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Pro-Palestinian Protests Spread On U.S. Campuses; Hush Money Criminal Case: Opening Remarks And First Witness; Judge Expected To Decide Whether Trump Violated Gag Order; U.S. Senate Weighing Bill That Includes Possible TikTok Ban; as India Goes to Election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Finds Strong Support in Country's Most Populous State; Britain's Prince Louis Celebrates Sixth Birthday; Rising Popularity of Hashtag "Grossoutfitforwork" on Chinese Social Media; Taiwan's President Praises RuPaul's Drag Race Winner; Nike Eying Deal With Basketball Star Caitlin Clark. Aired 2-2:45a ET

Aired April 23, 2024 - 02:00   ET

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

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ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Anna Coren live from Hong Kong. Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.

Robbed of their dignity even in death. Palestinians go to what's left of Gaza's Nasser hospital in search of the bodies of their loved ones, but hundreds are missing.

Controversy and arrests at pro-Palestinian protests unfolding on college campuses across the United States.

And as lawmakers in the U.S. prepare to vote on a bill to ban TikTok, the social media company vows to fight it in court.

We begin with damning new allegations of war crimes in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. Secretary of State Antony Blinken shared the details of the U.S. State Department's annual human rights report on Monday. It cites extensive and well-publicized cases of killings, abductions and sexual violence by Hamas and other groups during the October 7th attacks on Israel.

But it also details systemic torture and inhumane treatment of Palestinian detainees in Israel as well as the forced disappearance of thousands of Palestinians from Gaza. Well, Blinken points out the report does not represent the U.S. government's conclusions that relies on a wide variety of sources including government officials, abuse victims, international organizations and the media. And he says the U.S. applies the same standard for all.

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ANTONY BLINKEN, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: Do we have a double standard? The answer is no. As this report makes clear in general, as we're looking at human rights and the condition of human rights around the world, we apply the same standard to everyone. And that doesn't change whether the country in question is an adversary, a competitor, a friend or an ally.

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COHEN: Gaza civil defense workers have uncovered a mass grave with nearly 300 bodies at a hospital in Khan Younis. CNN's Nada Bashir has the story. And we have to warn you some of the videos in her report a graphic.

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NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL REPORTER (voice-over): For the last 10 days, this mother has returned to Gaza's Nasser Hospital searching desperately for the body of her 24-year-old daughter, Kothar (ph). She had been buried at this makeshift grave site in January. Now her body is missing. These rallies turn the hospital upside down, she says. They dug up all the dead bodies and moved them around.

These other shrouded corpses of those retrieved from a newly discovered mass grave in Khan Younis. Nearly 300 bodies have so far been recovered, according to Gaza's civil defense. But the search is still ongoing.

This is a crime against humanity, Dr. Al-Mariya (ph) says. How could the Israeli occupation forces dig up these graves and mishandle the bodies of our martyrs? In some cases, they even opened and removed the bodies from their bags, even though their names had been marked on them. Many of the bodies recovered here were buried by relatives or medics on the hospital's grounds in January as a temporary measure.

Israel's relentless bombardment of the southern city, making it too difficult to carry out a traditional burial. Following the IDF's withdrawal from Khan Younis families returned in the hope of finally laying their loved ones to rest, only to find that their bodies had been exhumed by the Israeli military, according to civil defense officials, and discarded in this nearby mass grave.

I still haven't found my son Khalil's (ph) body, this father says. We'd buried him over there, but we can't find him anymore. We just want to give him a dignified burial.

According to Gaza's civil defense chief, some bodies have been discovered with their hands tied together. An indication, he says, that these may be the victims of alleged field executions. Though CNN is unable to verify such claims and cannot confirm the causes of death among the bodies being unearthed.

CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment, without response. But this would not be the first-time graves have been disturbed by the Israeli military. The IDF previously acknowledging that its forces have exhumed graves in Gaza in order to carry out DNA tests to identify potential hostages.

[02:05:01]

This man points to the palm tree, beside which his brother, Al-A'laa (ph) had been buried. Two weeks on, and his body has still not been found.

Under international humanitarian law, graves must, in times of war, be respected, properly maintained, and marked so they may always be found. But in Gaza, the Palestinian people have been robbed of their dignity, even in death.

Nada Bashir, CNN, London.

