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President Trump Attacks Media; Vice President Pence Meets with European Leaders; Rex Tillerson Has First Meeting with Russian Counterpart; Thailand Pioneering Sadvertising. 8:00-9:00a ET

Aired February 17, 2017 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:12] KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And welcome to News Stream.

Now, President Donald Trump lashes out as opponents in the media defending his record and

attacking reporters at a news conference.

And it comes as Vice President Mike Pence joins other senior members of the Trump administration in Europe seeking to assure international allies.

And the heir to Samsung's business empire has been arrested, accused of corruption in a

massive political scandal in South Korea.

Rattled by the first month of the Trump presidency, European leaders are seeking clarity on U.S. policy. Now, Vice President Mike Pence is expected

to provide that reassurance when he attends the Munich security conference. He'll be joined by U.S. defense chief James

Mattis and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly. And the discussions come at a time of deep

unease for many in Europe.

And for his part, Donald Trump is returning to the combative tone of his campaign. At a news conference on Thursday, he spent over an hour

attacking the media and his critics.

Here's CNN's Sunlan Surfati.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF : The press, honestly, is out of control. The level of dishonesty is out of control.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Trump unloading on his critics.

TRUMP: I turn on the TV, open the newspapers, and I see stories of chaos. Chaos. Yet it is the exact opposite. This administration is running like a

fine-tuned machine.

SERFATY: Blaming others instead of himself for what has been a rocky four weeks in the White House.

TRUMP: To be honest, I inherited a mess. It's a mess.

SERFATY: Holding court for more than an hour, the president defending former national security advisor Michael Flynn, who he fired this week for

lying about discussing sanctions with a Russian ambassador.

TRUMP: I fired him because of what he said to Mike Pence, very simple. Mike was doing his job. He was calling countries and his counterparts. So it

certainly would have been OK with me if he did it. I would have directed him to do it if I thought he wasn't doing it.

SERFATY: And lashing out at the intelligence community.

TRUMP: What he did wasn't wrong. What was wrong was the way that other people, including yourselves in this room, were given that information.

Because that was classified information. It was given illegally. That's the real problem.

SERFATY: The commander in chief sparring with the press about reporting on leaks.

TRUMP: The leaks are absolutely real. The news is fake.

ACOSTA: If the information coming from those leaks is real, then how can the stories be fake?

TRUMP: The reporting is fake. The whole Russian thing, that's a ruse. That's a ruse. And by the way, it would be great if we could get along with

Russia.

SERFATY: And defending his posture on Russia after a CNN report that his campaign aides had constant contact with Russian intelligence operatives.

TRUMP: I have nothing to do with Russia. Haven't made a phone call to Russia in years. Don't speak to people from Russia. Not that I wouldn't. I

just have nobody to speak to.

SERFATY: Even joking about his response to recent Russian provocations.

TRUMP: The greatest thing I could do is shoot that ship that's 30 miles offshore right out of the water. Everyone in this country is going to say,

"Oh, it's so great." That's not great. That's not great. I would love to be able to get along with Russia.

SERFATY: The president defending the rollout of his now-halted travel ban.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the travel ban, would you accept that that was a good example of the smooth running of government?

TRUMP: Yes, I do. I do. Let me tell you about the -- wait, wait, wait.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were there any mistakes in that?

TRUMP: I know who you are. Just wait.

SERFATY: Insisting that it went smoothly and blasting federal judges again.

TRUMP: The only problem that we had is we had a bad court. The rollout was perfect.

SERFATY: The president also touting again a false claim about his electoral win margin.

TRUMP: We got 306 because people came out and voted like they've never seen before. So that's the way it goes. I guess it was the biggest Electoral

College win since Ronald Reagan.

SERFATY: President Trump raising eyebrows for asking a reporter to set up a meeting for him with the Congressional Black Caucus.

TRUMP: Do you want to set up the meeting?

APRIL RYAN, JOURNALIST: No, no, no.

TRUMP: Are they friends of yours?

RYAN: I'm just a reporter. I know some of them. But I'm sure...

TRUMP: Let's go set up a meeting. I would love to meet with the Black Caucus.

SERFATY: And again failing to condemn a rise in anti-Semitic attacks happening across the U.S.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, we are concerned about it. And what we haven't really heard being addressed is an uptick in anti-Semitism and how the

government is responding to take care of it.

