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Biden Names Ron Klain White House Chief of Staff; Biden Contacting World Leaders Despite Trump Obstacles; Georgia to Recount Votes by Hand; Texas Reports 10,000-Plus New Cases for Second Straight Day; Trump's North Korea Legacy; Eight Killed in Egypt Helicopter Crash; Hong Kong Pro- Democracy Lawmakers Resign in Protest; U.K.'s COVID-19 Death Toll Passes 50,000; Pfizer Vaccine Faces Daunting Deliver Challenges. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired November 12, 2020 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump continues his campaign of sowing distrust in America's electoral system.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Refusing to admit defeat even as his advisers privately acknowledge he cannot reverse the election
results.
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Biden's top attorneys are dismissing those lawsuits and accusations of fraud as political theater.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: COVID-19 is tightening its grip on the United States.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: There's been a little dip here and there but now we're basically going into exponential growth.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: America setting records no country wants to set, infections on the rise in 45 states.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am really frightened by the spike that we're seeing in cases right now.
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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): Tonight a helicopter crash in Egypt kills eight multinational force members.
I'm Becky Anderson here at CNN in Abu Dhabi. Welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD. I will get you more on what has happened in the Sinai just ahead.
First I want to get you to the United States because this COVID-19 rages in America and around the world the U.S. president-elect is resolutely moving
forward with preparations to take office.
Joe Biden naming his White House chief of staff in the face of total stonewalling from the Trump administration on a smooth transition of power.
Biden tapped Ron Klain for that key post on Wednesday night.
The Washington insider has been in Biden's political orbit for years, serving as chief of staff for Biden when he was vice president. Of note,
Klain coordinated the Obama administration's response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak.
During the 2020 campaign, he was highly critical of the White House coronavirus response. His appointment coming on the same day the U.S. set
new daily high in COVID-19 cases, more than 143,000; more than 65,000 people were in hospital on Wednesday, also a new high.
More on that as we move through the next couple of hours. President Trump finally appearing in public at a Veterans Day ceremony on Wednesday. He
said nothing about the growing COVID numbers, instead keeping the focus on those somewhat frivolous lawsuits filed by his legal team in states where
Biden won or is leading by close margins.
But the Republican code of silence over the president's election loss may finally be starting to break. A senator from the very red state of Oklahoma
says, if the White House doesn't start giving Biden access to daily intelligence briefings by tomorrow, then he will intervene. Here is what
James Lankford told an Oklahoma radio station.
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SEN. JAMES LANKFORD (R-OK): There's nothing wrong with Vice President (sic) Biden getting the briefings to be able to prepare himself and so that
he can be ready. There is no loss from him getting the briefings and to be able to do that.
And if that's not occurring by Friday, I will step in as well and to be able to push and to say, this needs to occur so that, regardless of the
outcome of the election, whichever way that it goes, people can be ready for the actual task.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, Biden himself has reached out, talking to some leaders on his own, like this call with the South Korean president. But he's having to
do it without the standard logistical support from the U.S. State Department that an incoming president would normally receive.
White House correspondent John Harwood, who has seen it all over the years but not like this, is back with us today.
John, you know, we've now been reporting literally since this election was called that the White House is stonewalling and refusing to concede.
Do we -- I mean, you just saw the Oklahoma congressman there speaking.
Do you see any chinks of light here?
JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, that was one chink; we had another one this morning when Mike DeWine, the Republican governor of
the state of Ohio, declared that Joe Biden is the president-elect. I expect we will get more around the edges.
The further away you get from Republican leaders, people who want to run for president in 2024, the more willing people are going to be to speak
out. We've seen a few Republican governors, aside from Mike DeWine do that.
At the same time you are going to have these -- more and more of these lawsuits get thrown out of court, they're frivolous, as you indicated in
the opening. And there may come a point where it's just difficult for Donald Trump to sustain this charade.
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HARWOOD: But for right now he's making it as difficult as possible for Joe Biden to access the funds and the access to information within the
government to prepare.
The good news for America and the rest of the world is that Joe Biden is as experienced as they come in terms of understanding these issues and his
team is as experienced as they come. So I think so far, the actual cost imposed on the transition by the president's resistance is fairly small.
ANDERSON: So we see sort of the building of, what I guess you could describe as a parallel government, as it were. We will continue to see
members of Joe Biden's sort of inner circle being revealed.
There are, though, some 70 days to go, give or take, before January 20th.
What, to your mind, are the biggest concerns that people in the States and around the world should have, if this continues as it is?
HARWOOD: Well, I think one concern is of the continued deterioration of trust among a large chunk of the American people -- that is the
president's base -- in the institutions of democracy. That's one.
