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Families Torn Apart by China's Cruel Policies; North Korea Launch two Ballistic Missiles; AstraZeneca Out with a New Efficacy Report; Container Ship Blocks Suez Canal; Brazil Sets Up Committee A Year After Pandemic Began; Countries Across Europe Battling Third COVID-19 Surge; E.U. And U.K. Working On Win-Win Situation On Vaccines; Two Contrasting Vaccine Rollouts Along The Irish Border; Biden To Meet Virtually With European Council Summit; Tokyo Games Clear First Hurdle; Why Japan's Torchbearer Choose To Run; Robot Sophia's Artwork. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired March 25, 2021 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.
Ahead on CNN Newsroom, torn apart by oppression, Uyghur parents are desperate to reunite with their families. In a CNN exclusive, our David Culver travels to Xinjiang to look for the lost children left behind.
The mission to unblock the Suez Canal, one of the world's busiest trade routes crippled by a mega cargo ship, we will tell you the impact this could have on global markets.
Also, ahead, the E.U. and U.K. move to ease the fight over vaccines.
Good to have you with us.
We begin this hour with a CNN exclusive. Children torn from their families and kept from leaving China's Xinjiang region. Their parents are desperate for answers turning to CNN for help tracking down their loved ones.
In a new and heartbreaking report, Amnesty International estimates China's policies towards ethnic Uyghur Muslims has split up thousands of families. The U.S. and other countries have labeled China's treatment of Uyghurs as genocide. China denies the human rights abuse allegations claiming their actions are justified to combat religious extremism and prevent terrorism.
But in an exclusive report, CNN's David Culver, senior producer Steven Jiang and photojournalist Justin Robertson traveled to the heavily surveilled region, with the parent's permission, they went in search of the lost children of Xinjiang.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Followed by a convoy of suspected undercover Chinese police vehicles --
The tail is still on us.
Mimicking are every turn through China's far western Xinjiang region.
Yes, they want --
Blocking roads that lead to possible internment camps and keeping us from getting too close to so-called sensitive sites. How we ended up on this journey had less to do about us, and more about who were looking for. CNN searching for the lost Uyghur children of Xinjiang, a region in which several countries including the U.S. alleged China is committing genocide against the ethnic Uyghur Muslim minority.
Thousands of families have now been ripped apart due to China's actions. We tracked down two of them. Now in Adelaide, Australia, Mamutjan Abdurehim constantly replays the only recent videos he has of his daughter and son. He has not held his wife or their children in more than five years. He is among 5000 families from Xinjiang who have been torn apart according to a new Amnesty International report.
MAMUTJAN ABDUREHIM, FATHER OF CHILDREN TRAPPED IN XINJIANG: April on the 17th, the mass internment has started, and as one of the first people detained my wife was detained too.
CULVER: Before they were separated Mamutjan was studying for a Ph.D. in Kuala Lumpur. His wife was studying English there.
ABDUREHIM: We're happy as a family, it was the good old days.
CULVER: But Mamutjan's wife lost her passport while abroad in Malaysia, Chinese officials told her that to renew it she had to go back to Xinjiang. She brought the couple's two young children with her thinking they'd soon be able to travel back to be with her husband, but that was late 2015.
Amnesty says the forced separation of families allows China to control the narrative, keeping something precious to dissuade their loved ones outside the country from bad-mouthing China. Chinese officials have repeatedly pushed back against claims of genocide in Xinjiang. The foreign minister recently calling it preposterous adding --
"We welcome more people from around the world to visit Xinjiang, seeing is believing. It is the best way to debunk rumors," he said.
So, we decided to try to find the missing children ourselves, with permission from their parents. The five plus hour flight from Beijing ending with a strange request from the cabin crew, as we approach Kashgar's airport to land, all window shades had to be shut, no explanation why.
We went through a standard COVID test for all arriving passengers --
All right. Thank you.
[03:04:57]
-- loaded up a rental car and roamed without anyone stopping us.
Though, like much of China, you're always watched. You immediately encounter the vibrant and richly diverse culture of this region, the faces all so different. Perhaps not what you'd expect in China. From the grand bizarre to the central mosque, we stroll through the reconstructed old town. It's here we began to notice, people trailing us.
There are usually individual men on phones, and kind of keeping a social distance, shall we say.
But it seemed they wanted to know who we were searching for. This video of Mamutjan's little girl was a critical clue for us, we matched to the alleyways of old Kashgar with the backdrop in the video, the first day no luck. Another dead end, this might be it. Let's try this.
Twenty-four hours and 20,000 steps later, we weaved our way through one last corridor and suddenly. That's her. Do you know this man, is he your father?
The daughter and her grandparents, Mamutjan's mom and dad were not expecting us but they let us into their home. Muhlise told me she is going to turn 11 in May, but amidst her innocence and awareness not to say too much. She told us she had not spoken to her father since 2017.
