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NEWS STREAM

Cohen's Guilty Plea Has The White House Denying For Trump; The Changing Story Of The Hush Money; China And U.S. Impose More Tariff On Each Other; Malcolm Turnbull Holding Off Challenge In Leadership; ISIS Leader Resurfaces With An Audio Recording; Hawaii, Japan And South Korea On Target For Some Pretty Strong Storms; Sexual Assault Accuser Of Asia Argento Speaking Out; World Headlines; South Africa Land Reform; China Pushes Out Reporter; "Crazy Rich Asians." Aired 8-9a ET

Aired August 23, 2018 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00] KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and welcome to "News Stream."

On the defensive. The White House tries to manage the fallout from two major legal decisions of former Trump confidants.

The big tariff slap. Both Washington and Beijing escalate their trade war.

And breaking barriers and box office expectations. We speak with "Crazy Rich Asian" star Michelle Yeoh after a huge opening week.

And we begin in Washington with the White House is grappling with the fallout from Michael Cohen's guilty plea and how to move forward. In a Fox

News interview on Wednesday, President Donald Trump offered new and conflicting explanations about hush money payments made during the height

of his 2016 presidential campaign.

Mr. Trump falsely claims that those payments were not illegal because the money came from him, not the campaign. He also says he didn't know about

them until "later on." But could the claim by his former lawyer implicating the president in a federal crime be keeping him up at night?

Well, the lights were still on at the White House just after 1:00 a.m. Mr. Trump was tweeting at the time. His message is short and familiar, quote,

"No collusion. Rigged witch-hunt." CNN's Abby Phillip is live for us from the White House. And Abby, thank you for joining us.

We know that there is this interview. It's getting a lot of play this morning there in the United States. A pre-taped interview with Fox News. In

that interview, how is Donald Trump , and also how is the White House explaining these payments?

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, Kristie. President Trump seems to be changing his story about these payments yet again.

Remember, he started out by denying he knew anything about those payments in a conversation with reporters on Air Force One months ago.

But then after audio was released of the president discussing those payments with Michael Cohen during the campaign, the president's lawyers

acknowledged that was President Trump's voice. But then in that interview with Fox News that you just mentioned, President Trump had a different

story. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AINSLEY EARHARDT, FOX & FRIENDS SHOW HOST: Did you know about the payment?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Later on, I knew. Later on, but they didn't come out of campaign. In fact, my first question when I

heard about it was, did they come out of the campaign because that could be a little dicey, and they didn't come out of the campaign, and that's big.

But that's not -- it's not even a campaign violation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP: The two-step from President Trump there is that he didn't know about the payments even though he's heard on audio discussing them before

they were made, but also, that even if he did, they weren't campaign violations.

A lot of lawyers disagree with that and certainly the prosecutors in the Cohen case disagree. The plea deal with Michael Cohen in that plea deal, he

admits that he broke the law and that he broke the law at the direction of and in consultation with President Trump.

LU STOUT: And is President Trump in denial about the possible implications that could follow from all of this?

PHILLIP: It seems that President Trump is very much aware of the broader context here. There's a lot of talk right now about this one word,

impeachment. And here's his discussion of what he thinks that could mean for him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I don't know how you can impeach somebody who's done a great job. I'll tell what you. If I ever got impeached I think the market would crash.

I think everybody would be very poor, because without this thinking, you would see -- you would see numbers that you wouldn't believe, in reverse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP: Now, there's no discussion in there about what the potential consequences that the president could face for all of this legal trouble

surrounding him. He believes that the performance of the economy is going to rule the day on this, but ultimately, impeachment is a political

procedure here in the United States, and it requires that there are enough members of Congress willing to do it.

And Republicans are warning their voters this fall that if Democrats take over the House or the Senate or both, that impeachment could be the first

order of business. Meanwhile, Democrats actually are the ones who don't really want to talk about this right now. They think it's too soon.

But it just goes to show this is a big issue right now and President Trump seems to not connect his legal troubles to the prospect that it could

result in him facing some political consequences here in the United States.

[08:05:12] LU STOUT: Yes. It's a big deal for the president. Legal consequences, political consequences, perhaps, as well. Abby Phillip

reporting live for us from the White House. Thank you.

