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U.S.- China Talks Continue, But Global Economic Fears Grow; U.S. Announces The Seizure Of A North Korean Cargo Ship Just One Day After A Missile Launch; Uyghur Muslims In Kazakhstan; Some Say They Were Detained And Tortured In China. Aired: 8-9a ET

Aired May 10, 2019 - 08:00   ET

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


KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, NEWS STREAM (voice over): Time ran out and tariffs went up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Its high stakes poker, but that's the way President Trump likes to play it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT (voice over): Talks continue, but global economic fears grow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One risk is actually this U.S.-China trade war, turning into a global trade war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT (voice over): The tension rises.

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DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Nobody is happy about it and I don't think they're ready to negotiate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT (voice over): The U.S. announces the seizure of a North Korean cargo ship just one day after a missile launch.

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PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Maximum pressure is still in place.

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LU STOUT (voice over): And taken in silence.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The state isn't helping us, I'm living in fear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT (voice over): Our Matt Rivers speaks with Uyghur Muslims in Kazakhstan. Some who say they were detained and tortured in China.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They think that we, CNN, can get their relatives out in the camps, as if it's that simple.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT (on camera): I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and welcome to NEWS STREAM. The international community is in a nail-biting wait to see

what will be the fallout from the U.S. President's foreign policy decisions, as he places risky bets in a series of simmering crisis around

the world.

The financial markets are bracing as Donald Trump's latest tariff increase on billions of dollars of Chinese goods takes effect.

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TRUMP: I have no idea what's going to happen. They took many, many parts of that deal and they renegotiated it, you can't do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: And the United States tells North Korea that the door is still open for dialogue even after the regime defiantly launches new missile

tests.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We'll see what happens. I know they want to negotiate. They're talking about the negotiating, but I don't think they're ready to

negotiate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Plus an American Carrier Strike Group has reached the Red Sea deployed in response to what the U.S. says were credible threats from Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We have one of the most powerful ships in the world that's loaded up and we don't want to have to do anything. What I'd like to see with

Iran, I'd like to see them call me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Okay, we have a lot to get through. Let's start with the U.S.- China trade war. We've got Christine Romans standing by in New York. Christine, welcome back. Now that the tariffs have increased, what does

this mean for the trade war, for the ongoing talks in the world's two largest economies?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: These are such crucial moments and crucial days here and you have a President of the

United States who really is determined to use tariffs as a tool here. And he seems to be almost laying the groundwork for a breakdown of these talks,

and even more tariffs going forward.

So you've got the $200 billion in tariffs at midnight, U.S. time that went into effect, you know, ships that are already in the ocean, it won't affect

them. It will be new shipments that come in now. But seriously, the next few days, you're going to have higher costs probably for importers and

American consumers.

And then the President said that he's begun the paperwork on $325 billion more of Chinese goods coming into this country at 25 percent tariff there.

So you're talking about tariffs on absolutely everything the U.S. buys from China, and then the President this morning, tweeting up a storm about

trade, really doubling down about how tariffs are good. They put the United States in a position of power, and that he intends to keep the

tariffs going.

"Tariffs will bring in far more wealth to our country than even a phenomenal deal of the traditional kind, also much easier and quicker to

do. Our farmers will do better, faster, and starving nations can now be helped. Waivers on some products will be granted or go to a new source."

It goes on and on this stream of consciousness. He actually deleted one tweet that was about using the money that comes in from tariffs to buy

American soybeans and then give them away free to other countries, and then he deleted that. So I'm not sure if that's a policy or the President

talking off the top of his head. But clearly, he is determined -- the President who has called himself tariff man that this is going to be his

tool.

Now in less than an hour, the Chinese delegation and the U.S. leaders are going to meet again, the trade leaders are going to meet in Washington.

But at this point, more and more trade watchers are thinking there will not be a resolution here. And they think -- I mean, the word from Washington

is this might have to come down to the President of the United States, Donald Trump and the President of China, Xi Jinping working this out man-

to-man.