[08:05:03] TRUMP: I am the least anti-Semitic person you have ever seen in your entire life. No. 2, racism, the least racist person. In fact, we did

very well relative to other people running as a Republican.

Quiet, quiet, quiet.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And that was CNN's Sunlen Serfaty reporting there.

Now, Mr. Trump's news conference stunned even the most seasoned reporters. Now, here is what CNN's Jake Tapper had to say as he and Wolf Blitzer

covered Mr. Trump's free-wheeling exchange with reporters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: If you are a soldier in harm's way right now, if you are a hungry child in Appalachia or the inner city, if you are an

unemployed worker in the hollow shell of a steel town, that's not a president who seemed rather focused on your particular needs and wants,

that's a president focused on his bad press.

It was unhinged. It was wild. And I can't believe that there are Republicans on Capitol Hill and in the White House who don't understand

that might play well with the 44 percent of the population that voted for the president, but a lot of Americans are going to watch that press

conference and think that guy is not focused on me. I don't even know what he's focused on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: But as Jake Tapper mentioned, Mr. Trump's words likely played well with his most fervent supporters.

CNN's Gary Tuchman spoke with a few Trump voters in Yuma, Arizona, a state that went red on election day.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT Donald Trump said this administration is running like a fine-tuned machine. What's your response to that?

LINDA GOODING, TRUMP VOTER: Well, it's not fine tuned but I know he's going to do the best he can, best he can.

TUCHMAN: Do you think he's over stating it when he says fine tuned.

GOODING: Maybe a little bit.

TUCHMAN: He said this about Gen. Flynn, I don't think he did anything wrong, if anything he did something right, but Donald Trump fired him. Is

that confuse you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not really. He fired him because he wasn't truthful to the vice president what he had actually done. He tried to backtrack and say

well, I don't remember exactly what I ...

TUCHMAN: But you don't think Flynn did anything wrong?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not really. He was doing his job.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... go with foreign diplomats and find out.

TUCHMAN: Well, if he didn't do anything wrong, why was it a big deal that he didn't tell Vice President Pence about it if it is routine thing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The news media was all over him about it.

TUCHMAN: Do you think Donald Trump may have fired hill because it looked bad in the news media?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, exactly.

TUCHMAN: He said today the leaks are real, the news is fake.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, a lot of news is fake and has been for years.

TUCHMAN: How could the leaks be real if the news is fake? Why would you complain about leaks if it's not real news?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know but I know there's a lot of leaks and there's a lot of fake news.

TUCHMAN: When he says the news is fake but the leaks are real, does that make sense?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. Not really.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: As we said earlier, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, we know that he is on his way to Europe. He'll be meeting European leaders at a

security conference in Munich.

CNN's Nic Robertson is live from Munich and he joins us now. Nic, and we know that Mike Pence, along with Mattis and Kelly, are on their way or said

to attend the security conference in Munich, what do leaders in Europe want to hear from them?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they are looking for reassurance that everything that they have heard from President Trump is

not how he says it is in essence. You know, two weeks ago I was at an EU summit in Malta. And there was absolute concern there that there was a

sense that Europe was being left, ditched by the United States by a president who

was potentially going to reach over their heads to make deals with Russia. This would leave the Europeans to sort of be the standard bearers for free

market economy, for liberalism, even sort of free speech, if you will.

There was a sense that they needed to band together. So what you've had, what you've had in

the past couple of days with Vice President Mike Pence on his way here, you've had Secretary of Defense Mattis here. He's actually here at the

security conference already. He is speaking right around about now, talking about the unity of Europe, talking that the unity of Europe is

going to be stronger and better when there's a strong Transatlantic alliance. So those are words of reassurance.

So you have these sort of -- you have Secretary of Defense Mattis, Secretary of State Tillerson in Europe, Vice President Pence on the way and

it's all about reassurance. And it's about reassurance because European leaders are concerned about what they have been hearing. Undoubtedly the

press conference last night will give them pause and thought for concern as well.

But perhaps one of the leaders that needs the most reassurance from the United States, and

that's Angela Merkel whose country is obviously hosted this security conference in Munich, and who will meet and will speak with Vice President

Pence early Saturday morning.