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COREN: The historic Hush Money case against Donald Trump began in earnest Monday with the first witness testimony and opening statements. Well, prosecutors accused Trump of scheming to corrupt the 2016 U.S. presidential election through a criminal conspiracy and cover-up by falsifying business records about payments to a porn star. But the former U.S. president's defense attorney said the story isn't that simple and began laying the groundwork to discredit key witnesses.

CNN's Paula Reid explains.

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DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What's going on right here should never be happening. It's a very, very sad in America.

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Former President Donald Trump's criminal trial kicked off with jurors hearing competing accounts of why a Hush Money payment was made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels just weeks before the 2016 election.

Matthew Colangelo laid out the prosecutor's theory of the case, which he said is about election fraud, pure and simple. He says it all started with a 2015 meeting at Trump Tower between Trump, his former attorney Michael Cohen and the former publisher of the National Enquirer, David Pecker. The government alleges Pecker agreed to use the enquirer to help Trump's campaign by buying and suppressing negative stories about him and by amplifying stories that were favorable to him.

Prosecutors allege the salacious Access Hollywood tape unearthed just before the 2016 election was significant because it turned the rest of the presidential campaign entirely upside down.

TRUMP: When you're a star they let you do it. You can anything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whatever you want?

TRUMP: Grabe (BLEEP)

REID: They allege that once the tape became public, Trump's campaign went into damage control mode. Worried about what an allegation of an affair with an adult film star might do, Trump and Cohen arranged a $130,000 payment to keep Stormy Daniels quiet just two weeks before the election.

TRUMP: It's a case as to bookkeeping, which is a very minor thing in terms of the law. And this is what they try and take me off the trail for. That checks being paid to a lawyer. He is a lawyer or was a lawyer.

REID: In the defense's opening statement, Attorney Todd Blanche argued his client is innocent, saying President Trump did not commit any crimes and called the 34 counts of falsifying business records against him, just pieces of paper. Blanche directly responded to the allegations of election fraud, saying there's nothing wrong with trying to influence an election. It's called democracy. The defense then attacked likely witnesses Daniels and Cohen.

Blanche called Daniels allegation of an affair sinister and an attempt to embarrass President Trump. He then shifted to Trump's former lawyer Cohen, who he says is "obsessed with Trump and that Cohen's financial livelihood depends on Trump's destruction." David Packer was the first witness to be called shortly before he took the stand. Prosecutors referred to him as a co-conspirator for helping Trump try to cover up his alleged affair.

Paula Reid, CNN, New York.

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COREN: CNN Legal Analyst Joey Jackson joins me now from New York. Joey, great to have you with us. Let's discuss the highlights from day one, starting with the prosecution's opening statement. Did he lay out a compelling case, you know, covering up the payment was "election fraud," pure and simple?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: You know, and I really think the prosecution did. Now, obviously it's going to be a long trial and open statements are merely a preview of what the evidence will show. But as an initial matter, just talk about right away this case is about a cover up and a conspiracy. I thought just really going right at the defense at that point, talking about the issues of fraud, talking about the issues of, you know, really getting these business records as not as we look there at the 34 felony counts, punishable by four years.

Trump, of course, denying it. But these business records really as something of a pretext, a pretext really covering up hush money payments. And I think the prosecution also made this about the larger issue, not the salacious issue about Stormy Daniels, but the issue about election interference, the issue about the nature of why these payments were made, right, and the payments being made to influence the election.

And that's important because it's not just about the falsification of business records, it's about why they were falsified. And so, I just think as a general matter, in opening up the case, the prosecution was very clear on the nature of the fraud, the purpose of the fraud, and the illegality of the fraud relating to the president's cover-up in this case.

COREN: Joey, Trump's lawyer will try to minimize what occurred. I mean, he's already referred to it as business record violations, just 34 pieces of paper. He will stick with the argument that Trump had no intent, no knowledge. How will that wash with the jury?

JACKSON: Yes. You know, so it remains to be seen. I thought that the fence did an effective job and basically saying, hey, there's nothing to see here. Of course, he influenced the election. He was running for president. And in the democracy, that's what people do. And in terms of this non-disclosure agreement, people sign those every day. So what? He's protecting his family. And as to matters of business records and fraud, my client doesn't know anything about that, right, as we look there at just the entirety of the jury who's there to hear the case.