LU STOUT: Higher tariffs in effect, no resolution in sight unless we get this mano-a-mano summit between Xi and Trump. That's the word from DC.

Christine Romans, live from New York. Thank you.

Now let's get some reaction from the Chinese side. Matt Rivers reports in the port city of Tianjin.

RIVERS: Well, Kristie, nothing official yet from Beijing in terms of exactly how they plan to retaliate after this latest move from the Trump

administration, but rest assured they will be retaliating.

[08:05:07] RIVERS: Now what will that retaliation look like? Well, there's a wide range of things that the Chinese government has at its

disposal here. I think you can start with what you will likely see as higher tariff rates on the kinds of goods that are brought in to ports like

this one behind me here in Tianjin.

Most American imports are already facing steep tariffs due to this trade war, but China could easily hike those rates, much like we saw the United

States just do bringing those tariff rates from 10 percent to 25 percent.

The other thing they could do could be things like market access. Let's say you're an American pharmaceutical company, you want to license a new

drug or a new product here in China, well, maybe Beijing doesn't allow you to do that. That hurts the company's bottom line.

And then there's the more informal things like say you're a U.S. agricultural exporter, and you're sending over a perishable good of some

kind, some sort of food product. Well, maybe it sits on the dock here for longer than it should because Customs inspections just took a little longer

this month.

There's a lot of things that China can do, but rest assured they will be doing them. The question is how long does it go on for? What kind of an

effect does it have on the American economy? But China is not going to sit back and take this latest action from the Trump administration lying down -

- Kristie.

LU STOUT: Matt Rivers reporting from Tianjin. Thank you. Now, meanwhile, Washington is waging its maximum pressure campaign on Pyongyang, seizing a

North Korean cargo ship. It alleges that the vessel is in violation of sanctions.

Now this seizure comes after Pyongyang's defiant missile testing this week.

Paula Hancocks joins us now live from Seoul, and Paula, what has been the reaction to the U.S. seizing this North Korean cargo ship?

HANCOCKS: Well, Kristie, what we've been hearing from the Justice Department itself is that the timing of this was coincidental. Bearing in

mind, this announcement came just hours after North Korea fired what appears to be two short-range missiles.

So there's really been an awful lot happening over recent days. So this, according to the Justice Department is the first of its kind, the first

time that they've seized this kind of cargo ship. We know that there have been other ships out at sea, which have been accused of busting sanctions.

But this is really the first time the U.S. has been involved to this extent. It was in April of last year that the Indonesians first seized

this ship, the U.S. then issued or looked for a warrant to be able to seize the ship. And they said that it's just an example of the maximum pressure

that despite everything else that's happening, it is really a reminder of just what heavy sanctions North Korea has against it at this point.

And even while you're seeing those missile launches, and you're seeing the U.S. and South Korea downplaying those missile launches to some extent,

you're still seeing a reminder that the U.S. and many other countries are still trying to implement these sanctions -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yes, the timing, as you say, of the seizure of this North Korean cargo ship may be coincidental, but certainly adding to the simmering

tension this week on the Korean peninsula. Paula Hancock's reporting live. Paula, thank you.

U.S. Maritime Authority say that Iran and its regional proxies could be targeting American military commercial vessels in the Red Sea, including

oil tankers.

A defense official says the USS Abraham Lincoln is now in a position to defend American forces in the area. Our senior international

correspondent, Ben Wedeman Whitman joins us alive from Beirut. And Ben, you know, is this a defense maneuver? Why is this US Navy Strike Group

there?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, supposedly because the United States has received Intelligence that would indicate

that Iranian forces and allies in the region may be preparing to take retaliatory measures against the United States as a result of increasing

sanctions.

But what is interesting is that according to the Israeli media, the Intelligence was passed by the Israeli Head of National Security to his

American counterpart, John Bolton.

So the basic Intelligence that sparked this announcement about a deployment of an aircraft carrier that was actually scheduled to come to the region

anyway, came not from U.S. Intelligence, but from Israel itself.