Their passports were confiscated. And when we asked her.
What would you want to say to him if you talk to him?
"I miss him," she later told me.
Can you tell me some of what you're feeling?
"I don't have my mom with me right now, I don't have my dad either. I just want to be reunited with them," she told me. Off camera, her grandmother overcome by grief. As I asked about her mother, and if she had been sent to a camp?
How long was she away for? She quickly bolted to her grandfather, translating our question from Chinese to Uyghur for them. Camps are too sensitive a topic to discuss. As they talked, notice the sudden murmurs in the background. It seemed word of our visit have gotten to officials and back to the family, bringing in an abrupt end to our visit.
She wants the family together.
UNKNOWN: Right.
CULVER: She didn't want to say they want to go abroad.
But we still wanted to know where Mamutjan's wife and son were, the family says they've been living with her parents and a house nearby.
It's locked on the outside, so unless they're gone for the day or they're gone permanently. We asked the Chinese government if the wife is currently in a camp, they have not gotten back to us.
While on the ground in Xinjiang, there was a second set of children we wanted to track down. Their parents are in Italy.
MAMTININ ABLIKIM, FATHER OF CHILDREN TRAPPED IN XINJIANG (through translator): My children thought that we had abandoned them, that we don't care about them.
CULVER: After having five children and getting pregnant with the sixth, they say authorities wanted to force the mother to have an abortion and throw the father in jail.
MIHRIBAN KADER, MOTHER OF CHILDREN TRAPPED IN XINJIANG (through translator): The policies were too strict, it was impossible to take on all of our children together with us. So, we left our homeland and our children in desperation.
CULVER: The older children now aged between 12 and 16 were left behind with their grandparents. Mihriban and Ablikim hope the separation would be temporary until they could secure more visas. But they went nearly four years unable to contract their children, and they got a word that family members were being rounded up and sent to camps.
Determined to reunite the family, their cousin in Canada, Arafat Abulmit choreographed their escape attempt from half a world away. Their parents had finally secured visa approvals from Italy for their children, In June 2020, Arafat manage to communicate to the kids.
ARAFAT ABULMIT, COUSIN OF UYGHUR CHILDREN: This is your only shot. If you just stay, your life is going to be safe there, nothing we can do.
CULVER: On their own, they traveled more than 3,000 miles, farther than going from L.A. to New York recovering hidden passports, eventually flying into shanghai.
When the children arrived here in Shanghai, they were excited and happy. They never thought they would make it this far.
But their repeated attempts to obtain their visas, failed. Arafat also says multiple hotels turn the kids away because they are Uyghur, they finally found a place willing to take them in. All the while they drop geolocations pins for Arafat to know that they were OK. The last pin dropped on June 24th. A few blocks from the hotel.
Do you know who these children are? Have you seen them before? Arafat in Canada watched, then silence, minutes to hours, to days, to weeks.
ABULMIT: And then I tell my aunt, they might have been detained. Mihriban in Italy, they start crying. They cannot believe it.
[03:10:03] CULVER: After several phone calls he learned that police had tracked them down. China's giant surveillance network zeroing in on the four children. Arafat later found out they've been sent back to Xinjiang and thrown into an orphanage.
In Rome, the parents heard the devastating news of their children's detention, as they begged for help outside Italy's ministry of foreign affairs office. The Italian government refused to comment to CNN on what happened. China has also not responded to requests for comment on the two family's cases.
Having found Muhlise for her father, we hope to find the other four Ablikim children to bring their parents some comfort. We head it about before sunrise, leaving Kashgar for the hour or so drive to get to the orphanage where they were sent. That's the eldest boy, Yaya (Ph) standing in front of the building a month ago.
As we drove, we watched as one car after another trailed us.
This is it right here where he took the photo.
After making a pass by the orphanage, we headed to one of the kids' schools where we asked to see the kids. Eventually, a local official showed up and asked for about 30 minutes to get back to us.
That was more than two hours ago, but they've yet to let us talk to the children. We later made contact with Yaya (Ph) through video chat. Do you want to be with him? Do you miss them?
"I do," he says, he answered quickly and kept looking off camera. Someone was directing him to answer. "Tell them that you see your sister every day," the voice said.
UNKNOWN: He's been coached.
CULVER: Can you tell us about your journey trying to reunite with your parents last year?
When we asked about the Shanghai escape attempt, he deflected. Much like Muhlise, here was another child keenly aware that the way they speak and what they say could impact those they love. After about eight minutes we ended the call.
They are literally right over there and we can't see them.
We later learned that three of the children were interrogated about our conversation. Despite the pressure that the children face every day, late last month they even risk sending out a photo message to their parents. The four of them lined up holding a sign in Chinese saying, "dad, mom, we miss you. A rare glimpse of an uncensored truth.