But the reality is that I think that the fence is using what they have, certainly attacking Michael Cohen as a person who can't be trusted, a person who's guilty of perjury, that is lying under oath, Stormy Daniels, the unsavory life that many will think she had. And so they, that is a defense, went after that and went after the issue of reasonable doubt and how so much of it exists, suggesting that Trump is completely innocent.

Obviously, any case, and as a battle of the narratives, which narrative stands, is going to be the result of the evidence that we're going to see, how that evidence is rendered, and of course, how it falls upon the jury.

COREN: Joey, the judge will rule along with Trump has violated the court-issued gag order, the bars in from attacking witnesses, prosecutors or family members of the judge, which we know Trump has done. How do you expect the judge to rule?

JACKSON: You know, this is a very important test for the judge because I think the judge has to set the tenor and have the understanding that, listen, this is a court process. You're going to respect my court and respect my ruling. And this is the large imperative of protecting these witnesses from intimidation. You know, we live in a world where it's very polarized. You know, the United States is in an issue now where you have half the public is provided, half of it is from Trump.

And you have some fanatics out there who can do harm. And so, on speaking to the gag order, there's a reason it's in place. You want to protect people. You want to protect them from intimidation. You want to protect their safety. And so, I think A, the judge will find that there was a violation of gag order. The critical issue on is what the judge does as a result of that. Is it merely an admonishment of telling Trump, listen, this time I'll let it pass, the next it's not going to be the case?

Will the judge be sterner and say, I'm going to give you a thousand dollar fine for each violation, or will the judge take the really critical step, which I don't think at this point the judge will do. And that is to put Trump in jail, even for a short period of time, that is ours to let him know, stop it, lives are at risk, and we have to have a fair trial for all the parties and everyone should be protected.

COREN: Joey Jackson, we appreciate you joining us. Thanks so much.

JACKSON: Thanks, Anna.

COREN: Well, the British Parliament has passed a controversial bill, which will allow the government to turn away asylum seekers and send them to Rwanda instead. It's been two years since the idea was pitched as a way to deter illegal and dangerous boats carrying migrants to the U.K. The bill was ruled unlawful by Britain's Supreme Court last year, which cited safety concerns for migrants and Rwanda's poor human rights record. But British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is determined to make the plan work.

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RISHI SUNAK, PRIME MINISTER OF BRITAIN: The first flight will leave in 10 to 12 weeks, and the success of this deterrent doesn't rest on one flight alone. It rests on the relentless continual process of successfully and permanently removing people to Rwanda with a regular rhythm of multiple flights every month over the summer and beyond until the boats are stopped.

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COREN: Sunak faces re-election later this year, and illegal migration will no doubt be a big issue at the polls. Critics say the bill has cost the British government too much, and opponents in the Labor Party have vowed to scrap the policy if they win.

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Well, tensions escalate across universities in the U.S. as pro- Palestinian protests show no signs of slowing down. How some campuses are reacting. That's next.

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COREN: Pro-Palestinian protests are sweeping across universities in the U.S. as the Jewish community celebrates Passover. Well, this was a scene at New York University on Monday night. Police say they moved in after protesters refused to disperse and students and faculty members were arrested. Columbia University, the epicenter of the protests, says all classes at its main campus will be hybrid until the semester ends on April 29th.

There was also a large presence of police on campus on Monday. Well, the protests have spread to other college campuses as well, including MIT, Yale, and University of Michigan. With pro-Palestinian students saying they are acting in solidarity with students at Columbia University. Well, Harvard officials are restricting access to their campus yard until Friday afternoon, ahead of expected demonstrations.

That's according to the campus newspaper, the Harvard Crimson. Well, New York's governor, Kathy Hochul visited Columbia University on Monday to discuss security concerns amid the ongoing protests. She says during her visit, she stressed the need to protect public safety and security, but also protect people's right to freedom and speech and peaceful assembly. She also posted on X "students are scared. They are afraid to walk on campus. They don't deserve that." I called on students to discuss the situation.

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KATHY HOCHUL, NEW YORK GOVERNOR: I've never seen a level of protests that is so person to person. It is so visceral. And I'm not calling on everyone. People need to find their humanity, have the conversations, talk to each other, understand different points of view, because that's what college students should be doing.

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COREN: CNN's Shimon Procupekz has been following the developments at Columbia University and has this report.