This has raised all sorts of questions certainly in the region, about whether this is real intelligence, or this is simply self-serving

intelligence being provided by the Israelis to the Americans well known that for instance, John Bolton is long been a friend and admirer of

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, who has long been a proponent for U.S. action against Israel as a result of Iran's nuclear

program.

In addition to that, there are concerns that this could all be leading to a war. In fact, on my way to the CNN Bureau in Beirut today, several people

ask me, "Is it coming? Are we having another one?" There is a definite sense of deja vu that pieces are being put in place, much along the same

lines as we saw in 2002-2003 leading to the catastrophic American invasion of Iraq -- Kristie.

[08:10:18] LU STOUT: The tension is certainly on the rise between U.S. and Iran. Ben Wedeman reporting live from Beirut, thank you.

Now from Iran to North Korea, China to Venezuela, the Trump administration is facing some major foreign policy challenges on a number of fronts, and

joining us now is former U.S. Ambassador Nicolas Burns. He now teaches at the Harvard Kennedy School, and Ambassador Nick Burns, thank you so much

for joining us.

NICOLAS BURNS, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR: Thank you.

LU STOUT: President Trump, he is facing a number of foreign policy challenges right now. And on the China trade war, he says, "We'll see."

On North Korea's latest missile tests. He says again, "We'll see." Does the U.S. President, does his administration, does his staff -- do they know

what's going to happen next?

BURNS: Well, I think it's a time of testing because there are these multiple crises. The one that's most important to the President today is

the China trade war, because the President is passionate about trade imbalances.

He has been out on Twitter this morning, making all sorts of statements defending the fact that he has put these additional tariffs on. He said

that those tariffs payments by China will go directly to the U.S. Treasury. Of course, that's not true. They'll actually be borne by American

importers and American consumers.

But I think he is serious about this, and his tough minded policy does have, Kristie, a lot of support here in the United States. The business

community of the United States very strongly in support of action against China's predatory trade practices. So I'd be surprised if the Trump

administration blinked.

LU STOUT: The trade war is front and center today, you have the ongoing trade talks, and at least the two sides are still talking today in

Washington, DC.

But Ambassador, when you look at what's simmering in you know, not just with China, but Venezuela, North Korea, and especially Iran. Is there a

flashpoint that worries you the most right now?

BURNS: I think right now, it would be Iran, because the administration has made very clear over the last several days, that if there is any kind of an

attack on American facilities, American military vessels, or American citizens by Iran or its proxies, that was the statement made by Secretary

of State Mike Pompeo, there would be he said, consequences.

And so I think the Iranians need to understand that the Trump administration is ready to defend itself if necessary. I don't -- I'm not

predicting a conflict, but I think certainly tensions are far above what they are normally. And of course, you've seen the deployment of the USS

Abraham Lincoln, and it is a support vessel to the Gulf.

LU STOUT: That's right. The US Strike Group is already there in the region. Fresh sanctions have been slapped on Iran. Tensions are very high

right now with Iran. So what's the off ramp here? How can we deescalate the tension in regards to Iran in a way that President Trump would actually

accept and carry out?

BURNS: Well, there are two issues pertaining to Iran, Kristie. The first, of course, is Iranian provocations in Yemen, in the Gulf, in Syria, in

Iraq, in Lebanon, and in Gaza. That's a lot of places. But the Iranians have been troublemakers for a long time, and I think that's where the point

of friction is right now with the Trump administration.

The second, of course, is the Iran nuclear deal, where the administration has put secondary sanctions or threatened secondary sanctions against

companies from any of the countries that are trading with Iran.

And of course, you saw the statement by President Rouhani of Iran this week, essentially giving the Europeans about 60 days to decide whether

they're going to stay in the deal or not. This deal appears to be falling apart, that could lead to attempts by the Iranians to reconstitute elements

of their nuclear program and that further then would stoke up, it would heighten the friction with both Israel and the United States.

So I think Iran is the central crisis right now. North Korea is worrisome, but not at a point of crisis.