Now, let's take a quick look at U.S. President Trump's shifting story over these hush money payments. First, he denied knowing anything about them.

Now, here's what Mr. Trump told reporters onboard Air Force One back in April.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, did you know about the 130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels?

TRUMP: No, no.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why did Michael Cohen make that statement --

TRUMP: Well, you have to ask Michael Cohen. Michael's my attorney and you'll have to ask Michael Cohen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you know where he got the money to make that payment?

TRUMP: I don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: OK. You heard the president. You saw the transcript there. Then a month later the president's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, tells Fox News that

Mr. Trump repaid Cohen the money.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY GIULIANI, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S LAWYER: I was talking about the $130,000 payment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

GIULIANI: The settlement payment, which is a very regular thing for lawyers to do. The question there was, the only possible violation there

would be, was it a campaign finance violation, which usually results in a fine, by the way, not this big storm troopers coming in and breaking down

his apartment and breaking down his office.

That was money that was paid by -- by his lawyer, the way I would do out of his law firm funds or whatever funds, doesn't matter. The president

reimbursed that over a period of several months.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Then in July, that secret recording came out where a payment was discussed, but it's not clear whether Donald Trump is suggesting Cohen pay

or not.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

MICHAEL COHEN, FROMER TRUMP LAWYER: When it comes time for the financing which will be --

TRUMP: Wait a sec, what financing?

COHEN: We'll have to pay him something.

TRUMP: -- pay with cash.

COHEN: No, no, no. I got it.

TRUMP: -- check.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

LU STOUT: And that leads us to where we are now. President Trump telling Fox News he knew of the payments, but not, quote, "later on." Now, one of

the jurors in Paul Manafort's bank and tax fraud files says, and a lone holdout prevented them from convicting the former Trump campaign chairman

on all of the 18 counts he was charged with.

Paula Duncan tells Fox News that jurors agreed to disregard the testimony of Manafort's former right-hand man because, Rick Gates, because he took a

plea deal and said they were light on documents to reach eight guilty verdicts. When the president was asked about a pardon for Manafort, he

sidestepped the question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I have great respect for what he's done in terms of what he's gone through. You know, he worked for Ronald Reagan for years. He worked for Bob

Dole. He worked, I guess his firm worked for McCain. He worked for many, many people. Many, many years and I would say what he did, some of the

charges they threw against him, every consultant, every lobbyist in Washington probably does.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: The "New York Times" reports that the president and his attorney, Rudy Giuliani, have discussed the potential political

repercussions of pardoning Manafort. Giuliani claims that Mr. Trump is not considering it.

China is responding in kind to the latest round of U.S. tariffs. About eight hours ago, Washington's 25 percent tariffs on another $16 billion

worth of Chinese goods that kicked. Now, a minute later Beijing launched its tariffs on an equal number of American products. China and the U.S.

have now imposed tariffs of some $50 billion of each other's goods and it is not likely it's going to stop there.

Now, CNN's Steven Jiang is live for us from Beijing. We also have CNN Money's chief business correspondent, Christine Romans is in New York.

Hello to you both. Thank you for joining us. Christine, we'll start with you. Trump's latest round of China tariffs has kicked in already. Tell us

more about what they're targeting?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN MONEY CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's targeting a (inaudible) expanse of goods. Really, the things that are part

of China's 2025 initiative, which is, you know, to sort of corner the market on high technology manufacturing, artificial intelligence, robotics,

aerospace, self-driving cars.

So the things that the U.S. at the stroke of midnight, eastern time, put tariffs on motorcycles, semiconductors, some chemicals, railway equipment,

plastics. Things like that, $16 billion worth. You add that to the $34 billion that went into effect last month, we're up to 50, and there will be

more.

I mean, there are hearings right now, companies testifying to the U.S. Trade Commission in public hearings about what another $200 or so billion

will mean for their businesses. So, this is exactly what the administration has promised. That step by step they would be ramping up the pressure with

tariffs and it's exactly what they've done here.

LU STOUT: Yes. They promised to do it and they have. Let's go to Steven Jiang in Beijing. And Steven, China had threatened to respond in kind, and

it has. Tell us more about how Beijing is retaliating.