Why would she be so concerned? Because President Trump has criticized her, Angela Merkel,

personally about the way she's handled the refugee situation. He's compared her to President Putin, and he said that the German economy is

trying to steal business from the United States.

So these are very heavy criticisms. So I think we can expect Mike Pence to deliver a much more reassuring message when he gets here, but the European

leaders are going to weigh all of that in the balance against what they actually hear coming from the White House, Kristie.

LU STOUT: European Leaders, they want reassurance of the alliance. They also want some

clarity on Russia, because we've heard Trump express admiration for Vladimir Putin, but we've also heard from Tillerson that he says he will

consider working with Russia, but also having a bit more of a firm tone on Russia in regards to Ukraine.

And then there's those reports about constant contact between Trump aides and senior Russian officials during the campaign.

I mean, how are European leaders taking all of that in?

[08:10:24] ROBERTSON: There's no doubt they see the situation in the White House as somewhat chaotic, that there are various different messages coming

out. You only have to listen and compare one adviser with the press secretary on any given day, on any given

subject. There's disparity often.

Certainly what's being witnessed from, you know, from Europe.

When it comes to the issue of Russia, real concern that the United States, based on what President Trump has said, was going to reach over the heads

of European concerns and worries about Russia to do a deal with Russia. We've heard the Secretary of Defense Mattis earlier in the week reaffirming

support for NATO, but we heard just yesterday Rex Tillerson, secretary of state, after meeting with Sergey Lavrov, his counterpart from Moscow,

saying that, yes, we can do business with Russia where we see eye-to-eye, but he had a very, very clear and strong message and that was, again, part

of the reassurance for European leaders, that there is, you know, issues like Ukraine where

Russia has to do what the Europeans and others, the United States expects them to do, which is uphold the Minsk agreement which, of course, Russia

was part of the Normandy Four, along with the Ukrainians and the Germans and the French to agree to principles of cease-fire, of elections, of

border control going back from Russian forces to Ukrainian forces in Russia and the very clear message from

Rex Tillerson was this is what Russia has to do. There's no equivocation about it.

So a support, a very strong signal of support for the European position and the White House has even gone beyond that saying that Russia essentially

needs to vacation Crimea to get sanctions lifted, and that's something the Kremlin has pushed back against.

So I think there's a certain reassurance emerging at this stage about the American position towards Russia. But at the same time, you know, there's

concern. This is a different White House to one that European leaders who witnessed before. The Germans, Angela

Merkel here, the French, the Dutch, all having very important elections this year and Donald Trump's presidency has enabled some of the sort of

upstart insurgent populist nationalist parties that give real concern in Europe at this

time.

So, you know, reassurance is one thing, but I think they are going to be -- you know, European leaders are going to be looking way beyond this

conference to see how things actually progress on the ground - Kristie.

LU STOUT: Wow, that Nic Robertson reporting live for us from Munich. Thank you, Nic.

Now, at this Sufi shrine in southern Pakistan, a religious ritual ended in the slaughter of men, women and children. At least 88 people now confirmed

dead in Thursday's suicide attack. More than 200 people are injured.

The century's old sideline was filled with worshipers when the attacker detonated an explosives

vest. The ISIS-affiliate in Afghanistan and Pakistan is claiming responsibility. A Pakistani military spokesman says the border with

Afghanistan is now closed for security reasons, and the country is on high alert for terror.

Now, this man here is one of seven police officers in Hong Kong who have been sentenced to

two years in prison. Now, they were convicted of beating a protester during the pro-democracy rallies of 2014. The violence, it was caught all

on video. It aired on local TV and it caused huge outrage and widespread condemnation of police behavior.

Outside the court, crowds who support the police faced off against pro- democracy protesters.

Now, four days on, a lot of questions over the death of Kim Jong-nam. The half brother of

the North Korean leader died in Malaysia. South Korea says he was poisoned and blames North Korea.

Meanwhile, Malaysia says it won't release the body until North Korea cooperates. Saima Mohsin has the latest on the autopsy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: CNN has managed to speak with the forensic director who is carrying out the blood tests on Kim Jong-nam's body.

Now, she tells us that the autopsy has not been completed yet, as local media have been reporting. In fact, she says, it will take some more time.

Now, we asked her whether there were any abnormalities found in the blood and how long it will take. She wasn't willing to disclose any of the

results or information to the media, but she did tell us that because of various reasons, it will take at least a few more days. So crucial update

there. This means that this will be a more prolonged process.

