could make a profit.

RIVERS: And Annie An is no fool. She's a hard working college student paying her own tuition. She worked part-time jobs for years and invested

her savings in the market in June of 2015. She hoped it would turn a profit. Then the bottom fell out.

AN (through translator): I was very sad. June was so rough. I needed that money.

RIVERS: Just as she was getting in, Chinese markets crashed. Annie lost nearly half of her $3200 investment and got out of the market.

China's stock markets are dominated by average people investing small sums. Many trade at brokerages like this one.

Before the 2015 crash they were encouraged to dive in by influential state media but after the crash, people watched their investments vanish.

The government stepped in and pumped billions of dollars into the market. Things calmed down temporarily.

And then came 2016 and the ups and the downs continued, which reminded us of something else distinctly Chinese: ping pong.

The first trading day of the year saw a ton of back and forth until a so- called circuit breaker was tripped. It automatically halted trading on Monday and again on Thursday. But instead of calming things down, it

actually only made the sell-offs worse.

So the volatility continued.

The circuit breakers were scrapped and regulators continued to pump money into the

markets. It was enough to convince Annie to put some savings back into the market despite her promise not to.

She's lost roughly $500 in two weeks this year.

AN (through translator): My friends tell me the market will increase in July. My money might double so I will wait.

RIVERS: Annie also bought a collector's item in 2015, a large stuffed bear. It could be the most valuable investment she's made thus far in the

midst of a bear market.

Matt Rivers, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STEVENS: Stocks go down as well as up.

Still ahead here on the show, Iran waits a key announcement paving the way for the lifting of sanctions. Details just ahead.

LU STOUT: And I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Taiwan where voters here are expected to elect Tsai Ing-wen as their very first female president.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:15:25] STEVENS: Welcome back.

Now, Tsai Ing-wen, the leader of Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party, may soon become Taiwan's first female president. Voters in Taiwan go to the

polls on Saturday for presidential and parliamentary elections. These results could have a crucial impact on

Taiwan's political future.

There is a record number of candidates in the race for 113 parliamentary seats and for the first time the governing party is in danger of losing

control.

So, there is a lot at stake in this vote.

Let's go to Kristie Lu Stout now. She joins us from Taiwan's capital Taipei in what sounds like a pretty noisy rally going on behind you there,

Kristie.

LU STOUT: That's right, Andrew It's one more day until the elections here in Taiwan. And the atmosphere her is absolutely electric.

I'm standing at the last campaign rally for the opposition DPP Party. And the last hour or so listening to very spirited campaign speeches, listening

to rock bands playing sun flower movement anthems, the MCs on the stage say that there are some 30,000 in attendanc here. And that despite the

rain.

Now, we are expecting the DPP presidential candidate, Tsai Ing-wen, to win this race. She is the front-runner likely to be beat KNT (ph) rival, Eric

Xu (ph), as well as James Song (ph) of the People's First Party.

Now, the DPP Party traditionally advocates an independent Taiwan. In fact, earlier this evening I saw bicycles wielding banners that said the words

Independent Taiwan on them.

But Tsai Ing-weng is taking a more measured, some would say pragmatic approach. She is calling for maintenance of the status quo in relations

between China and Taiwan.

She is widely expected to win the presidential race. As for the parliamentary election that's also due to take place tomorrow, that is wide

open. That is the election everyone here is watching where the real political drama is going to play out.

113 seats up for grabs. And among the candidates, a death metal rocker, his name Freddie Lim.

Here's the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: The defiant lyrics of protest belted out by the tattooed and pony-tailed frontman for one of Asia's biggest death metal bands.

It's fair to say Freddie Lim is not your average politician. He's the lead singer for Chthonic, which gives a lyrical voice to Taiwan's younger

generation, many of whom fear a future under the influence of China.

Now no longer just hitting high notes on stage, Lin is also hitting the campaign trail with

his political message. He is not running for president, but for one of 113 parliamentary seats.

FREDDIE LIM, TAIWAN PARLIAMENTARY CANDIDATE: My hope is to win, of course.

LU STOUT: His brand grew in influence after the student-led Sunflower Movement, which occupied parliament in 2014 in protest over a trade pact

with China.

LIM: We need to push for more democratic process and deepen the democracy we have already established.

LU STOUT: Lim's MPP, is just one several smaller opposition parties which say their concerns aren't represented in parliament.

LIM: The government thinks that relying on China will resolve economic prosperity, which is

the youth do not agree with.

LU STOUT: Many of that younger generation say do not want Taiwan to become just another Chinese territory. And they look in fear at Hong Kong where

China appears to be tightening its grip.