[08:10:06] STEVEN JIANG, CNN SERVICE PRODUCER: Well, Kristie, as you mentioned, China imposed its counter tariffs on American imports almost

immediately and dollar for dollar as they have long promised. The Commerce Ministry also issued a statement condemning the latest U.S. tariffs and

saying China's own action is not only to defend China's interest but also to defend free trade and a multilateral system.

So, really, with no end in sight, this trade war has been going on for a while, and tariffs are really piling up. So, the impact is already starting

to be felt here on the ground. I was talking to an American executive in charge of buying Chinese-made products for his U.S. clients. He says he is

now suffering even though his products are not directly hit.

He is suffering because of fast rising shipping costs as many Chinese manufacturers and their U.S. clients trying to rush products out.

Containers are full and shippers are jacking up prices. So, as these tariffs start to really widen in scope and scale, everybody's really

starting to feel the impact, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yes. And from seeing Beijing, let's take it back to Christine Romans in New York. And Christine, you heard him Steven just then say, no

end in sight. The tariffs are piling up. I mean, how will our American companies about this brewing trade war between the U.S. and China?

ROMANS: You know, it's fascinating, Kristie, because the president talks about tariffs as if they're a tax on foreign governments but they aren't. A

tariff is something that's paid by the importer, right? So those are American companies that are buying these goods, buying these raw materials,

buying these parts, buying these things to sell or to use in their businesses.

So, it's American companies who are saying they're starting to feel it. You know, you're talking about there's one manufacturer in South Carolina, an

assembler of televisions and components. Well, all of the things they import are now costing more and they can't pass on that cost to their

customers so they're going to have to lay people off.

So that's how you're starting to see the -- the people who have to pay the tariffs are very concerned about it and that's why they've sort of

broadened the length of time that companies can go to the government and say what it is that they're worried about in terms of tariffs.

But on the other hand, just yesterday, the commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, was in Kentucky where they've restarted an aluminum smelter and there will

be 300 American jobs, new American jobs there because the aluminum tariffs that the United States put on imported aluminum mean there will be more

domestic production of aluminum.

So, you can see the optics and the winners in aluminum and in Granite City, Illinois where 900 jobs came back because of a steel mill. That's exactly

the optics that the White House likes to focus on. But broader than that, you've got the fed and many others who are very concerned here that longer

term, you could slow growth in this country if you have a drawn-out trade war.

LU STOUT: Yes. A number of knock-on effects here but longer term and there will be pain and it will be felt. Christine Romans, reporting live from New

York, Steven Jiang, live for us in Beijing. A big thank you to you both.

Now, Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, he has thrown down the gauntlet to rivals within his party saying that he won't contest another

challenge to his leadership. The standoff tops a rather chaotic week which saw him narrowly win a leadership ballot against the Home Affairs Minister,

Peter Dutton, leading a right wing rebel faction of the liberal party. The vote was followed by the resignation of over a dozen of Turnbull's

ministers on Thursday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELIA CASH, AUSTRALIAN JOBS MINISTER: I, too, supported the prime minister in the ballot on Tuesday. I became aware yesterday that it was

very clear that the prime minister no longer, in my opinion, had the confidence of the party room.

MITCH FIFIELD, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS MINISTR: It has become apparent, is that a majority of highly ranked colleagues believed that there should

be a transition.

MATHIAS CORMANN, AUSTRALIAN FINANCE MINISTER: The reason we came to that view is because of the number of colleagues that came forward, who

supported Malcolm in the leadership ballot on Tuesday, who indicated to us they had changed their position.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Sky News Australia reporter Janine Perrett joins us now from Sydney. And Janine, the tide appears to be turning against the Australian

prime minister. What is the state of play right now?

JANINE PERRETT, REPORTER, SKY NEWS AUSTRALIA: Well, the state of play right now is that we have a government in absolute crisis. Malcolm Turnbull

is prime minister in name only. Today, he conceded he'd lost the support of half the party. Half his ministers have resigned. The contender for the

leadership, Peter Dutton, the Home Affairs Minister is calling for a leadership spill, but so far Malcolm Turnbull has resisted that.

He said he'll do it tomorrow at noon only if Peter Dutton gets 43 signatures, half the party, on a letter asking for it. At the moment he's

got about 40. Some people are reluctant to put their names to it but Malcolm Turnbull also added another spatter (ph) in the works when he said

that there was a question mark over Peter Dutton's eligibility to even be in parliament.