With each passing hour of our being on the ground in Xinjiang, it seemed the number of likely security agents trailing us increased adding pressure to our search. But before leaving, we reconnected with Mamutjan who is hungry for any information on his wife and kids and desperate to see his little girl. We watched him as he watched her. That's my mother.
CULVER: Do you know this man? Is he your father?
ABDUREHIM: That's my father.
CULVER: We've been talking to your father.
ABDUREHIM: They got so old. I haven't seen them for four years.
CULVER: For Mamutjan, it's part relief seeing that she's OK, even proud that she still wants to be a doctor.
What would you want to say to him if you could talk to him?
But to see her breakdown sending love to her father, no dad no matter how strong can hide that agony for long.
ABDUREHIM: Poor thing. What kind of country does this to people? To innocent people? She should definitely miss me too.
CULVER: She clearly your little girl is hurting but she loves you a lot and that came across right away.
ABDUREHIM: It's terrible, it's a terrible situation. I can't even describe my feelings right now. I will try to bring them here in Australia. I will try my best. I will do everything I can.
CULVER: Beneath that relentless determination and inconsolable grief for years lost and a hope for families to be whole once more.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH (on camera): David Culver joins us now live from Beijing. David, a powerful, heartbreaking report there. Do you know what happened to the children after you left?
CULVER: No question from my entire team this has been a heavy assignment, Rosemary. We through one of the said children's families have been able to gather a bit more detail as to what they went through after we left. And we put out a piece that really kind of touch the surface of this story late last week on cnn.com.
And after that, we were told, through one of the families that the Ablikim four children, several of them were questioned, interrogated for long hours.
[03:15:01]
Put in front of them was our reporting, they were asked why did you send your mom and dad this sign which said dad, mom, we miss you. And as far as, Muhlise, the young girl who you saw in that piece, well, we haven't been in touch with her but we do know that state media has rolled out a propaganda piece on her. Showing her in a seemingly happy lifestyle set up in a home with her loving grandparents, which we did see, but they paint the story as though they want the father to come back from Australia to reunite with the family. What's interesting in that piece, Rosemary, that the state media put
out is that they gave us an idea as to what happened to her mother. Because you saw there, we tried to track down her mom and we couldn't. They say, a state media that is, that she's been charged with inciting ethnic hatred, they did not give us any idea as to her whereabouts. Rosemary?
CHURCH: Just shocking. And David, how is China likely to respond to this report? And what signs are you already seeing of reactions?
CULVER: Well let's start with our conversation right here. It is not airing here in China. It's been censored since we started broadcasting this report. This is no questioned one of the most sensitive issues right now. And China is not happy with the U.S. and other western nation nations pointing the finger here with claims of human rights abuses because they say, look in your own border, see what's happening in your own countries. Take care of that. Mind you're on business, essentially.
We're likely going to see that deflection continue for some time. I think what's going to be interesting going forward is to see how other nations are going to either step up and try to put more pressure and even adding more sanctions and if that will yield any sort of positive outcome here.
CHURCH: Yes, absolutely. Again, David, an incredible report, thank you so much, joining us live from Beijing.
CULVER: Thanks, Rosemary.
CHURCH (on camera): Well, North Korea has launched two ballistic missiles. It's the second weapons launch in less than a week. South Korea says the projectiles fell into the sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan. And it is stepping up surveillance in the area. Japan's prime minister is calling the launch a violation of a U.N. resolution.
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YOSHIHIDE SUGA, PRIME MINISTER OF JAPAN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): It is a threat to our country and to the regional security. I am determined to closely cooperate with the United States, South Korea and other related nations to protect the lives and peaceful lives of our people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH (on camera): And CNN's Paula Hancocks joins me now live from Seoul. So, Paula, what more are you learning about the second weapons test in just a matter of days, this time of course involving ballistic missiles? And we saw the reaction there from Japan, what about from South Korea?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, a very similar reaction from South Korea, Rosemary, they had a national security council emergency meeting this morning, saying that there was great concern at the launch itself. And this launch, because it was a ballistic missile or two ballistic missiles does violate the U.N. Security Council resolution.
So clearly, there could be more concerns from further afield than just the region as well. And we could see some stronger response from the Biden administration. Now as for the exact weapon itself, the exact missile, we are waiting for North Korea to give more details through state run media, waiting for images which obviously missile experts will then be pouring over very carefully to find out exactly what it was, if it is one of the new missiles that North Korea has been talking about or if it's one that they showed off at a parade back in October.
We heard from Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader that he felt the self-imposed missile and testing moratorium was over, and that he was ready to test more. And we also, not surprised by this because it is quite often that North Korea has some kind of a missile test or weapons test to welcome in a new U.S. administration.