SHIMON PROCUPEKZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): We're on the steps of Columbia University. There's a Jewish group here that's actually giving out free matzah as they get ready for Passover. And just across from them is the encampment, which has stirred so much emotion here on the campus with some of the Jewish students feeling unsafe.

SOPHIE ARNSTEIN, STUDENT: I consider myself a very brave person, but I won't deny that I've been physically intimidated and harassed.

[02:20:02]

BEN SOLOMON, STUDENT: I've felt like this is not a welcoming environment. I think it's a very difficult time for a lot of Jewish students.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me forget the 7th of October.

PROCUPEKZ (voice-over): Over the weekend, the protests turned rowdy, disturbing videos show some protesters harassing Jewish students. Amid all this, a rabbi linked to the university urged Jewish students to stay home, saying recent events at the university have "made it clear that Columbia University's public safety and the NYPD cannot guarantee Jewish students' safety."

PROCUPEKZ (on camera): This is the center of Columbia University, what they're calling the Gaza Solidarity encampment and an occupation here at the school as they want certain demands to be met by the school in terms of their support of Israel.

Why is it important for you to be out here, sleeping out here?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just to show solidarity with the students that have already been arrested and obviously the people in Gaza.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the tarp area, this is where many of the medical supplies, the food, there's coffee here, there's other goodies at just essential needs that many of the people may need who have been out here for several days. So, I'm Jewish, a lot of the focus has been on like, you know, supporting Jewish students who have been facing anti-Semitism but there has not been a lot of focus on, you know, Palestinian students who have been, you know, feeling anti-Islamic sentiments.

PROCUPEKZ (on camera): How do you have parents feel about it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good, they're proud of me and I'm proud of them for that.

PROCUPEKZ (voice-over): This week over 100 protesters including some students were removed from campus by New York Police at the behest of the university and arrested on suspicion of criminal trespass. The move stirred more tension on campus and by Monday morning Columbia's president Minouche Shafik declared that all classes would be virtual for the day and that a reset was needed.

I am deeply saddened by what is happening on our campus. She wrote in a statement, these tensions have been exploited and amplified by individuals who are not affiliated with Columbia who have come to campus to pursue their own agendas.

PROCUPEKZ (on camera): Many of the students here are saying who are graduating or saying they're not sure what graduation is going to look like this year and those who are part of the encampment are saying that they intend to be here for graduation, that they're not leaving.

PROCUPEKZ (voice-over): Additional pro-Palestinian protests are taking place at universities across the country including Yale, NYU and MIT. On Monday University Police charge approximately 45 people for refusing to leave the scene of an on-campus protest at Yale University in New Haven.

Shimon PROCUPEKZ, CNN, New York.

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COREN: We are following a developing story out of Malaysia when news agencies report 10 people have been killed after two helicopters collided in mid-air. It happened at a naval base in the western part of the country during a rehearsal for a Royal Malaysian Navy parade. AFP reports the Prime Minister has sent his condolences to the families of the victims. He says the defense ministry will conduct an investigation.

Well, the U.S. aid bill for Israel, Taiwan and Ukraine includes a provision that could ban TikTok in the U.S. And it could become law this week. What it would mean for the Chinese-owned social media company next.

Plus, India's Prime Minister is facing backlash after remarks at a rally sparked accusations of hate speech. More on that, just ahead.

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COREN: Welcome back to CNN Newsroom. I'm Anna Coren. Well, U.S. President Joe Biden is promising Ukraine will move quickly once the Senate passes a massive foreign aid package this week as expected. The White House says he spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday and underscored how the $61 billion in renewed funding will help maintain stability and rebuild Ukrainian infrastructure.

A delegation of U.S. lawmakers visited Kyiv on Monday and met with President Zelenskyy who's praising the U.S. for its support. He says Ukraine urgently needs the aid for air defenses, long-range weapons and artillery shells. But Russia says the aid package won't change anything on the battlefield. Claiming most of the money will simply stay in the U.S.

The aid bill also includes a provision that could ban TikTok in the U.S. and the company's vowing to fight it in court if it passes. The bill gives TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, roughly nine months to sell the social media app. If not, U.S. App Stores would be banned from offering it for downloads.

CNN has obtained an internal company memo from TikTok's head of public policy for the America's. In it he writes. At the stage that the bill is signed by President Joe Biden, we will move to the courts for a legal challenge. This is the beginning, not the end of this long process.