LU STOUT: And your thoughts on the long term effect of the way the Trump administration handles these foreign policy challenges like Iran, like

North Korea? You know, how does this affect ongoing relationships between the United States and its allies, as well as that of adversaries well after

this presidency?

BURNS: Well, that's right, and I think on North Korea, the administration's policy clearly hasn't worked. And so the administration

needs to go back to trying to get China and Russia as well as South Korea and Japan on the same sheet of music with the United States further

sanctions. That's going to be extremely difficult to get the attention of Kim Jong-un.

I think the consequences are more serious on Iran, because the administration has essentially picked a fight with France, Germany, and the

United Kingdom, as well, Russia and China, the other countries that negotiated the Iran nuclear deal back in 2015. And I think the consequence

here is the administration is not building alliances and coalitions that can support it. A lot of these moves by the Trump administration are

unilateral, not likely to succeed unless you build these coalition's and it's not apparent to me that they're doing that right now.

[08:15:19] LU STOUT: Yet the moves by the Trump administration are unilateral and highly unpredictable. You know, your thoughts on the level

of danger right now, because right now under President Trump, and when it's almost impossible to predict his next move, to predict American foreign

policy, does that lead to more extreme global instability?

BURNS: I think it makes it more difficult for other governments -- adversarial governments -- like the North Koreans, for instance, to read

the President and understand him. There may be an advantage to the United States in that.

I think the more worrisome sign here is that there have been many instances in the last week where the President's Secretary of State Mike Pompeo or

John Bolton, the National Security adviser have taken a tough line on Venezuela, accusing the Russians of meddling, and then the President gives

President Putin a break saying he is not meddling at all in Venezuela.

So there's an inconsistency at the very top of the American government, between the President on the one hand and his advisers on the other, that's

not effective, that you can get into trouble and you can miscommunicate with the rest of the world if you don't speak with one voice from

Washington. And there isn't one voice speaking from Washington on these issues.

LU STOUT: Now this is foreign policy turbulence in the Trump era. Ambassador Burns, thank you so much for joining us. We thank you for your

insight.

BURNS: Thank you so much.

LU STOUT: Take care. You're watching NEWS STREAM. And still to come right here in the program, Facebook is facing this call to be broken up by

a man who helped get the company off the ground, one of its cofounders.

Also ahead, the desperate search for missing family members. CNN speaks to Chinese Muslims searching for loved ones believed to be detained by the

state.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong. Welcome back. This is NEWS STREAM. Now, the United Nations is calling it a step in the right

direction. A Nigerian militia has released nearly 900 children who were recruited to help fight Boko Haram insurgents.

Stephanie Busari is in Lagos. She joins us now with the story. And Stephanie, you know, no matter what they were hired to do, these were 900

children who were abducted, they're now free. Can you tell us more about what led to their release?

STEPHANIE BUSARI, CNN PRODUCER: Yes, Kristie, details are still emerging on this story. But what we do know is that 894 children, 106 of them

girls, and some of them aged as young as nine years old were released today by this local vigilante group known as the Civilian Joint Task Force.

So it appears that this task force has been working with UNICEF. They signed an agreement last year to end the use of children in fighting.

So just to give you a bit of background about this task force, this vigilante group, they fight -- they are anti-Boko Haram. They fight with

the Nigerian Army to help in this 10-year war that has been waging in the northeast of Nigeria.

But unfortunately, children were being used in that fighting and UNICEF has been working quietly with them in the background and today, we see a result

of that agreement that was signed last year and 900 children freed and which is obviously a very welcome step in the right direction as you say --

Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yes, very welcome -- welcome development, but close to 900 children now free. He is hoping that they have the support needed to

rehabilitate, to restore their lives to be returned to their families. Stephanie Busari, we thank you so much for your reporting. Take care.

The Foreign Minister of France is praising two of its country's soldiers killed during a hostage rescue in Burkina Faso. Two Frenchmen, an American

and a South Korean are now free. The hostages were kidnapped earlier this month from neighboring Benin. A guide was killed during that attack. The

kidnappers' identities have not been released.