The second is the amount of destruction that President Trump can wreak on the U.S. government during those 70 days. He sacked his Pentagon chief, as
you know; he has replaced a bunch of top Pentagon civilian officials.
What is he attempting to do there?
He has sacked people who work on climate change and utility regulation and others. Maybe some of this is personal pique and vengeance at people who
have stood up against the president's attempt to corrupt the government. Some of it may have more specific ends that we don't appreciate right now,
like trying to declassify sensitive information about Russia, to try to absolve the president from accusations about what happened in 2016. We
don't know that.
Finally, the longer the resistance goes on, as events in the world develop, the more it does become difficult for Joe Biden to be prepared on day one.
But as I said, the people like Susan Rice, for example, who is one of his key advisers right now, she was the national security adviser to President
Obama just four years ago.
ANDERSON: Sure.
HARWOOD: Yes, things have changed but this is a very experienced and prepared Biden team.
ANDERSON: Fascinating. This is a country in disarray. And as one of Joe Biden's foreign policy advisers has suggested, and a world in disarray,
that is very different from the world that the Obama-Biden administration was part of just four years ago. John, thank you.
This hour, Georgia will count every single vote once again by hand. Joe Biden currently ahead there by about 14,000 votes.
Why are they doing this?
Well, connecting us to the answer, senior U.S. Correspondent Kyung Lah in Atlanta, Georgia, for us.
Donald Trump tweeting this morning in support of Georgia's Senate candidates, saying, quote, "With a recount we will win Georgia also.
Pennsylvania and Michigan wouldn't let our poll watchers and observers into counting rooms. Illegal."
What should we make of what's going on?
KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR U.S. CORRESPONDENT: First of all, the poll observer thing that he keeps tweeting about, it's not true, it's a lie. There are a
number of elections officials across the United States who have said this isn't true. And we have the proof. So that's number one.
Number two, the hand count that's happening here in the state of Georgia is not expected to change the ultimate result. We heard that from Georgia's
secretary of state. The hand count is being done to supplement what the machine count has already put into place here in Georgia.
Because it is a tight margin it may change the numbers slightly but it's not expected to change the ultimate outcome. The secretary of state here,
who is a Republican, who is the same party as the president, who is the same party as the two incumbent Republican senators here, representing the
state of Georgia, you know, he's being attacked.
But he is saying he believes that the election was fair. He does not ultimately believe that this recount will change the ultimate result but
that it is being done to try to supplement and build confidence in what has happened here in Georgia -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Kyung Lah, some of these counts continue. Alaska only being called in the past couple of hours.
How long is this count by hand going to take?
LAH: Well, here in Georgia, I can tell you that the expectation is that it will be done by November 20th.
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LAH: The reason why the secretary of state is looking at that date is because that is the day that certification should be taking place, that, by
law, the results need to be certified by November 20th. So that is the hope.
But this is going to be quite the task. We understand that at least one county north of Atlanta, Gwinnett County, is going to begin the hand count
today.
But this is a bit of an unprecedented and very challenging undertaking. It is going to take time. It's going to be done carefully but it is something
that is going to certainly be a race to November 20th.
As far as the other states, Becky, this is still the original count; some of them like the state of Arizona it's taking time because that's what
happens in Arizona. When there is a close race, you have to go through the number of ballots, the provisional ballots, and this just takes time.
People vote by Braille ballot so it's not something that you can quickly rush through and this is what happens every election.
ANDERSON: Kyung Lah, we appreciate it. Thank you.
I just want you viewers to have a listen to this voice from Philadelphia.
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JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: What evidence of any widespread fraud have you seen in the count in Philadelphia?
AL SCHMIDT, PHILADELPHIA CITY COMMISSIONER: I have not. I realize a lot of people are happy about this election and a lot of people are not happy
about this election. One thing I can't comprehend is how hungry people are to consume lies and to consume information that is not true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: That's the Philadelphia city commissioner.
Well, here is an example of just how far at least one Republican is going to try and somehow prove that Donald Trump lost the election because of
fraud. Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick is offering up to $1 million paid out of his campaign account, mind you, for anyone who finds proof of
widespread voter fraud.
Since there isn't any, we will go out on a very short limb here and predict that that money will never be paid out. But it does reinforce the false
notion among Trump supporters that the election was somehow stolen.
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ANDERSON: While Republicans were denying the outcome of the U.S. presidential election, more than 143,000 Americans tested positive for the
coronavirus. And that is the highest number of daily cases that the country has ever recorded.
On Wednesday, it was the ninth day in a row that the U.S. recorded more than 100,000 daily infections. And more than 65,000 Americans are currently
hospitalized with the virus. That is the highest number of hospitalizations so far in the pandemic.