Well, joining me now is Daniel Castro, the Vice President of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. Daniel, great to have you with us. You have said the TikTok ban is "bad policy." Why do you believe that?

DANIEL CASTRO, VICE PRESIDENT, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION FOUNDATION: Yes. So, the purpose of the TikTok ban is, you know, in theory to protect national security. And we saw this proposed first four years ago under President Trump and the court put a pause on it because they said it was an arbitrary and capricious move. And now four years later, we're seeing Congress try to move forward with a similar ban.

The problem is they haven't actually proven or provided any evidence that TikTok is actually a national security threat. There's really two ways it could be a threat. One is from the data it's collecting about users. And the second is that the app itself could be malicious. But so far, there's no real evidence of that. And so, you know, to ban an entire app that's used by millions of Americans to communicate is, you know, basically the wrong type of policy to address what could be a legitimate concern.

COREN: You're saying there is no evidence and yet American lawmakers do believe that it's a threat to national security. You -- why are they wrong in your opinion?

CASTRO: Well, so there's two ways that this could be harmful. One is if the data that's being collected by the app is funneled to the Chinese government. And there is a law that China has that allows it to demand companies turn over data. But what TikTok has done is that they've said, you know, they want to basically open the books. They've said they'll store the data in a U.S. data center.

They said they'll allow third-party oversight of the data. It collects the algorithms they deploy and make sure the independent auditors verify that the data is not leaving.

[02:30:07]

And that's something that basically no other company has offered in the past. So again, there is a real legitimate threat that China can demand that apps turnover sensitive data that's collected by these apps.

But it seems like TikTok is actually the exception in the sense that they want to be transparent in what they're doing. There's many other Chinese apps out there. And if we want to be serious about responding to the national security threat, we should think about either banning those other apps or making them go through the same hoops that we are asking TikTok to jump through.

ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWSROOM": I guess, those apps are just not as popular or influential on American voters and consumers as what TikTok is.

CASTRO: Well, there is certainly no app as big as TikTok, but there are lots of Chinese made apps out there and many that Americans might not even realize that they have downloaded and installed on their phones. And that's really probably a bigger threat because, again, TikTok is a major company that they're trying to basically be a brand that consumers trust. They can't do that if they're stealing consumer data and sending it to the Chinese government, and they know that, and that's a real threat for the company. And that's why I think they're trying to do so much to prove that they're not doing something wrong. And millions of Americans choose to download the app it and use it, and I think they're saying this is a free speech issue and they should be allowed to do it.

COREN: Daniel, you have said that the app is not collecting particularly sensitive data, so what data is it collecting that Congress could see is a threat?

CASTRO: So most users are just sharing basic information about the videos they watch, the videos they like, and maybe some communication with other users, comments that they may post. That's not particularly sensitive information. Now, it can be in certain situations, maybe somebody is very interested in a particular topic and the app can infer something about them from that.

Or maybe the app is collecting geolocation data because this is installed on their phone and people who are taking their phones all around them, maybe there's identifiable information there. Those are the types of concerns we should have about all apps installed on our devices. And that's why we need federal privacy legislation to address that kind of risk. And we should certainly be also thinking about legislation that makes it clear that if a company is collecting that kind of sensitive data and selling it or sending it overseas, that consumers are aware of that, so they can make choices maybe not to use these types of apps.

COREN: Daniel Castro, we appreciate your time and your perspective. Thanks for joining us.

CASTRO: Happy to be here.

COREN: In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is facing backlash from members of the opposition and the Muslim community amid accusations of delivering Islamophobic remarks during an election rally. In a speech to a large crowd on Sunday, Mr. Modi appeared to refer to the Muslim community as "infiltrators." This comes as India votes in a weeks-long election, which the prime minister is widely expected to win. CNN's Will Ripley traveled to a massive rally in Uttar Pradesh to speak with some of his supporters.

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WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We are underneath a giant tent with thousands of people a few hours outside Delhi in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state. I have no idea how many people are here, easily thousands if not tens of thousands, and they're all here to see the man who is standing on that podium right now, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

(CROWN CHEERING)

RIPLEY (voice-over): I am not exactly sure what compels people to come out to events like this other than just the pure excitement and spectacle of it. And what people are saying is that they came out here to show their support, to show their support for a politician they believe listens to them and delivers on his promises to them.