[08:15:004] He's run a foul (ph) of the notorious Section 44 of the Constitution over an obscure reference to whether a family trust he owns

has an interest in money from the Commonwealth. We are awaiting legal advice from the commonwealth, and we are waiting on a legal advice from the

Commonwealth solicitor general to fix that one as well.

Meanwhile, two other contenders have thrown their hat in the ring -- Foreign minister Julie Bishop and Treasurer Scott Morrison. Things got so

chaotic today that the government actually canceled the rest of the sitting day in the House of Representatives. It just wasn't clear who's running the

government.

LU STOUT: And this is why the prime minister's fate is so uncertain right now. And just widening the discussion a little bit, you know, we know that

Australia hasn't had a single prime minister complete a full term in the last 10 years. Why is there so much political dysfunction there?

PERRETT: Well, because each time they never learn from past mistakes, obviously. Look, the one at the moment is because the liberal party is

really splitting, what we're seeing around the world. And the conservatives feel that Malcolm Turnbull was not right wing enough. They want to bring

the party back to what they call the base, to the right.

Peter Dutton is running on campaign of cutting immigration, for example. They're against this. All blew up over emissions and climate change. No

wonder the communist people daily today referred to Peter Dutton as a semi- Trump for example. So, this current classes is because of the fracture in the liberal party.

But generally you can put it down to politicians just being too poll driven. The minute any prime minister becomes unpopular in the polls, the

other members of the government are worried they're going to lose their seats so they rush to find someone more popular that week.

LU STOUT: Janine Perrett, reporting. Thank you.

ISIS claims its leader is speaking out for the first time in nearly a year. What Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is reportedly telling his followers.

And bracing for bad weather, two typhoons have Korea and Japan in their sights as residents in Hawaii stock pile supplies ahead of Hurricane Lane.

We got the details, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: All right, coming to you live in Hong Kong. Welcome back. This is "News Stream." Now, we haven't heard from the leader of ISIS in nearly a

year, but the terror group has released what it says is new audio message from Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The man heard on the recording calls for lone

wolf attacks and admits that ISIS groups are losing.

Now, CNN cannot independently confirm the voice on the tape is in fact al- Baghdadi's. Now, for more of this, let's bring in CNN's Ben Wedeman. He joins us from Beirut. And Ben, again, ISIS claims that this is new audio

from its leader al-Baghdadi. How significant is this audio tape?

[08:20:09] BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, if it is indeed him, Kristie, it is significant. It's the first time we've

heard his voice since the 1st of September last year. Now, since then of course, I mean, it was last summer that ISIS lost control of Raqqah and

Syria. Mosul and Iraq.

And certainly the ISIS of today is just a mere shadow of what it was at the height of its power when it controlled an area about the size of Great

Britain. Now it's lost about 90 percent of that territory an controls remote pricks on the map, in the remotest isolated -- most isolated corners

of Iraq and Syria.

Now, this audio recording, which is about 55 minutes long, was entitled "Give Glad Tidings to the Patient." And certainly, he is encouraging his

followers of those he has left, to be patient saying that it's not victory. It doesn't depend upon taking control of this town or another. That this is

a test of God for their perseverance, and that they should keep on fighting.

Now, U.S. Department of Defense and U.N. officials say that there are still perhaps anywhere between 20 and 30 -- 20,000 and 31,000 fighters still

loyal to ISIS, but what we have seen really is essentially a collapse of their power. Now, there have been frequent rumors in recent months that

perhaps Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been killed, that maybe he's severely wounded.

But he does make reference in this 55-minute audiotape to recent tensions between the United States and Turkey. He also referred to attacks that took

place in Jordan 11 days ago. Now, he is also encouraging lone wolf attackers to use knives, bombs and bullets to attack people in western

countries. And of course, they did the Amaq news agency, which is one of the organs of ISIS, did claim responsibility for the attack in France today

that left two people dead.

But it does appear that they were rather hasty in making that claim of responsibility given that the individual who is believed to be behind this

attack was, we're told, mentally unwell, and he killed his mother and sister. So that particular claim is dubious and perhaps unrelated to this

purported statement from Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi today, or rather yesterday, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yes. That claim seems on the (inaudible) rather opportunistic. Ben Wedeman, reporting live for us. Thank you so much. Take care.