[08:20:11] LU STOUT: Facebook is responding to a bombshell announcement, an op-ed that was written by one of its co-founders.

Chris Hughes called for the company to be broken up in a "New York Times" op-ed. He said Facebook has become a powerful monopoly and CEO, Mark

Zuckerberg has unchecked power.

In response, the company says it is completely okay with more accountability. But Facebook says that can only be achieved by creating

new rules for the internet, not by breaking up companies.

Now for more on this, our technology reporter, Brian Fung joins us now from Washington.

Brian, thank you so much for joining us. After this very high profile and critical op-ed, Facebook is pushing back. Tell us more.

BRIAN FUNG, CNN TECH REPORTER: Yes, so Facebook is kind of engaging in an extraordinary pushback against Chris Hughes, the co-founder of Facebook.

You know, "Facebook has said, it accepts that with success comes accountability. But you don't enforce accountability by calling for the

breakup of a successful American company. Accountability of tech companies can only be achieved through the painstaking introduction of new rules for

the internet."

Now, this is obviously coming at a very sensitive time for Facebook, as we're awaiting a landmark settlement between Facebook and the Federal Trade

Commission which has been investigating Facebook for its privacy practices over the past few years.

LU STOUT: And Brian, I want to get your thoughts on the likelihood that Facebook could ever be broken up? I mean, the United States may have a

history of breaking up monopolies like Standard Oil, but that hasn't happened in a long time.

FUNG: Absolutely. You know, this is a big question for antitrust experts. You know, most of them who I talked to say, you know, if Facebook

were to be broken up, that would have to be the subject of a separate antitrust proceeding, and likely wouldn't be handled by any settlement

between the FTC and Facebook on this investigation, which is strictly limited to privacy issues.

LU STOUT: And when Facebook responds to this call by Hughes to break up, by saying we can be accountable by enforcing accountability ourselves. I

mean, really? Can Facebook do that?

FUNG: Well, one of the things that Facebook has been pushing in recent months is that it is very committed to the European style of privacy

regulation.

As you may know, Europe last year implemented new privacy rules known as GDPR, and Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook has said he is committed to

that style of regulation in other parts of the world.

So we may see Facebook pushing for that, you know, in Congress, as lawmakers take up the possibility of Federal privacy legislation.

LU STOUT: All right, Brian Fung reporting live from Washington for us. Brian, thank you. And while the company is facing that kind of scrutiny at

home, it is also under pressure to crackdown on hate speech abroad.

In less than an hour from now, Mark Zuckerberg is set to meet with the French President, Emmanuel Macron in Paris. This comes ahead of a Tech

Summit in France to discuss how to end extremist activity on social media in the wake of recent terrorist attacks.

Now correspondent, Melissa Bell is standing by just outside the Presidential Palace in Paris. She is joining us live with more on that

meeting. And Melissa, what should we expect?

MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: Well, this time last year, Mark Zuckerberg was here in Paris for another meeting with the French President,

here at Elysee Palace, Kristie, and back then, it had all been about how large tech companies like Facebook and Google could be being made better to

pay their taxes in Europe, better to avoid paying them rather. And also the question of data protection since Europe was bringing in these new

measures and regulations to protect individual data.

That has changed. What the French government is now looking at is how internet companies, how large tech companies like Facebook can be

encouraged, forced to audit their content to ensure that hateful speech is kept to a minimum.

Now the French government says that as the press has reported to how this might be done says it is not about ensuring that companies like Facebook

are held responsible for every single item, every single article that falls under the category of hateful speech, but rather, putting in place a system

that would give governments like the French government the power to audit and then to find companies that hadn't put in place a system that allowed

them to keep track of their content.

This, of course, is something the French government has been looking to over the course of the last few months. And that's been given added

weight, of course, Kristie in the wake of the terrible tragedy in Christchurch when the massacre was livestreamed and we saw the

controversies that emerge there.