But there is hope that we could be inching closer to the end of all of this. Drugmaker Moderna expects to know whether or not its vaccine
candidate works against the virus by the end of this month.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, a name you will know very well by now, told the "Financial Times" the Moderna vaccine could be in play soon. But until a
vaccine could be distributed and approved, CNN's Lucy Kafanov shows us how local governments are scrambling to fight this new wave of infections.
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LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Record highs across the country. On Wednesday the United States reporting more than 144,000 new
confirmed coronavirus cases.
MIKE OSTERHOLM, CENTER FOR DISEASE RESEARCH AND POLICY INSTITUTE: This is exactly what many of us expected would happen after Labor Day and,
unfortunately, what we expect is, it's going to be much higher than it is now.
KAFANOV (voice-over): More than 65,000 patients are hospitalized with the coronavirus right now, the most of the entire pandemic. Several states
reporting their highest case counts to date, including Illinois, where Governor JB Pritzker warns he is concerned about the growing rate of
hospitalized coronavirus patients.
GOV. J.B. PRITZKER (D-IL): Across the state the majority of our regions are seeing far higher rates of hospitalizations for COVID-19 than they ever
did last spring.
KAFANOV (voice-over): In North Dakota, the governor announcing hospitals there are at full capacity.
And in Ohio the state saw its second worst day since the pandemic began, reporting more than 5,800 cases. Governor Mike DeWine reissuing a statewide
mask order, despite pushback from the public.
GOV. MIKE DEWINE (R-OH): We must do this to protect our frontline workers. I'm very well aware of the burden that this will place on employees. I'm
well aware of the burden this places on the owners.
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DEWINE: But these are places candidly where it's difficult or impossible to maintain mask wearing, which we know now is the chief way of slowing
this virus.
KAFANOV (voice-over): And despite the relatively low numbers in New York compared to the rest of the country, fears of another lockdown are growing.
New York governor Andrew Cuomo issuing new restrictions as the state's test positivity rate is approaching 3 percent.
Bars, restaurants and gyms will be closing at 10:00 pm and indoor gatherings are limited to 10 people starting Friday.
Here in Utah, the state seeing its highest seven-day average positivity rate. It now stands at more than 22 percent.
These numbers make the push for a vaccine even more urgent. After the positive news from Pfizer earlier this week, now Moderna is reporting that
it should know whether it's vaccine works by the end of the month.
FAUCI: The thing we've been dealing with in this country is a vaccine hesitancy or people really being skeptical about getting vaccinated. That
is pretty much overcome when you get a vaccine of such high degree of efficacy as the Pfizer vaccine, which is, you know, 90 plus, closer to 95
percent efficacious.
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ANDERSON: We've taken in a lot so far, haven't we, those startling numbers on the coronavirus and, of course, a political mess that is going on
between the outgoing Trump administration and the incoming Biden administration in the U.S.
But that is all stateside.
What about the rest of the world?
How are we, that being those of us who aren't stateside, dealing with it?
Well, some, you could argue, many American allies apparently see the race as a done deal, including British prime minister Boris Johnson, holder of
that special relationship we so often hear the British mention.
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BORIS JOHNSON, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: I had and have a good relationship with the previous president. But I am delighted to find the many areas in
which the Biden -- incoming Biden-Harris administration is able to make common cause with us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, a number of Western leaders speaking with Joe Biden this week and congratulating him on his victory, among them the leaders of
Canada, Germany and France.
But now Biden turning his attention to the Asia-Pacific region, speaking with the leaders of Japan, Australia and South Korea and, according to
officials, Joe Biden is already making specific security commitments to Tokyo and to Seoul.
For more on that Paula Hancocks joining us live from Seoul in South Korea.
What came of these conversations, then, with the leaders of these Asian countries?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, we'll start with Tokyo, when President-Elect Biden spoke with prime minister earlier this Thursday
morning local time. He did talk about improving the alliance, something he did with all three of the leaders. But he specifically said that he was
going to work to defend the disputed islands that both China and Japan claim.
These are the Senkaku islands; according to Japan, the Diaoyu islands, called by China, and they've been administered by Japan since 1972. But it
is a real bone of convention between Japan and China.
So interestingly President-Elect Biden staking his allegiance there, saying he would support Japan.
When it comes to South Korea speaking to President Moon Jae-in, again he spoke of improving and strengthening the alliance with South Korea,
something that many countries in the region will be very pleased to hear.
Over the past four years the focus has not been so much on allegiances and alliances. But what he said to President Moon was that North Korea was
clearly going to be something important going forward and that they would work together to try and push forward with some kind of process -- Becky.