Now, let's take you to East Asia where two major weather systems are on a collision course with the continent. We know Japan is expecting hit from

Typhoon Cimaron on Thursday night. Typhoon Soulik is approaching the Korean Peninsula.

Meanwhile, in the U.S. state of Hawaii, residents have been stocking up on supplies as they brace for Hurricane Lane. Meteorologist Chad Myers joins

me now from the world weather center with more. And Chad, first let's talk about Soulik and Cimaron. How strong are these storms and where are they

tracking now?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Cimaron certainly the stronger storm hitting Japan right now. The storm Soulik is about an 85 kilometer per hour

storm and it is going to hit all of South Korea over the next few hours, making landfall not that far here across the islands here of South Korea.

The biggest problem with this is not really the wind. It's 110 kilometer per hour storm still but I don't think we're really going to see that type

of wind damage here but there will be flooding problems here with an awful lot of rainfall as it comes down. Moving quite quickly, all the way up

here, 48 hours almost to the north of Japan by then so, a quick mover now that it's getting caught up in the jet stream.

The real problem here is in Osaka Bay here with Cimarron. This is a major storm, not that far from Kochi right now, 150 kilometer per hour, but is

blowing all of this water into the bay here and these flooding areas could see that storm surge as it almost acts like a mitt, like a catcher's mitt

catching all of that water and piling up here into the back part of those bays. We'll watch for those reports as they come in.

The storm does move over to the island over Japan for today and by tomorrow, 100 kilometer per hour storm. So, losing some intensity, but back

there in the sea and we'll see most of Japan be in pretty good shape from this. Now, there will be very heavy rainfall, there will be wind damage for

sure. There will be power lines down, and maybe even a potential for a fatality or two because this is a it's a pretty strong storm.

There's Koji, there's Cimarron, Soulik and there you see all the rainfall even on Vladivostok and more storms here up into Sapporo by the time it

finally ends up turning to the right.

[08:25:04] And as you said, a major hurricane, Category 4, Hurricane Lane, approaching the U.S. Hawaiian Islands.

LU STOUT: Yes. Let's talk more about Hurricane Lane, the Category 4, heading towards Hawaii. We know that it's the center of the storm that is

the dangerous part. How close will the center get to islands?

MYERS: Probably not closer than 100 kilometers from any one island. This is going to turn to the north and it's going to turn to the west. And

that's exactly the shape of the Hawaiian Islands. But the problem with this, Kristie, is going to be the tremendous amounts of rainfall. Already

seeing 300 millimeters of rainfall in the past about 12 hours on the big island of Hawaii where the volcano is in fact still going on.

The lava going right into the water here, but notice how the storm gets right up toward Honolulu. A very big and important center here. Many, many

people here. Lots of development, big, tall high-rises. It will remind you of any big city, and then it turns to the left and away from there.

We hope that this turn happens because if it is doesn't, Oahu would certainly be in the mix, and certainly here is Kauai, another island that

got hit in 1992 by Hurricane Iniki and took a big smash. I was there looking at the damage in Poipu when that hurricane hit. It was an amazing

potentially damaging storm and it hit, direct hit. Let's hope that this is not a direct hit at all. A nice turn to left would be nice.

LU STOTU: Yes. Here's hoping for that turn to the left, and people there in Hawaii, they've dealt with so much. Imagine Kilauea and now this

Category 4 storm that is coming their direction. Chad Myers, reporting live for us. Thank you so much.

MYERS: You're welcome.

LU STOUT: Now, growing controversy for Asia Argento as this 2013 photo that appears to show the actress and key voice leader in the #MeToo

Movement, lying down with young actor Jimmy Bennett. This photo has emerged. Now, earlier this week, the "New York Times" reported that

Argento, who has accused Harvey Weinstein of rape, agreed to make payments to Bennett after he accused her of sexual assault. She says the allegations

are false.

In a statement to CNN, Bennett says in part, quote. "I was underage when the event took place and I tried to seek justice in a way that made sense

to me at the time." But he added that, "Today, I choose to move forward, no longer in silence." Now, we should note that Argento's attorney did not

respond to CNN's request for comments.