So in less than an hour, Mark Zuckerberg will be meeting with a French President to discuss this plan. It has yet to go through the French

Parliament, but bear in mind that the French President has a large majority there.

[08:25:07] BELL: For the time being though, Facebook has welcomed it, saying that the report was thoughtful and sophisticated, and might well

provide a way for balancing a system that was at once effective and workable -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: And after today's meeting with Mark Zuckerberg, we know that Emmanuel Macron next week will be meeting with Jacinda Ardern, the leader

of New Zealand to talk about ways to manage and to end the spread of online extremism. Why is this a policy priority for the French President?

BELL: Well, this is something that the French President has been leading the way on for some time since he became President of France. He took on

the question of fake news long before any other elected leader had, saying that more needed to be done to prevent foreign entities from interfering in

elections.

And in particular, news using the internet and its sort of free for all at status to get messages that were simply untrue across, and France has been

looking to legislate on that. It's also been looking to legislate on the question of how to better protect people's data.

This is something that Emmanuel Macron has always felt very strongly about. And of course, now that that focus has shifted to the question of hateful

content, what the French have done is sent 10 officials who've been visiting Facebook offices throughout Europe to look at how Facebook in

particular monitor hateful speech and what could be done to try and force companies better to take it seriously to create a sort of duty of care that

the French believe simply hasn't existed until now.

LU STOUT: Melissa Bell live from Paris ahead of a very critical meeting. Melissa, thank you.

You're watching NEWS STREAM. Still to come, Chinese Muslims searching for loved ones believed to be detained by the state.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RIVERS: How many of these people have relatives that are being held by China and unable to leave for at least six months?

How about for a year?

That's everybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong, you're watching NEWS STREAM and these are your world headlines. South Africa's ruling party looks set

to hold on to power after this week's general election. With more than three quarters of the votes counted, the ANC has a substantial lead. The

main opposition party claims that there has been some voter fraud as it is asking for a full audit of the vote.

The United States is telling North Korea that the door is still open for dialogues despite Pyongyang's defiant missile testing this week. Analysts

say the tests are a sign of Kim Jong-un's growing frustration with the failed Summit in Hanoi.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has seized a North Korean cargo ship accusing it of sanctions violations.

Now, the U.S. has escalated its trade war with China by more than doubling tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. President Donald Trump has

said if China doesn't give the U.S. what it wants, he will slap 25 percent tariffs on a wide range of other imports that so far have not been taxed,

including a huge swathes of consumer goods.

And staying with China, a CNN investigation into what could be among the biggest human rights violations in the world led us to Almaty, Kazakhstan.

In this predominantly Muslim country, many share a similar story of being held in detention camps in neighboring China. Some claim that they were

tortured there. China denies it.

CNN's Matt Rivers spoke with some of the desperate families.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RIVERS (voice over): A tiny room in Almaty, Kazakhstan packed wall-to-wall with desperate people. They all have one thing in common.

RIVERS (on camera): So can you ask how many of these people have relatives that are being held by China and unable to leave for at least six months?

How about for a year? That's everybody.

RIVERS (voice over): This woman says she has not seen her daughter in a year and a half. This eight-year-old says she wants to tell her parents

she misses them.

Everyone here has family members they say are being held in detention camps not in Kazakhstan, but in a country that sits on its eastern border, China.

Kazakhs who are mostly Muslim have traveled back and forth across that border for decades. Some even live in China and are Chinese citizens. So

that's why so many Kazakhs been caught up in what critics say is China's ongoing crackdown on Islam.

Over the past few years in the Western Chinese region of Xinjiang, the U.S. government says up to two million people, nearly all Muslim have been

placed in detention camps.

CNN got a rare look at some of these camps on a recent trip to Xinjiang. Inside, detainees have said torture and political indoctrination is

routine.

Critics say the camps are part of Beijing's attempt to eliminate Islam in China. But to speak to those who've been inside, you have to leave

Xinjiang and Almaty, Kazakhstan is the best place to go.