ANDERSON: So we're perhaps beginning to see what a Biden administration's policy might be towards the Asia-Pacific region. I wonder whether we are
learning anything more about U.S. policy with regard to North Korea.
HANCOCKS: Well, interestingly, North Korea was one of the very few that hasn't even responded or reacted to the fact that this U.S. election even
took place, let alone the fact that there is a President-Elect Biden. And the silence speaks volumes.
President-Elect Biden is quite possibly not the person and the candidate that Kim Jong-un would have been hoping for.
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HANCOCKS (voice-over): This is the legacy of President Trump's North Korean policy, historic meetings with leader Kim Jong-un, countless letters
described by the U.S. president as love letters, a statement signed in Singapore.
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HANCOCKS (voice-over): But little tangible progress on denuclearization.
CHRISTOPHER HILL, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO SOUTH KOREA: It's not really in a better place. It's not at all in a better place as a result of this
reality TV diplomacy we saw from President Trump.
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: The thugs like in North Korea --
HANCOCKS (voice-over): President-Elect Biden is very unlikely to have been North Korea's preference.
Until today there's been no reaction from Pyongyang. Even after Biden called Kim Jong-un a thug in the last presidential debate. North Korea has
often welcomed a new U.S. administration with a provocation. Pyongyang launched a missile just three weeks after President Trump's inauguration in
2017.
But opinion is split on whether a test is planned for the early days of Biden's presidency.
JOHN DELURY, YONSEI UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: The premise of a test is Kim Jong-un is desperate for attention and he
needs it. And that's not what I'm seeing. Kim Jong-un looks very focused on just getting through COVID. North Korea has had a really bad year
economically.
BIDEN: I know from my discussions --
HANCOCKS (voice-over): President-Elect Biden has not mentioned North Korea as a pressing national security priority as outgoing President Obama
considered it four years ago; coronavirus, climate change, racial inequality dominating his attention.
He's also not necessarily expected to return to the policy of strategic patience, waiting for Pyongyang to come to the negotiating table, a feature
of Obama's time in office.
JOSEPH YUN, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: He has emphasized denuclearization but, at the same time, he's emphasized what he called principal diplomacy.
So I would hope that the engagement door would be more open now.
HANCOCKS (voice-over): Ambassador Yun also cautions against ignoring what Trump did achieve by talking to Kim Jong-un.
YUN: We need to see what we can, preserve what we can and build from that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HANCOCKS: So Becky, opinion really does differ as to whether or not North Korea is going to launch some kind of missile to welcome President-Elect
Biden into office.
But what all experts really do agree on is that the approach of Biden will be far more conventional when it comes to North Korea, that there will be
more working level diplomacy if they get to that point.
And the days of the top-down diplomacy of Trump and the sort of personality-led theater we've been seeing over the past few years is coming
to an end.
ANDERSON: Let's call it what it was, the photo op diplomacy, I think, is what we're discussing here. Paula, thank you.
Paula Hancocks is in Seoul in South Korea.
Next up -- next hour at least -- I'm going to be speaking to Dan Shapiro. He is the former American ambassador to Israel, a close member of Biden's
inner foreign policy circle.
I'm going to get his take on how Joe Biden will use all of the tools of American power to potentially shape our world or at least get a sense of
what Joe Biden believes he might do with those tools. That is coming up in the next hour.
We are following breaking news happening right now in this region, officials say several people have been killed after a helicopter crash in
Egypt's Sinai Desert. The latest on that is coming up.
And we are also connecting the world that's watching Hong Kong this hour. Why the resignation of only a handful of lawmakers could have ramifications
across the globe.
Plus health experts warned this would happen: why coronavirus is setting new records of the worst kind in the U.K. and across the European
continent. We will take you live to London and to Rome just a little later.
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SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), MINORITY LEADER: -- the crisis. Let us bring the country together and get things done. Every day as the Speaker
mentioned --
ANDERSON (voice-over): This is Chuck Schumer, who has been reelected as the party leader for the Democrats in the Senate speaking now. Let's just
listen in.
SCHUMER: -- waiting for relief from the COVID virus.
But Republicans refuse to take comprehensive action that meets the needs of the country. The Heroes Act passed in the House does meet this moment. It
doesn't pick and choose who we are going to help during the greatest health and economic crises in decades.
It's laser focused on health care issues that are at the heart of this pandemic. The Heroes Act does something that's vital: it strengthens
Medicaid and improves access to health care coverage, support for hospitals at a time when COVID is raging.
Health care money, Medicaid expansion should be at the very top of the list. These are the issues we should be discussing and debating and the
Heroes Act should be the starting point, not an emaciated bill that prioritizes protections for corporations and considers the needs of
American families as an afterthought.