RIPLEY: So how many -- how many times have you come to one of these?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fifth time.

RIPLEY: This is your fifth time?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fifth time.

RIPLEY: Why do you keep coming back?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My prime minister favorite leader in all over world.

RIPLEY: Do you know the crowd is going to be very big here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah. RIPLEY: Why do so many people want to come?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because they are excited for seeing Narendra Modi. Actually, the main reason is that he is a very nice leader.

RIPLEY: You can tell, anybody who is wearing orange, saffron is the official color of the BJP and some of these are grassroots organizers who have been really instrumental in Prime Minister Modi's success.

[02:35:00]

RIPLEY: The largest democratic exercise in the world and this is what it looks like at one of the hundreds of rallies that Modi has held since becoming prime minister ten years ago. That may be why it seems that the BJP and Prime Minister Modi is an unstoppable behemoth in this election, which is going to go on for six weeks here in India in seven different phases, including here in India's most populous State of Uttar Pradesh.

Will Ripley, CNN.

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COREN: Well, some young people in China are taking office casual two new low. Next, we'll explain the fashion trend of dressing gross for work.

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COREN: Britain's Prince Louis is celebrating his sixth birthday today. The third child of William and Catherine, the Prince and Princess of Wales is fourth in line for the throne. Royal-watchers are hoping Catherine posts a picture of the celebration, though the Kensington Palace social media accounts have been quiet so far. The Princess of Wales has been off the radar since disclosing a cancer diagnosis last month that came after controversies surrounding pictures she posted online.

A new style for workplace attire is trending in China, dressing gross for work, and it has some asking, who wore it worse? Well, our ever stylish Marc Stewart joins us live from Beijing. Marc, why are people doing this?

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Anna Coren, it is good to see you. Look, what I am wearing right now is probably considered to be too dressed up, too formal for many young people here in China. It is part of this bigger online movement we have been seeing develop, reflecting some of the frustrations of this current generation.

Let me show you exactly what I am talking about. Young people embracing this idea of what they describe as gross outfits to work. So for example, we saw a young man wearing sweatpants and a flannel shirt, another picture of a young woman wearing pajamas and a bulky sweater. Forget high heels, forget business suits, puffy jackets, slippers are all in, a way for young people to express some of their frustrations that they are dealing with, right now, especially in the workplace, with bad bosses, long hours and often in many cases for low pay, an extension of this concept that we have seen developed in China known as lying flat, a rejection of consumerism of this rat race that's currently taking place in many workplaces.

And for young people right now, the tough economy in China is a real part of their lives. In fact, if we look at the data, at the end of last year, the jobless rate for young people was nearly 15 percent and there is clearly a lack of optimism.

[02:40:00]

STEWART: In fact, if we look at some of these online postings which we have been scouring for now for a few weeks, we saw one person say my ugly outfit matches my salary. Another user said, how gross my work is, how gross my -- how gross will my outfit be? This is something that's been developing over the winter months, but based off of the chatter we have been seeing online, it's something that will likely perhaps extend into the spring. And it is not unusual for young people to express themselves through art work, through writing, through music. But as we are seeing right now, in China, fashion is this vehicle of expression.

COREN: Hopefully, those bad bosses are taking note, March Stewart in Beijing, we appreciate the report. Thank you.

Well, from worst dressed to best dressed, Taiwanese drag queen, Nymphia Wind has received praise of the highest order after winning RuPaul's Drag Race. She is the first person from East Asia to take the crown.

Taiwan's president congratulated Wind on Instagram Saturday stating, "Taiwan thanks you for living fearlessly." Taiwan hosts East Asia largest pride march every October.

Well, U.S. basketball star Caitlin Clark could soon have her very own shoe made by Nike. "The Wall Street Journal" reports, Nike has offered the soon-to-be WNBA rookie an eight-year deal worth up to $28 million, much more than the $76,000 salary with the league. Nike has been working to expand its women's business and if the deal goes through, Clark would be just the third active WNBA player to have a contract with a major brand. CNN has not independently confirmed the deal, and Nike hasn't responded to requests for comment.

Well, thanks so much for your company. I'm Anna Coren. "World Sport" is up next. Then, I will be back in 15 minutes time for more of "CNN Newsroom."

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