Just 200 miles from the Chinese border, Almaty is home to many ex-detainees like Kairat Samarhan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAIRAT SAMARHAN, CHINA EX-DETAINEE (through translator): Now I hate China so much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIVERS: Samarhan is a Kazakhstan citizen but grew up in Xinjiang. On a trip to China in 2017, he says he was detained and put in a camp where he

was often forced to stand for 12 hours at a time, hands and feet shackled, chanting, "Long live Xi Jinping, China's President," he says he even tried

to commit suicide. After four months he was let out and allowed to return to Almaty. China's Foreign Affairs Ministry told us they are unaware of

his case.

Samarhan says his own government in Kazakhstan wants him quiet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAMARHAN (through translator): The state isn't helping us, it's trying to silence us because we are so in discord between both countries. I'm living

in fear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIVERS (voice over): The Chinese government denies allegations of political indoctrination and torture. They call the camps quote,

"vocational training centers" designed not to eliminate Islam, but Islamic extremism. But we found a former camp employee who says that is a lie.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAYRAGUL SAUYTBAY, EX-CAMP EMPLOYEE (through translator): It's not true at all because I saw it with my own eyes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIVERS (voice over): Sayragul Sauytbay says she taught the Chinese language to camp detainees in 2017, forced to work there by Chinese

authorities. She eventually fled and has since accused the Chinese government of torturing camp detainees, something China denies.

She is now applying for political asylum in Kazakhstan, but as a Chinese citizen she fears she could be deported.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAUYTBAY (through translator): One day someone knocked on the door and that person told my son that China is going to your mother back soon. You

will be orphans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIVERS (voice over): And yet Kazakhstan's government, in charge of a predominantly Muslim country has not publicly condemned Beijing nor called

for the camps to close. And some say that's because of money.

RIVERS (on camera): So China actually built all of this highway that we're driving on right now. It's part of the billions and billions of dollars

they've invested in Kazakhstan through their Belt and Road Initiative.

RIVERS (voice over): China is one of Kazakhstan's largest trading partners and critics say Kazakhstan's government can't afford to criticize Beijing.

We asked the Kazakhstan government if China had bought its silence on the issue of detention camps. They didn't reply.

But no matter the answer, people like these back at the tiny charity in Almaty have no confidence that the Kazakh government will convince China to

release their relatives from the camps. So, they turn to others.

RIVERS (on camera): So it's kind of heartbreaking because what these people just said is that they think that we, CNN, can get their relatives

out of the camps. As if it's that simple.

[08:35:10] RIVERS (voice over): And now, even the small charity that helps them has become a target. Just hours after we shot this video, Serikzhan

Bilash, the group's founder was arrested by Kazakh police and charged with inciting ethnic hatred. He remains in prison.

The tape on the newly locked office doors says quote, "Closed by order of police." Matt Rivers, CNN, Almaty, Kazakhstan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And that was just one of three exclusive reports from Matt Rivers on Xinjiang. You can see all of Matt's reporting on our website,

just go to cnn.com.

One month after a state of the art military jet plunged into the Pacific Ocean, Japanese investigators are still trying to figure out what happened.

The F-35A stealth fighter was on a training mission when it disappeared from radar. Ivan Watson reports on what we know so far.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A search at sea, aircraft and ships scouring waters off the coast of Japan looking

for a missing stealth fighter jet. The Japanese F-35A Joint Strike Fighter disappeared a month ago during what was supposed to be a routine training

mission.

The highly experienced Japanese pilot signaled plans to abort minutes into his flight and then disappeared from radar.

Initially only a few pieces the plane's tailfin were found, but nothing else. Japan quickly turned to its closest ally for help.

WATSON (on camera): This is the USS Blue Ridge. It is the flagship for the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet, which is normally headquartered in Japan.

The fleet says for eight days it deployed a guided missile destroyer and Poseidon aircraft to help search for the missing Japanese jet.