LIM: So, even the situation is worse in Hong Kong. And but I can see the hope in the future. And do believe that Hong Kong people, they will fight

very hard to win what they deserve.

LU STOUT: Lim showed his support in the final days of Hong Kong's occupied protest of 2014 with this performance in the territory.

It's the first time Freddy Lim has run for political office in Taiwan, but he is no stranger to speaking out for his beliefs. After leading Amnesty

International Taiwan for the past four years.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now, just moments ago, Andrew, saw Freddy Lim on that stage behind me at this DPP rally. He did not have the death metal makeup on.

He was definitely in political candidate mode, but the fact you're seeing alliance between his party and the DPP could spell trouble for the ruling

party who we may see at the end of this election when the results come out, may lose control of the parliament for the very first time in history here

in Taiwan. Back to you.

STEVENS: And China will be watching very, very closely. Kristie, thanks so much for that. Kristie Lu Stout in Taiwan, we'll be checking with

Kristie a little bit later in the show.

For more on our coverage of the Taiwan elections, these fundamentally important elections in Taiwan.

Now, in Japan 14 people are dead after a bus taking tourists to a ski resort veered off a mountain road. Authorities say the bus was carrying 41

people when it crashed in Nagano Prefecture early on Friday. 27 passengers were injured. The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Police say conditions appeared to be dry at the time of the accident.

Now, Iran could soon be free of the sanctions that have paralyzed its economy for years. When we come back, we'll have a live report on what's

at stake in the coming hours.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STEVENS: The weekend is under way in Hong Kong. It's just gone 9:20 in the evening this Friday. Welcome back. You're watching News Stream.

Now, a final word on Iran's crippling sanctions is imminent. The UN nuclear watchdog is expected to release a final report that will spell out

whether Iran has complied with its end of a nuclear pact signed with world powers.

If it has, that would trigger the easing of sanctions on Tehran.

Well, for more, let's go to our senior international correspondent Fred Pletigen. He has been following this story pretty much from when a first

announcement was made about the deal to ease the sanctions. He is in Berlin and he joins us now.

Fred, what has Iran had to do finally to convince the inspectors that it has lived up to its end of the bargain? And does it sound like it's been

able to do that?

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: With it certainly does sound it's been able to do that. It's been having to significantly scale

back its nuclear program which means taking a lot of centrifuges out of their places, also shipping a lot of enriched uranium to Russia

and the final thing they had to do, which happened over the past two days is to pour concrete into a reactor in Arak, which is a heavy water reactor,

disabling that reactor, and that was one of the last things that Iran needed to do to then be in compliance with the agreement, with that nuclear

agreement. And then to get sanctions relief.

Now, the Iranians say they believe the IAEA will probably issue a report today saying that Iran is in compliance.

We've also gotten signals from -- for example from the U.S. and the European Union that they believe that what is called implementation day may

very well be imminent.

If it doesn't happen today, most probably it will happen tomorrow. And that process, which will take one or two days, will also come with a

significant relief in sanctions.

Of course, we're only talking about the sanctions related to Iran's nuclear program, not the ones for instance related to its ballistic missile

program. But the Iranians believe that this could mean the imminent unfreezing of about $50 billion in frozen assets. It could mean they'll be

able to sell about 500,000 barrels of oil additionally per day and also of course that their companies and their banks are going to be able to do

business internationally and of course could very well, and most probably will, be a major boom for their economy, Andrew.

[08:26:14] STEVENS: OK, Fred, thanks very much for that. Fred Pleitgen joining us live from

Berlin. And of course, we'll bring you the news as we get it concerning that IAEA report.

You're watching News Stream. Still ahead, more on the elections in Taiwan. We'll be back to hear about the new power party that emerged from the

Sunflower student movement back in 2014.

And happy birthday Wikipedia, We'll hear from the co-founder of the popular online encyclopedia and tell you how long it would take to read

through the entire site.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

[08:30:22] STEVENS: Right, let's turn back now to Taiwan where voters are soon to cast

their ballots in landmark presidential and parliamentary elections.

Kristie Lu Stout is on the spot for us and joins us once again from Taipei. Campaign there going right down to the wire. It's just a few hours to go,

Kristie, but they are still pretty active.

LU STOUT: Oh, very active indeed. I'm at the site of the rally for the opposition DPP Party. Its candidate for president Tsai Ing-wen widely

tipped to become the next president of Taiwan. And if so, she'd become the first female leader of the island.

We have been listening to lots of speeches, songs under way, but you know, it's not a story of the presidential election, it's not only that going on

here, there's also the parliamentary election, 113 seats in the Taiwan legislature up for grabs.