Every day that goes by without the Republican Party acknowledging and accepting the results of this election is another day Americans' faith in
their wonderful democracy declines. The longer the Senate Republicans play the sad game --
ANDERSON: Right. That is Chuck Schumer, quite frankly, addressing Republicans, who, of course, still hold the majority in the Senate and his
message described today by somewhat as political theater for an audience of one.
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ANDERSON: Breaking news out of Egypt just coming in to CNN, an international peacekeeping force says eight of its members were killed in a
helicopter crash while on a routine mission in the southern Sinai Peninsula. Let's get the latest from Sam Kiley, live from Dubai.
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Becky, the Pentagon has confirmed that six of the eight are U.S. personnel on an aircraft and plus
a French person, a soldier, and a Czech.
All of these personnel killed; there was one American survivor, were on a helicopter, we don't know yet whose helicopter it was but it was part of
this multinational force that was established by in 1981 as part of a deal between -- for monitoring, essentially, peacekeeping deal between Israel
and Egypt.
There have been a lot of discussions over whether or not that force was needed any longer because, this area of the Sinai, indeed the whole Sinai
Peninsula, has been roiling with militant activity and heavily armed banditry, which has meant that direct cooperation between the Israelis and
Egyptians had become extremely good.
They really are in lockstep over those security operations in the Sinai, rather putting to side the need to have this foreign force in danger.
There's nearly 1,200 soldiers and personnel as part of that force; just over 450 of them are Americans.
This helicopter went down, we understand, not very far from Sharm el- Sheikh, the famous tourist destination, which has also seen its fair share in the past of terrorist attacks. It is an extremely dangerous area.
But at the moment sources telling CNN out of the Pentagon that they don't believe, at the moment, that this was anything other than a catastrophic
accident, something perhaps of some surprise, given the level of violence that that area has seen.
Not really in the immediate recent past but certainly over the three or four years ago, it was very much a roiling environment with a lot of
attacks.
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KILEY: Particularly against the Egyptian armed forces by militants in the Sinai -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Sam Kiley reporting.
As we get more, of course, on that, we will get it to you here on CNN.
Thank you, sir.
Still ahead on this show, what began as an act of protest by just over a dozen lawmakers has led to an international diplomatic dispute. Up next,
the very latest from Hong Kong.
Plus it doesn't care what anyone thinks; coronavirus is going its own way across Europe, continental Europe and the U.K. In a few minutes, we will be
live from the continent and from London to look at what is a crisis spiraling out of control.
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ANDERSON: It is called the Pearl of the Orient, it is encapsulating something we've seen over and over again this year, tensions between the
West and China.
We've got some big updates for you since we covered this extensively for you on last night's show, from Canada to Canberra, Britain to Brussels,
there is global condemnation of China's ruling to give local authorities new powers to quash dissent.
That led to the resignation of the entirety of Hong Kong's elected pro- democracy opposition on Wednesday. Beijing calling that a farce and an open challenge to its authority.
Ivan Watson has lived in and reported from Hong Kong for years and he joins us now live.
This is developing, Ivan, pretty quickly. Along with a lot of international reaction just in the past hour, the U.K. saying it's considering
sanctioning Chinese officials over this move.
What else do we know at this point?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you mentioned, a growing number of Western governments have condemned Beijing's
resolution, which authorizes its hand-picked chief executive in Hong Kong to strip any elected lawmaker of their seat essentially if they are not
deemed to be loyal enough to Beijing.
So the condemnations poured in from Australia, from Canada, from the European Union, from the U.S. and Britain, which does arguably have a
historic stake in what happens in Hong Kong.
The British government summoned China's ambassador to London to formally lodge a protest. And top British officials have accused China of being in
breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984, which stipulates how this former British colony is supposed to be governed for a 50-year period.
[10:35:00]
WATSON: Take a listen to what that official had to say.
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NIGEL ADAMS, BRITISH MINISTER FOR ASIA: It is my unfortunate duty to report to this house a judgment that this decision breaches the legally
binding Sino-British Joint Declaration.
It breaches both China's commitment that Hong Kong will enjoy a high degree of autonomy and a right to freedom of speech, guaranteed under paragraph 3
of the declaration.
China has yet again broken its promise to the people of Hong Kong. Its actions tarnish China's international reputation and undermine Hong Kong's
long-term stability.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: Not much surprise, Beijing is bristling at any and all of this criticism with a foreign ministry spokesperson accusing foreign governments
criticizing it of being not qualified, of being immoral, calling these groundless accusations and examples of double standards and interference in
Hong Kong and China's internal affairs -- Becky.