Now, up next right here in the program, South Africa is hitting back after Donald Trump tweets about the country's land reform policies, or what Fox

News says those policies are.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:03] LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching "News Stream" and these are your world headlines.

The White House is trying to distance itself from the president's former attorney, Michael Cohen. Under oath in a federal court, Cohen accused Mr.

Trump of directing him to pay off two women alleging extramarital affairs, and that he did it in violation of campaign finance laws.

The president tweeted, Michael Cohen had pleaded guilty to two counts of campaign finance violations that are not a crime. But, federal prosecutors

disagree with that as evidenced by their plea deal with Cohen.

China says it will continue counterattacking the Trump administration's latest round of tariffs which kicked in several hours ago. They affect 279

Chinese products for some $16 billion. China has said it responded immediately with 25 percent tariffs on an equal amount of American goods.

U.S. National Security adviser John Bolton is meeting with his Russian counterpart right now in Geneva. Bolton says he will bring up the issue of

election interference. The trip, one of several that Bolton will take in the next few weeks, is a follow-up to U.S. President Trump's meeting with

Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki.

Now, to South Africa, where a tweet from President Trump on the country's land reform policies has prompted the government to seek a response from

the U.S. Embassy. Among the many tweets he fired off on Wednesday came this one.

In it he says this, quote, I have asked Secretary of State Pompeo to closely study the South Africa land and farm seizures and expropriations

and the large scale killing of farmers.

South African government is now seizing land from white farmers, cited Tucker Carlson of Fox News. That, again, in response to a report that he

saw on Fox News.

Now, CNN's David McKenzie joins me now from Johannesburg with more on that. David, wow, the tweet was fired and South Africa has reacted quite angrily

in response.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. There has been a very quick response by the South African government some hours ago,

now saying ultimately that it was unfortunate that President Trump tweeted this and that this was in fact something that they totally reject and that

it divides the nation. Possibly worth doing a fact check on that original Fox News report.

No, farms are not being seized by the government right now. And no, farm murders while definitely an issue here in South Africa, aren't at historic

highs. This issue of a role, the issue of farm murders and farm attacks is a lightning rod for white nationalists around the world, and it is really

causing a storm here in South Africa, these Trump tweets.

LU STOUT: Yeah, a very divisive issue. Wondering if you could fact check one part of that Trump tweet. The comments that he made about the murder of

farmers of South Africa which he described as, quote, large scale killing. How off the mark is that?

MCKENZIE: Well, it's off the mark in terms of scale. It certainly is something that people talk about a lot in South Africa and are worried

about, but more it's in the context of the overall crime rates here in South Africa, where murder is a very big issue.

Even a farmer rights group there in their own studies have shown that the farm murders are down significantly from their high point some 20 years

ago. So while it is tragic whenever there's a murder in any country, it doesn't appear that those are any more significant or on a larger scale

than they had been in the past.

LU STOUT: David McKenzie reporting live from Johannesburg, thank you.

Now, BuzzFeed's bureau chief in China says she has been forced to leave the country. Authorities there are refusing to renew Megha Rajagopalan's visa.

And she tweeted this, quote, they say this is a process thing. We are not totally clear why. But China watchers think they do know why. They linked

the rejection to her reporting on the government's treatment of Uighur Muslims in the Xinjiang region where it has been accused of locking up

hundreds of thousands of the ethnic minority.

The Foreign Correspondents Club of China strongly condemned the move. It said the decision was regrettable and unacceptable for a government that

repeatedly insists it welcomes foreign media to cover the country.

You're watching "News Stream." Up next right here on the program, could a sequel to the smash hit movie "Crazy Rich Asians" already be in the works?

Well, just ahead, we'll speak with Michelle Yeoh who plays the stern matriarch in the movie about why this is such a watershed moment for film.

[08:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: It is Thursday night here in Hong Kong. Welcome back. You're watching "News Stream."

Now, at last, the film "Crazy Rich Asians" has arrived in Hong Kong. Cinemas here, they're booking up fast. A source tells CNN Warner Brothers

is already working on a sequel. It raked in $45 million in the U.S. box office its first week, exceeding expectations.