And of course, earlier in the day, CNN also spoke to the police, which confirmed to us that they have requested a DNA sample from a family member

of Kim Jong-nam before they release the body to the North Korean embassy here in Kuala Lumpur as they've requested.

Now that, of course, could further complicate matters because, given the nature of the situation, Kim Jong-nam was living in exile, in hiding, in

effect, and the fact that he was murdered by poison, according to South Korean intelligence, they may not be willing to come forward.

So we await to see the response from the North Korean embassy. We've been trying to contact them throughout the last few days with little response.

In the meantime, of course, the body remains here at a hospital in Kuala Lumpur awaiting an eventual return to the North Korean embassy and some

kind of burial.

Saima Mohsin, CNN, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[08:15:42] LU STOUT: Now, in South Korea shares in Samsung dropped after another round of bad news. Now, prosecutors have arrested the heir to the

business empire. We've got the details coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, welcome back. You're watching News Stream.

Now, the head of Samsung electronics and the heir to South Korea's largest corporation has been arrested for corruption. Jae Y. Lee is accused of

bribery, perjury, concealing criminal profits, embezzlement, and hiding assets. All of that is connected to a corruption scandal that shook the

South Korean government last year.

Now, Samsung and Lee have repeatedly denied the allegations. Let's get the latest details from our Matt Rivers in Seoul.

And Matt, just what led to this moment, to the arrest of the heir of Samsung?

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, basically at the crux of this case is allegations from prosecutors that Jae Y. Lee, using Samsung, donated

tens of millions of dollars to a foundation that was being run by a very close confidant of President Park Guen-hye, that confidant at the center of

this major corruption scandal here in South Korea, and the goal of those donations, the aim, prosecutors say, was to curry favor with the Park

administration in exchange for the administration's approval of a very controversial merger. And so that evidence was presented to a judge. And

that's what this arrest warrant for lee was filed on, and that led to those charges that you listed right off the top.

LU STOUT: And Matt, we know that Samsung is such a powerful family- controlled organization. It reaches deep into a number of industries from smartphones to shipping. What kind of impact will Mr. Lee's legal issues

have on the company?

RIVERS: Well, from a PR standpoint this has been a very bad last 18 months for Samsung. I mean, you can talk about all the issues that they had with

the Samsung Note 7 and those phones catching fire. And this is just the latest thing here. And this arrest could certainly make investors nervous,

but that's really on the PR standpoint.

On the day-to-day functioning business side of it, I think most experts will tell you it's not going to really have a huge impact. Samsung has

lots of subsidiaries that are run more or less independently of one another. They each have their different leadership structures. And you

saw it in the stocks today.

Now, while the flagship company, Samsung Electronics, was down .4 percent, you know, other Samsung affiliates, like Samsung SDI was up .8 percent.

Samsung Electromechanics was up .8 percent. And so day-to-day how this business is run, not sure how much this arrest will really matter.

[08:20:22] LU STOUT: Got you.

And we know that there had been a lot of protests in Seoul in recent months, so what is the

mood in South Korea given all this pressure that's been building up on -- on business and the political leadership there?

RIVERS: Well, corruption scandals are nothing new to South Korea. This is a country that has dealt with this kind of thing before, but I think what

you're seeing here with all the protests, is just a sense that this - that what is going on with the president, with some top business leaders, this

is on a whole other level. And you're seeing some serious anger.

I was at some of those protests last Saturday walking through the streets, and Kristie, it was cold outside. I mean, it not like strolling weather

where you would want to be out there and yet people were sitting there, bundled up, chanting. There was passion in the streets there and I think

that there is a heightened level of political engagement, especially among young people here, who are saying we're done with this, we are tired of

this level of corruption, and they are really encouraged by the fact that the prosecution here, the special prosecutors, really do seem to be

bringing down the hammer, not only on the president, but on top business leaders like Mr. Lee.

LU STOUT: All right, Matt Rivers on the pulse of what is happening there in Seoul. Thank you very much indeed for your reporting.

Now, the mood, meanwhile, is very different in North Korea. We've got celebrations under way

to honor the late leader Kim Jong-il. And CNN's Will Ripley gets rare access inside Pyongyang and shows us how the locals enjoy the holiday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the major national holiday here in North Korea. It's the 75th birthday of the late leader Kim Jong-il, the

father of the current leader Kim Jong-un. Tens of thousands of people will be flooding into this exhibition hall today. We'll show you what's

inside.