ANDERSON: What's been the reaction from the lawmakers themselves, Ivan?
WATSON: Well, it was a dramatic day in the legislative council, as you had some 15 lawmakers handing in their resignations, a mass show of protest at
the fact that four of their elected colleagues were summarily stripped of their seats on Wednesday with no legal recourse, no chance to appeal those
decisions.
And you can see signs that some of the lawmakers hung up in the council chambers, which are insults to Carrie Lam, Beijing's hand-picked chief
executive in charge of Hong Kong. One of those lawmakers who resigned spoke to journalists outside the council chambers. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLAUDIA MO, FORMER HONG KONG PRO-DEMOCRACY LEGISLATOR (from captions): Well, I feel sad naturally but also fairly relieved because this council is
so full of false sincerity, fake sincerity.
They just want to pass anything the authorities want to be passed. There's just no point.
You might ask, what's the point of taking part in any more legislative council elections, right?
We still have to fight hard. Let us see what happens next year and we will have our number, our majority number, to seriously work for Hong Kong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: Now Beijing is furious at this mass resignation, Becky. The spokesperson for the Hong Kong and Macao affair office at the state council
called the mass resignation an example of stubborn resistance and a challenge to the authority of the Chinese central government.
But with the ongoing crackdown we have seen here in Hong Kong, with street protests which were once a hallmark of kind of diversity of political
thought in Hong Kong in past years and decades, with those virtually crushed and no longer tolerated and now organized political opposition
absent from the legislative council chambers, I think a growing number of observers are saying that organized political opposition, a forum for that,
is disappearing from public life before our eyes here -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Fascinating. What a difference a year makes. And just thinking back to the summer of 2019, I mean, the images of the protests on the
streets, day in, day out and now a very different situation. Ivan, thank you.
Next up, what's changing in Japan?
Well, it's bracing for a new wave of infections. We are in Tokyo.
And just ahead, while the world celebrates positive results in vaccine trials businesses are preparing for a tricky distribution.
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ANDERSON: Hot spots, lockdowns, doom scrolling, words like these have become all too familiar, haven't they, as we try to wrap our collective
minds around what is this deadly fact.
COVID-19 spiraling out of control around the world. And that means more than catchphrases. In Europe it means a rising death toll and plenty of
political handwringing.
You will recall that Italy was one of the hardest hit nations hit early on by the pandemic; now it's the 10th country in the world to surpass 1
million confirmed cases of coronavirus.
In France where you now must fill out a form before leaving home to buy groceries the number of new cases is still rising, the virus doing what it
wants despite the country's latest lockdown.
I want to show you the bleak new milestone in Britain, a death toll surpassing 50,000 people. And that's the point as we connect the world.
This crisis is about people, families, loved ones, not just numbers on a chart, of course.
Ben Wedeman standing by for us in Rome.
I wanted to get to Salma Abdelaziz in London, first.
What's the U.K. government been saying?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN PRODUCER: Well, Becky, again, just to emphasize here this grim milestone, 50,000 people who have lost their lives; that is not
proportionate. Nine out of 10 of those victims is someone over the age of 65 years old.
And it's not just about the death toll. We are seeing about 20,000 new cases per day across this country. And we are one week into a nationwide
lockdown. So this is a major blow and something that the prime minister Boris Johnson, of course, had to address when speaking to reporters
yesterday. Take a listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNSON: We're very much hoping that two things will start to come to our aid. Number one, the mass testing, the kind I just described, the rapid
turnaround testing. And then the other thing is now the prospect, the realistic prospect of a vaccine.
So you have a kind of, as it were, two boxing gloves to pummel the disease in the weeks and months that follow.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABDELAZIZ: And you are hearing there his two-fold strategy. The prime minister is essentially saying part one of my strategy is mass testing,
this idea that the government has that, they will roll out widely available testing for free to anyone, regardless of whether or not they have
symptoms.
And people would be able to get tested regularly and normal life could resume. That's already begun; there is a pilot program in Liverpool. It's
been about six days there and the turnout so far has been low. It's very far from this idea of everyone gets tested, because it's not mandatory.
The second part of the strategy that prime minister Boris Johnson is outlining there is the vaccine, this very promising vaccine that we are
hoping, waiting and wishing for but as we know will not be widely available until next year.
So what we're looking at is a prime minister who has very limited tools left in his toolbox. And the question is, as we head into the Christmas
months, as we head into the holiday, we already have all these restrictions in place. We have already put a lockdown in place. Masks are already
mandatory in this country.
All these tougher measures are put into place so what else can the prime minister do?