And aiming for those seats, a number of parties called the third force. This is an umbrella term used to describe this new generation of youth

movement parties that came out of the Sunflower Movement in 2014. And among the third force party is the New Power Party.

And I have the leader of the New Power Party, Huang Kuo-chang, joining me right here.

And thank you for joining me. You're running for the legislature. And you're widely tipped to get a seat. How are you feeling right now?

HUANG KUO-CHANG, NEW POWER PARTY: It's complex, but I feel grateful although it has been less than half year since I've announced my candidacy.

LU STOUT: You feel grateful...

KUO-CHANG: Grateful and there are a lot of people walking through such an exciting journey with me. No matter what happens tomorrow, I'm grateful

for all the people who stand behind me, supporting me and supporting Taiwan's democracy. I feel very proud of our country and our democracy.

LU STOUT: Now, Kuo-chang, you've been actively canvassing for votes. You were out there today knocking on doors, talking to people, even singing

songs, pop songs, on the stage. I guess that's democracy Taiwan style.

We tried to meet in Hong Kong. That meeting didn't work out because you weren't granted a visa. What happened?

KUO-CHANG: I think the question to be best answered by the Hong Kong authorities. What I did just like an ordinary citizen trying to apply for

Hong Kong visa through the internet but it was denied. And actually, several years ago, I was invited by Hong Kong University to attend the

academic conference and at that time there was no problem at all for me to enter Hong Kong. But three years after the Sunflower Movement, I tried to

arrange with Hong Kong to support the Umbrella Movement but at that time, that was the first time my application for Hong Kong visa

was denied.

And the reason I got the invitation, I feel so excited, I do want to go to Hong Kong.

LU STOUT: But your application was denied. And we did ask and we inquired -- we asked the Hong Kong government and they said they can't comment on

individual cases.

I understand that here in Taiwan, a lot of people are actively looking at what's going on in Hong Kong because of you trying to get a visa, that

apparently being denied, looking at the case of missing book sellers and people in Taiwan look at the situation in Hong Kong, how does it make

people here feel about their relationship they want with China?

KUO-CHANG: First, let me start by emphasizing Taiwanese people are very peaceful. We definitely want a peaceful relationship with Mainland China,

but that doesn't necessarily mean we have to sacrifice our way of life and our democracy.

I hope the international community can understand and respect Taiwanese people's will to decide our own future and China can respect and understand

that as well.

LU STOUT: There's a perception out there that the Sunflower Movement, the youth movement is also an anti-China movement in Taiwan. Is it an anti-

China movement?

KUO-CHANG: I don't see that as anti-China movement. That is more pro democracy.

We want to uphold our constitutional democracy and our rule of law. That is the biggest rationale behind the whole Sunflower Movement.

Although China plays a role in that because China trying to ruin our democracy and trying to

tell Taiwanese people, marry us or I will shoot you. That is not going to help to improve the relationship between Taiwan and China.

The young people in Taiwan are very angry about China's attitude in that regard. We respect Chinese people's decision, their way of life, we hope

the Chinese people, especially the Communist Party, can respect our will and our democracy as well.

LU STOUT: Huang Kuo-chang, leader of the New Power Party. Many thanks indeed for joiing me here on CNN.

KUO-CHANG: My pleasure.

LU STOUT: And thank you for allowing us show your thoughts with us.

KUO-CHANG: Thank you for covering Taiwan's -- allow the world to see our democracy.

LU STOUT: Thank you. Thank you.

Andrew, as you heard from Kuo-chang just thn, as China is not doubt closely watching the election here in Taiwan, the people in Taiwan are closely

events in Hong Kong and also closely watching events in Mainland China.

But as we heard from the third force candidate running for one of these 113 legislative seats up for grabs tomorrow in the election, he says that his

movement, the youth movement in Taiwan, it's not an anti-China movement, but pro-Taiwan movement.

Back to you.

STEVENS: Absolutely.

Very clear message indeed sent.

Kristie, thanks very much for that. Krsitie Lu Stout joining us from Taipei. And Kristie will be reporting the results of that election

throughout the weekend. So make sure you stay with us here at CNN for that.

Now, one of the icons of the web turns 15. Still to come here on News Stream, we'll be speaking to Wikipedia's co-founder Jimmy Wales to find out

what's next for the online encyclopedia.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STEVENS: Now today is a landmark for a unique website, one that aims to collect the sum of

humanity's knowledge in a single place. Anyone can contribute to it and everyone can access it for free.