All of these people are pouring in to see a huge floral display of Kim Jongilia, it's a special kind of begonia that was designed by a Japanese

botanist to honor the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il whose portrait is right there.

And this is just one of the celebrations happening here in Pyongyang today.

We're now outside the Pyongyang indoor stadium, and you can see thousands of students are here putting on a huge group dance in honor of the birthday

of the late leader. We're told we can actually walk in. I'll try not to bump into anybody.

We have seen these people practicing throughout the streets of Pyongyang throughout the day, thousands of people spending hours perfecting their

moves.

I'm going to bump into somebody and knock them over. I hope I don't.

If North Korea is known for its group choreography, it's also famous for its fireworks. They

hold massive fireworks shows several times a year, including on this day. And no matter what hardships this country may be enduring financially or

otherwise, they want the world to see this, images of strength and power. This is the image they are trying to project.

Will Ripley, CNN, Pyongyang, North Korea.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now, Mark Zuckerberg is determined to use Facebook as a platform for global unanimity. He just released a lengthy manifesto on Facebook's

mission, and in it he addresses the criticism about the spread of fake news spread on Facebook and admits the site is now a major source of news.

He says Facebook will work on creating inclusive and informed communities and to do that, he outlined plans to use artificial intelligence to crack

down on terrorist propaganda and to promote diverse views on news feeds. He also points out a strong news industry is critical in building an

informed community, saying that Facebook needs to do more to support it.

Now, in the country where cash has long been king, scenes like this are now becoming the new norm in India. Biometric payments, a thumb print or an

eye scan to tap into your bank account.

Late last year, the government banned 500 and 1,000 rupee notes, and many are still reeling from the change, especially on small vendors who rely on

cash. But one of tech's biggest says they haven't been forgotten in this financial revolution.

Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, tells me people don't even need a smartphone to become a

walking ATM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANDAN NILEKANI, INFOSYS CO-FOUNDER: You know, India is about 250 million people with smartphones. They will use a smartphone app. And they have

data. And we have about 350 million people who have feature phones, which use the USSB (ph) channel that does not need the internet. And then for

the balance 350 million people who don't have phones, they can use their ADHAD (ph) number and do a transaction. They don't need an device at all.

LU STOUT: The ADHAD (ph) national ID, this is a program that you spearheaded. And it transformed India and made every Indian count. You're

saying that the ADHAD (ph) ID is now being hooked up to bank accounts?

NILEKANI: Oh, absolutely. In fact, India runs the world's largest cash transfer program. And the ADHAD (ph) ID, about 1.1 billion people have the

ADHAD (ph) ID. It's the only billion user platform outside the U.S.

300 million people have other linked bank accounts. So they can have the money directly into the bank account using their ADHAD ID.

So, it's all - the banking system and ADHAD (ph) is well integrated together.

LU STOUT: So, all you need is the ADHAD ID card. You don't need a smartphone, you don't need any type of device.

NILEKANI: You don't need a card, you just need your number and your fingerprint or your eye. You go to a merchant, you put your - you give

your number, put your fingerprint and it deducts and decide to buy something, it deducts your bank account and credits the merchant and you

take your supplies of soap and shampoo and go home.

LU STOUT: How many people are using biometric payments today in India?

NILEKANI: It would be in the millions.

You know, today, the other authentication, which is an online verification using the other biometric, that's about 15 to 20 million a day

transactions. Because it's not just for payments. For example, for the PDS, which is the public distribution system, which gives rice and wheat at

concessional prices to the poor, that also works on ADHAD (ph). So, there's lots and lots of users. And in the mobile industry today, I can

get my SIM card in three minutes with my ADHAD (ph).

LU STOUT: And this is incredible because India is basically leap-frogging credit cards.

NILEKANI: Oh, totally.

LU STOUT: And even leap-frogging digital payments to go to biometric payments.

NILEKANI: Yes. And digital payments, which are interoperable. I think the difference in India is that the whole system that's been designed is

designed that every bank can participate, every mobile company which has a payment bank license can participate. So, because it's called open look,

it will actually become a very, very thriving system.