WATSON (voice over): The F-35 is the world's most expensive weapons system. It's supposed to represent the next generation in military

aviation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPTAIN STEVEN CECIL, F-35 PILOT: This plane is designed to go to war so what it has is stealth technology, where it's if I'm going to go to war, it

is a huge advantage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON (voice over): The disappearance of the F-35 on April 9th prompted Japan to scramble to ensure the missing plane doesn't end up in the hands

of rivals like China and Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAKESHI IWAYA, JAPANESE DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): The F-35 is an extraordinary aircraft containing a great deal of confidential

information that must be kept secret.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON (voice over); Japan has grounded its 12 F-35s, while U.S. officials insist their fleet of hundreds of F-35s are still airworthy.

In fact, American F-35s carried out airstrikes in Iraq just weeks ago. But the search for the missing Japanese stealth fighter and its pilot

continues.

This week the Japanese government announced it recovered part of the jet's flight data recorder, but it was so damaged that the cause of the expensive

stealth fighter crash is still a mystery. Ivan Watson, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: You're watching NEWS STREAM and coming up, holding on to the past while adopting the present. We will show you what happens when an

ancient culture meets urban expansion.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: We've made it to Friday people. Welcome back. This is NEWS STREAM. Now for centuries, India's Soliga tribe has lived in a forest

nestled in the southern part of the country. But in recent years, urban development has expanded into their secret grounds.

And in today's "Iconic India," we explore how this tribe adapts and thrives without losing their traditions and culture.

[08:40:02]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Adorned in leaves from the forest, the Soliga tribe of India perform a 2000-year-old ceremony. This is a dance

that reinforces the tribe's deep connection with nature and their deity, Gorukana, god of the forest.

ACHUGEGOWDA, SOLIGA TRIBE ELDER (through translator): For the Soliga tribes, the forest is their father and the mother. It is the God that we

worship.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): For centuries, Achugegowda's ancestors lived off the land. But when their hunting grounds were turned into

wildlife parks, they lost their livelihoods.

Today, they manage to survive by selling products from the forest, from spices to crafting, honey making, to coffee farming.

ARSHIYA BOSE, FOUNDER, BLACK BAZA COFFEE CO.: So this Achugegowda's coffee plantation. There's some stories to suggest that he might be one of the

first Soliga people in this region to actually start cultivating coffee.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Arshiya Bose has been buying coffee from our Achugegowda and other Soliga tribe members for four years.

India is the seventh largest producer of coffee in the world, with Karnataka producing the majority, this is coffee country.

BOSE: In the Biligirirangan Hills, the elevation, the sort of the fact that we are on a slope, as well as the soil type is really good for the

cultivation of coffee. We find the flavor of coffee to be really, really sort of full -- full flavor and quite fruity and quite peppery. It's quite

earthy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Working directly with buyers and cutting out the middleman, the farmers here are empowered, but there is another

effort that seeks to support the whole tribe.

HANUMAPPA SUDARSHAN, FOUNDER, GORUKANA ECO WELLNESS RETREAT: Gorukana is a song which tribals sing, "Goru, goru, goruko, Gorukana," the spider weaves

its web. So the whole life is like a web. And we thought we keep that name and also do it as part of that web, ecotourism is also part of that

web.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): Employing around 25 tribe members, the Gorukana Eco Wellness Retreat is more than just a tourist attraction.

All proceeds from the retreat are invested into the community, supporting the local school and hospital, providing a lifeline for the Soliga people

for years to come.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And finally, here is something you don't see every day -- a little black bear in the DMZ. The endangered Asiatic cub was roaming

around the heavily armed strip of land between the Koreas when an ecological study camera sensed its movement and snapped a picture.

The furry visitor appears to between eight to nine months old and weighs between 25 and 35 kilos and because it's a young carb, authorities believe

its parents are also likely to be in the area as well. So watch out for mama bear.

That is NEWS STREAM, I'm Kristie Lu Stout, don't go anywhere, "World Sport" with Alex Thomas is next.

(SPORTS)

[09:00:00]

END