It stars Constance Wu as a college professor who travels to Singapore to meet her boyfriend's crazy family, but there is one major obstacle, his

mother, played by Michelle Yeoh.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mom, this is Rachel Chu.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She thinks you're some like unrefined banana.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a few fingers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yellow on the outside, white on the inside.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I chose to raise a family. For me, it was a privilege. But for you, you may think it's old-fashioned.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't you want Nick to be happy?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know you are not what Nick needs.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's like trying to play a game of chicken with me, thinking I'm going to swerve like a chicken.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But you can't swerve, you're going to roll off and be like --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bok-bok, bitch.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, maybe like not as aggressive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And Michelle Yeoh joins us now from Toronto. And Michelle, thank you so much for joining us and congratulations. I mean, "Crazy Rich Asians"

had such a strong opening weekend. You must have known that this movie was going to be a talker. But are you surprised by its commercial success?

MICHELLE YEOH, MALAYSIAN-CHINESE ACTRESS: Hi, Kristie. It's really nice to be talking to you from Toronto. Am I surprised? I am overwhelmed. I am

empowered. I feel very emotional. Nobody really knew how successful until the -- on Monday when we got the box office results. And that -- that -- at

that moment, we realized, yes, yes, thank god.

(LAUGHTER)

YEOH: Because there seemed to be so much riding on it. Our shoulders didn't seem broad enough to carry all that weight, just with one movie. But

it just came out to show that the audiences, this is what they've been waiting for. They have embraced the movie and all the characters are so

relatable.

I think after 10 minutes, you forget whether it's Asian -- it's equal. It's just great characters coming to life and taking you for a two-hour exotic

locations to Malaysia and Singapore.

LU STOUT: You've been described as having this regal presence in this movie. So I wanted to ask you, how did you prepare for your role as this

powerful and domineering matriarch?

YEOH: When I was first given the draft, and I spoke with Jon Chu, I said I'm not interested to play this Eleanor Young as the villain. I understand

you need an antagonist in the movie. But she represents so many beautiful, smart, young mothers that I know. And that is who I modeled, Eleanor Young.

I mean, she would jump in front of the bus for her son if she had to.

So there were many layers to Eleanor Young. And if they didn't have that very intense love between the mother and son, I think that would not have

given the balance. Because this young couple was so beautifully played by Henry and Constance Wu, that if you dint have this, it would not have been

as smooth sailing as what you see now.

LU STOUT: This film is a watershed moment for Asian-Americans in cinema. And this is an industry that you have working in since what? The early

'90s.

[08:40:03] I mean, do you feel that, yes, this is it, this is the moment, this is going to be the big step forward in the push towards diversity in

Hollywood?

YEOH: Yes. I've been in the industry long enough to have seen how many of us have tried to push forward to say we are equal to any of the Caucasian,

fabulous, rich (ph) stars that there are around, that we should be given equal opportunities to be able to tell our stories. And it's -- it's been a

great battle, you know?

So for me to be part of this is overwhelming. I think the last time I felt such love was "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."

LU STOUT: This film, it has inspired thousands of blog posts and think pieces, you know, about Asian and Asian-American talents, representation

and diversity including some posts out there about, you know, some saying "Crazy Rich Asians" is not Asian enough. What are your thoughts about that?

(LAUGHTER)

YEOH: You know, that's -- it's very interesting when someone -- I guess someone always has to make some kind of comments and what is Asian? And

what is Asian enough? Right? I mean, this one movie, "Crazy Rich Asians" is just -- how can I put it? An appetizer to a glorious feast that's ahead of

us.

LU STOUT: Yes.

YEOH: And it's just a peek, you know? It's not a representation of exactly how Asians should be. It's based on Kevin Kwan's -- they're not fictional

characters, because they're real characters, and I guess that's why they're so relatable.

And I think at the end of the day, it should transcend, you know, whether it's Asian or Caucasian. Let's just tell beautiful stories.

LU STOUT: Got you. Michelle Yeoh, congratulations on your performance in "Crazy Rich Asians" and thank you so much for joining us.

YEOH: Thank you.

LU STOUT: And that is "News Stream." I'm Kristie Lu Stout. But don't go anywhere. "World Sport" with Amanda Davies is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:45:00] (WORLD SPORT)

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