LU STOUT: Are other countries around the world eyeing technology and say we want in?

NILEKANI: Well, a lot of countries have been visiting us and looking at IDs is

important, how payments is important and how these are essential for financial inclusion and social progress.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And that was Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani speaking with me in Bangalore.

Now, after the break, right here on News Stream, face-to-face for the first time. Rex Tillerson and Sergey Lavrov meet as Donald Trump promises a new

era in U.S.-Russia relations. We'll be live from the G-20 summit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

[08:31:30] LU STOUT: Now, let's get some details on U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's first meeting with Russia's Sergey Lavrov at the G20

summit.

Atika Shubert is there to tell us how it all played out in Bonn, Germany. And Atika, this was Tillerson's diplomatic debut. So how firm a line did

he take with his Russian counterpart?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, a lot of people here are looking for some clarity after the roller coaster first days after

President Trump's inauguration. And certainly we've seen so far a much more measured tone from Secretary of State Tillerson.

He did meet with his Russian counterpart yesterday, Sergei Lavrov. And after coming out of that meeting, his first official meeting in his

capacity as secretary of state with Lavrov, he did take a tougher line. He said basically the U.S. and Russia can work together where their interests

overlap, however, he also said that the U.S. expects Russia to, quote, de-escalate

the violence in Ukraine.

Now, you know, that's a much tougher line than has been taken, say, by say the president himself. However, it is in line with what we've been hearing

from other administration officials such as the secretary of defense.

So this will be certainly good news to U.S. allies in Europe who have been looking for some sort of a reassurance that seems to be forthcoming, but it

really depends what happens next. So far, Tillerson has kept a very low profile, saying that he is in - officials have said that he is in listening

mode, that he simply wants to gain more experience in the diplomacy arena, listen to what his counterparts have to say and then bring messages back to

Washington.

LU STOUT: And Atika, we know that G20 foreign ministers, they are meeting for a final day today. Do you think they are going to walk away with more

clarity and a greater understanding of Trump's foreign policy vision?

SHUBERT: I think this is really more of an introduction meeting, getting to know Tillerson, find out how he works and operates. And in that sense I

think that it has been more successful. I think one indication of this, for example, is, you know, last night he met with foreign ministers at

dinner at Villa Hammerschmidt (ph). And afterwards he had a chatwith Germany's new foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel and they were talking poker

taxes comparing it to international diplomacy and those are the things of things that break the ice and set the stage for much deeper discussions

later on.

But this was very much an introductory round.

LU STOUT: Yeah, earlier on the hour we spoke to Nic Robertson in Munich and he was reporting on how European leaders and he was reporting how

European leaders are waiting to get some sort of assurance, because there are questions about the alliance right now.

So, your thoughts on the alliance between Europe and U.S. under Trump, especially what we

learned. Earlier this week, there's the new revelations about contact between Trump aides and Russia during the campaign.

SHUBERT: Well, I think that many people still have plenty of questions. And, of course, Tillerson himself is one of those close to Trump that have

his own personal connections to Russia. He was the CEO of Exxonmobil for many years and brokered quite a number of oil deals that did involve him

personally meeting with Vladimir Putin and his close aides.

But frankly nobody knows exactly what Secretary of State Tillerson will be like as in this sense as a diplomat, and so this is what many of the

foreign ministers are hoping to know.

In the meetings across the G20 there are a lot of broad ranging issues discussed including the alliance with many European nations, but they

haven't really been able to get into the hot button issue details such as what to do with looming Brexit in the EU, how to deal with

the situation in Syria, sanctions against Russia.

Well, they have been talked about very generally, they haven't really gotten to the nitty-gritty details. And that going to take a great deal

of talking at meetings like this before they get into that.

LU STOUT: Yeah, this is just the very first meeting after all. Atika Shubert, joining us live. Thank you.

Now, still to come right here on News Stream, taking advertising to a whole new level. We take you to Bangkok's world of sadvertizing where agencies

want to pull on the heart strings of viewers. It's the latest on the Made in Thailand series.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now, CNN is airing a unique series, it's called myhero. It's an opportunity for CNN correspondents and anchors to reflect on people who

have made a lasting impression on us. And today I want to take you back to my interview with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, he's one of the inspirational

entrepreneurs of our time, and whether it's protecting the planet or harnessing new ideas, he's a perfect example of someone who turns dreams

into reality.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE))

LU STOUT: Recently here in Hong Kong, I had the opportunity to interview the serial entrepreneur Elon Musk. And he is the tech titan behind a

number of innovative companies for example Tesla Motors, PayPal, Solar City, SpaceX. All of these companies he helped to found.