There's two ways to look at this. There's the optimistic way to look at this death toll, which is that there is a lag in numbers and that may be in
a few more weeks the cases will begin to slow down and things will look better. But the sobering and concerning reality is that these numbers are
indicative of something larger.
[10:45:00]
ABDELAZIZ: And the country simply does not have a grip on the virus -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Salma is in London for you.
Ben, a million cases, not a number anybody in Italy nor anybody in Europe would want to -- would want to see.
What's the mood in the country?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Really, people are bracing for things just getting worse. In fact, one of Italy's leading
epidemiologists has said that, at this point, the pandemic in this country is largely out of control.
And when you look at that number, we tipped over into more than a million cases yesterday, more than 600,000 of those cases are currently active.
That is five times more -- more than five times than you had at the height of the pandemic earlier this year.
What we're seeing is that, if you remember back in March and April, Italy was really -- the Italian hospitals were grappling with trying to meet the
demand for beds in intensive care units. They've managed to increase dramatically the number of beds available in the ICUs.
The problem is they don't have the staff to deal with the number of people coming in. So we're seeing, for instance, that some hospitals are sending
their not critically ill COVID patients to hotels that have been converted into hospitals for those who don't need intensive care but do need
treatment because of coronavirus.
So you have these dramatically increasing numbers. These are numbers that really dwarf what we saw earlier this year. Now we're expecting, in the
coming minutes, the latest statistics.
But yesterday, Wednesday, saw the number of deaths from coronavirus, 623 in a 24-hour period, that is the worst number we have seen in Italy in seven
months. And similar to the situation that Salma was describing in the U.K., the government is implementing slowly more and more measures.
You have now an overnight nationwide curfew, mandatory masks; you have five regions in the country under lockdown and others going in that direction.
But these measures don't seem to have really had an impact on this pandemic, the second wave of the pandemic -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Ben Wedeman is in Italy and you've been listening to Salma in London in the U.K.
Thank you to both of you.
We've been watching Europe spiral downwards for months now. It seemed like some countries were once out of the woods, countries, for example, like
Japan. But now their doctors also warning that they are seeing a third wave of the virus. They want the government to step up its prevention measures
before the numbers get out of control.
We will get you the latest with CNN's Selina Wang who is in Tokyo.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Doctors are warning of a third wave of cases in Japan as infections reach a three-month high, surpassing 1,500
infections on Wednesday. In response the prime minister has asked for maximum vigilance and says the country is going to be expanding contact
tracing and testing.
Japan has never had a strict lockdown because the country's laws do not allow the government to enforce one. Compared to other parts of East Asia,
Japan has taken a relatively relaxed approach to COVID-19.
For instance, I personally quarantined in Beijing, Hong Kong, as well as Tokyo. Tokyo by far had the most relaxed restrictions. There was no
enforcement whatsoever for the 14-day quarantine that I recently wrapped up.
In comparison, in Beijing and Hong Kong, there was strict enforcement to make sure I stayed in the same room for 14 days. In fact, in Hong Kong, I
even had to wear a wristband tracker.
Now despite these relatively relaxed guidelines and rules in Japan, the country has not yet dealt with a super high number of cases skyrocketing as
we've seen in the U.S. and Europe because of what experts say of this culture of mask wearing as well as people generally abiding by those social
distancing rules.
In total, Japan has reported less than 2,000 COVID-19 deaths; nonetheless, Japan has been pushing ahead with preparations for the Olympics. In fact,
the president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bock, is traveling to Japan on Sunday in which they will be starting preparations
for the Olympics next year.
When asked if there will be any discussions about potentially canceling the Olympics, he emphatically answered no.
[10:50:00]
WANG: Adding that he's becoming more and more confident that there will be a reasonable number of spectators -- Selina Wang, CNN, Tokyo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Of course, one of the best ways to prevent a new wave of the coronavirus would be a vaccine. And the good news is that one may be only
weeks away from approval -- maybe more than one.
But the bad news, while the Pfizer and BioNTech candidates had unexpectedly positive results, it is a delicate medicine that is difficult to
distribute, requiring being kept at very, very cold temperatures and that is very hard to make happen.
CNN's Anna Stewart has more now on how global companies are preparing to store, transport and distribute what would be a potentially tricky vaccine.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALBERT BOURLA, PFIZER CEO: We are in a very, very good situation to have 1.3 billion doses globally again next year.
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Millions of doses have already been made, ready to go, should the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine
candidate get regulatory approval. This one uses messenger RNA, a new technology, which poses a major challenge for storage and transportation of
the vaccine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to keep the product very cold and shipped in very much subfreezing temperatures. Then there will be a short term
instability perhaps at refrigerated temperatures and that's going to be a logistical challenge.