I'm talking, of course, about Wikipedia, which today turns 15.

Now, on the left is what was the -- what the original homepage looked like back when it was

first launched on January the 15th, 2001. And on the right is what it looks like today.

Wikipedia now boasts 5 million articles in English version alone.

Now after 15 years, the site has become a vital part of the digital age. And Kristie spoke to Wikipedia's co-founder Jimmy Wales and asked him how

he would like people to celebrate Wikipedia's birthday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIMMY WALES, CO-FOUNDER, WIKIPEDIA: The main thing I'd say to the audience is, if you want to help us celebrate Wikipedia, come and find a mistake and

help us fix it.

LU STOUT: Wikipedia has come such a long way in these last 15 years. At first you only published in English, now you're available in hundreds of

languages. You're one of the top ten websites in the world and you have been consistently so for the last few

years. And you remain a non-profit. But what is the achievement or milestone you are most proud

of?

WALES: For me, I mean, our goal is to have a free encyclopedia for every single person on the

planet in their own language. So, I'm most proud when I see the smaller languages growing and becoming a full and comprehensive encyclopedia,

sometimes in languages that haven't traditionally had an encyclopedia. So that's always very exciting.

LU STOUT: And Wikipedia is more than jsut an online encyclopedia, it represents something called the free knowledge movement. Why is that

important?

WALES: Well, you know, our vision of a free encyclopedia for everyone is part of a broader vision of free accessibility to knowledge for everyone.

And it's obviously a key and important part of education, particularly in the developing world where often times people are trying to learn but they

don't really have access to the materials and the information they need.

So, we're big supporters of open access to research materials, online courses and obviously

people sharing knowledge freely online.

LU STOUT: Now, let's talk about smartphones and the mobile revolution now because that is a trend that's happening today. It's been happening for

years already.

How has Wikipedia embraced this new reality, not just for your consumers who are accessing

Wikipedia, or your users who are accessing Wikipedia on mobile phones, but your editors?

[11:40:14] WALES: Yeah, it's definitely one of the biggest sort of strategic goals that we have, one of the things we focus a lot of attention

on. We know that the next billion people who come online in the developing world will mainly come online for the first time using a mobile device and

contributing on a mobile device will always be very difficult. It's a small screen and all that.

But we're investing a lot in our mobile app to make that experience as good as it possibly can be.

Actually, there's something interesting that happens in the developing world that as people come online as readers on mobile their devices, then

the people who have computers suddenly have a much stronger incentive to actually worth in their mother tongue because they know they'll have an

audience. And so they feel much more inspired.

LU STOUT: So, how are you going to anticipate bringing on and serving the next billion readers or users of Wikipedia and bringing on -- being on a

mobile platform and also using that local language?

How can you bring that all together?

WALES: Yeah, I mean for us it's really all about the community. We need to build up strong and healthy communities in new areas where people are

just coming online by the millions. It's a lot of outreach in those areas, a lot of education about what we are and how we work.

For me, it's one of the great things that we do. We have our annual conference Wikimania where we bring people together from all around the

world and they share best practices. They talk about the quality, how to improve the quality, all those kinds of things.

LU STOUT: And the next 15 years of Wikipedia, what's your number one goal?

WALES: Well, you know, we have always been served very well by sticking to our main vision, a free encyclopedia for everyone in their own language.

That continues to be our mission. We've achieved that in many parts of the world, although there's

still lots of work to do there in terms of increasing the quality and increasing the comprehensiveness, but it's really in the developing world where I'm

excited to say we're pushing onward, that core vision to reach everyone on the planet is still very much near and dear to my heart.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STEVENS: Wiki co-founder Jimmy Wales there speaking to Kristie a little earlier.

So, a couple of points for you. Just how popular is Wikipedia? Well, according to the research company Alexa, it is the seventh most visited

website in the world, that's more than Twitter, eBay or Reddit.

There currently some 5 million entries in English alone.

If you wanted to read it, it would take you an average reader 21 years, 24 hours a day to read

all of those entries. And the most edited English entry of all time? George W. Bush, more than 45,000 edits.

And finally, in case you're wondering where the name Wikipedia came from. Wiki is a Hawaiian word that means quick.

And that is News Stream. I'm Andrew Stevens in Hong Kong. We're going to leave you with

live images now coming to us from the International Space Station where Tim Peak has made a bit of history, just a short while ago, he became the first

British astronaut to perform a space walk.

You're looking at live images of the mission that he and other astronauts are carrying out that's replacing a failed voltage regulator.

Again, Tim Peak has become the first British astronaut to perform a spacewalk.

END