And with these companies, he has disrupted entire industries like energy, automotive, payments, et cetera. These are really tough industries to

break into as a startup.

ELON MUSK, ENTREPRENEUR: We recently passed our 100,000th car delivered.

LU STOUT: We all know his various companies, but what is his ultimate goal? OK, with Solar City, with Tesla Motors he is out to introduce a more

sustainable energy source. That is of course great for the planet.

MUSK: I mean, fundamentally we have a delayed gratification issue collectively as a species. Are we willing to sacrifice the near-term for

the long-term or not?

LU STOUT: But he also has another big goal in mind which was to get us to Mars. That's what he's doing with SpaceX. And the ultimate goal here is

to almost create a backup plan for humankind.

So if we mess up this planet or this place is no longer a place where we could live. We would be able to have a multi-platetary existence. So he

has his eyes on a much bigger prize.

Everyone want to find out from Elon Musk how they can become Elon Musk. And I posed that question to him. And he said, number one you have to

focus on your own goal, don't be sidetracked by what other people are doing. And secondly, he said, if you want to be an entrepreneur, if you

want to start your own venture, you have to have a high pain tolerance. He said starting your own company is

like swallowing shards of glass and staring out into the abyss.

This is something really, really tough.

Elon Musk is an inspiration because he's a dreamer of the dreams. He said he believes all of China could be powered by solar energy alone. All of

China. And yet what makes Elon Musk different is he doesn't have these crazy dreams alone, he is actually turning them into reality, and that's

what makes him such an inspiration.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: My salute to Elon Musk there. Now, Bangkok has become a hub for advertising agencies behind a motive and at times controversial

commercials, dubbed sadvertisements. They're reaching viewers across Asia on TV and social media.

Now, Saima Mohsin looks at what makes these ads so popular.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[08:40:19] SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You may have heard Thailand being called the land of smiles. But now millions

of viewers from YouTube to Cannes are being introduced to the wistful, even melancholy side of Thais. It's been dubbed "sadvertising."

This isn't a clip from a movie or a short film, but an advertisement for an insurance company called Thai Life. Characters in the ad are

quintessentially Thai, but values of selflessness and generosity speak to people around the world.

"Unsung Hero" went viral when it was released in 2014, and people continue to share it. The clip's now approaching 30 million views.

THANONCHAI SORNSRIWICHAI, DIRECTOR (through translator): In the past, in advertisements, they always used beautiful people. I personally disagreed

with that. I think if we want to sell things, we have to present reality.

MOHSIN (voice-over): Director Thanonchai Sornsriwichai is breaking the mold with cinematic and sensitive words, tugging on heartstrings, and connecting

a new generation of Bangkok creatives with audiences from Chinese social media to South Korean T.V.

SORNSRIWICHAI (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): I believe that if we understand our society, our viewers can see themselves in T.V. commercials. They would

feel that it is indeed, them.

MOHSIN (voice-over): In 2015, advertising companies made over $30 million in profit in Thailand, from online campaigns in Thailand alone.

Professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers believes that figure will triple by 2020.

Ogilvy and Mather's Bangkok corporation is the market leader. It was honored with nine Gold Lions, an advertising prize at Cannes last year.

Chairwoman Punnee Chaiyakul puts the success down to deep relationships with clients and a willingness to experiment on new platforms.

PUNNEE CHAIYAKUL, CHAIRMAN, OGILVY AND MATHER THAILAND: Then, I think speed and scale is very important contribution from the digital platform. Don't

forget digital is a technology that you get involved to the consumer, but what you need is idea.

MOHSIN (voice-over): Last year, Ogilvy in Thailand stirred controversy with a campaign on behalf of the animal rights organization, PETA.

Bangkok shoppers were introduced to leather products sourced from exotic animals with a gruesome surprise underneath. Like "Unsung Hero," the

advertisement was watched around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Some incredible creative work there. And that is News Stream.

I'm Kristie Lu Stout, but don't go anywhere. World Sport with Alex Thomas is next.

END