STEWART (voice-over): Logistics firms, like UPS, FedEx and Deutsche Post DIEHL: , started planning for this months ago.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have about 9,000 health care specialists around the globe, about 140 certified warehouses around the globe. We have another 100
terminals that are certified for health care.
We also had to make some specific investments in -80 degrees storage points and containers to be able to distribute. So those are all things that we
had to do.
STEWART (voice-over): These firms are a critical link between the pharmaceutical firms and governments.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we have to focus on is our interaction with our customers. When they say that we need to be ready, we are working and we're
planning accordingly to that and we will be ready.
STEWART (voice-over): Logistics firms may be ready to transport a COVID-19 vaccine. Some countries may not be ready to receive it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This challenge is probably the biggest logistical challenge we have ever faced, regardless of the temperature. Minus 80 adds
another dynamic and another problem.
You know, I'm being told that this vaccine isn't really designed and being expected to be used in low and middle income countries. That personally
concerns me because we should be making sure that we deliver the vaccine equitably.
STEWART (voice-over): Other promising COVID-19 vaccine candidates are nearing the end of phase 3 trials and they won't all need subzero storage.
They will, however, all need huge logistical support to make it to all the corners of the world -- Anna Stewart, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, we may all be waiting for a vaccine but it's also waiting to see the impacts of a Biden presidency -- the world, that is. After the
break, what the outcome of the American election means for the rest of the world.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:55:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ANDERSON: We've been spending a lot of time this week bringing you the latest on how America's next president will impact your world because, make
no mistake, it will.
And as the dust begins to settle, now just over a week since America voted and I want to use the full stretch of CNN's teams spread across the world
as they are to give you a sense of what Biden being in the White House means. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
BIDEN: I will be a president who will stand with our allies and friends and make it clear to our adversaries, the days of cozying up to dictators
is over.
DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Arguably the most important aspect of foreign policy awaiting the Biden administration is dealing with China.
Under President Trump U.S.-China relations plummeted to an all-time low.
During the presidential campaign both candidates heavily critical of China, especially its initial handling of the COVID-19 outbreak. Chinese officials
now say they hope the incoming administration meets China halfway so as to advance U.S.-China ties.
HANCOCKS: It's very unlikely this is the result North Korea was hoping for. Leader Kim Jong-un has invested a lot of time and energy into
President Trump, three historic meetings and countless letters.
As for President-Elect Biden, he has been highly critical of North Korea, calling Kim Jong-un a thug. He said he could meet with Kim Jong-un but only
if he gives up some nuclear capability.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Kremlin is bracing for a tougher tone from Washington under President-Elect Biden, who
has called Russia the main threat to U.S. national security.
For many Russians, though, President Trump remains popular, widely seen as wanting to improve ties with Moscow and deferential to the Russian leader
Vladimir Putin. But there are some here cautiously welcoming the change, too, to what is hoped, after four years of Trump, will be a more
predictable Biden administration.
VEDIKA SUD, CNN PRODUCER: The fundamentals of the Indo-U.S. relationship are unlikely to change under the Biden administration. New Delhi and
Washington will look to further strengthen defense, trade, technology and investment ties.
However, given the ongoing tensions between India and China, President- Elect Joe Biden's approach to the common concern, China, will be watched closely.
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is with a good deal of hope that European officials and leaders have welcomed the news of Joe Biden's
victory in the American election.
Hope about the patching up of the transatlantic alliance, hope also about the fact that the United States will rejoin the Paris climate accord. But
also a good deal of realism about the fact that the escalating trade war between the E.U. and the United States is unlikely to get fixed.
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There is perhaps muted optimism in Iran that a Biden presidency will be more similar to that of
the Obama era with a softening of relationships and perhaps even a return to the Iran nuclear deal.
But publicly Iran's leaders continue to be very harsh in their rhetoric towards the United States, with supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
tweeting that the U.S. election was a spectacle, the ugly face of liberal democracy and an indication of America's moral decline.
ELLIOTT GOTKINE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Under a Joe Biden presidency, Israel and the U.S. will main the staunchest of allies and firmest of friends. But
two areas where they could clash, one is with Iran; Biden says he will rejoin the Iran nuclear deal if Iran goes back into something compliance.
That's something that Benjamin Netanyahu would vehemently oppose as well as the Palestinians, where we could see a renewed U.S. push toward a two-state
solution, something that Netanyahu also has decidedly ignored during the Trump presidency.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: And we will discuss the global impact of a Biden presidency more when former U.S. ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro joins us a few minutes
from now. He is a close friend of Mr. Biden's.
We will take a short break. Back after this.
[11:00:00]
END