And clearly, this is -- this is very well into the Biden administration. Now we know that the U.S. is eminently going to release their North Korea policy review, whether this has any impact on it, it's unlikely as I say this was pretty much expected.
We did have a weapons test over the weekend from North Korea, which we didn't know about until the U.S. publicized it on Wednesday. And to that, we heard from the Biden administration saying it's a low down on the spectrum when it comes to what's North Korea could carry out.
President Biden asked about it as well, saying that he didn't see that it was going to close the door on any diplomacy. In fact, when he was asked about diplomacy, he walked away from reporters laughing. But it will be interesting to see what he says Thursday, President Biden does have a press conference and clearly, this will be asked about. Rosemary?
CHURCH (on camera): Yes, no doubt about it. Paula Hancocks joining us live from Seoul. Many thanks.
[03:20:02]
A new update from AstraZeneca about how well the company's vaccine works against COVID-19. It says, the shot is 76 percent effective in preventing symptomatic disease, that is a slight decrease from the number given in data on Monday.
The report still shows the vaccine has 100 percent efficacy against severe disease and hospitalization. The revision comes after AstraZeneca faced questions regarding accuracy in its preliminary report in the United States.
In Europe, its vaccine rollout has faced challenges over blood clotting concerns, several nations have now resumed vaccination after the E.U.'s medicines regulator reaffirmed the shot is safe. And the World Health Organization says its benefits outweigh the risks. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SOUMYA SWAMINATHAN, CHIEF SCIENTIST, WHO: Nothing is 100 percent safe. So, there may be something rare that occurs in one in a million or two in a million. We need to watch. We've asked all countries to step up their safety surveillance. We of course, if there is a relationship, we need to understand what it is, can it be prevented? Can it be treated? All of that needs to be done.
But right now, the benefit risk profile is clearly in favor of the vaccine. We need to save lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH (on camera): Mexico says it now has 12 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses and is expecting a shipment of six million more. The country's foreign minister says distribution will start in a matter of weeks, including to Latin America which could come around the third week of April.
In India, a senior government official says the country has now detected a new double mutant variant in one hard-hit states. Some samples of the same variant have been found in New Delhi.
And a new analysis shows Africa is being hit much harder by a second coronavirus wave than the first. The study found daily new infections across the continent have been about 30 percent higher during the second wave.
Well, the E.U. is considering new measures to prevent desperately needed doses of vaccines from being shipped out of Europe. We will explain why vaccine exports have become a controversy again.
Plus, traffic is at a standstill in one of the most important waterways in the world. Coming up, how a grounded vessel in the Suez Canal is impacting global trade.
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CHURCH (on camera): Welcome back, everyone. Well, it could be days before a giant cargo ship blocking marine traffic in the Suez Canal is freed. Several tugboats are working to move the grounded container ship, the Ever Given. But with shipping through the passageway at a standstill there could be major implications for world trade.
[03:25:02]
CNN's John Defterios has the details
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JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN BUSINESS EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR (voice over): A traffic jam in one of the most important waterways in the world, the Suez Canal was blocked on Tuesday when a very large container carrier got stuck. Preventing other vessels from moving in either direction along the crucial East West trading route that weighs around 12 percent of world trade. Sailing under the flag of Panama, the Ever Given run around six
nautical miles from the southern end of the estuary. Four hundred meters long and 59 meters wide, the giant vessel got caught navigating through a sandstorm. The crew reported no injuries and no damage to cargo.
SAMIR MADANI, CO-FOUNDER, TANKER TRACKER: Given the sheer size of the vessel being very tall and wide it seems like it became a sail. This is a very freaky event. I would say that this is the first time I'm not actually expecting anything like this where a narrow body of water has just been entirely closed off by directional traffic.
DEFTERIOS: Eight tugboats are attempting to refloat the ship according to the Suez Canal authority. A senior canal pilot tells CNN that the process could take two days to a week. And doubts the ship can sail and will need to be dragged. Nevertheless, the senior pilot believes once floated, there will be two to three days of ship congestion before things are flowing normally.
Analytics from Port Texas (Ph) said that 10 oil tankers carrying 13 million barrels of crude about 14 percent of daily demand could be affected by the delay. Nearly 19,000 ships on average, more than 50 ships per day, passed through the canal last year. A man-made engineering marvel for busy Egyptian shipping lane is the quickest maritime link between Asia and Europe. At least when unobstructed.
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CHURCH (on camera): And CNN's John Defterios joins us now live from Abu Dhabi with more on this. Good to see you, John. So, are we starting to understand the wider business implication of the tanker traffic jam now?
DEFTERIOS: Yes. I don't mean to be cliche about this, Rosemary, but having this clogged artery is a very difficult challenge for the global supply chain, if you will. It is broken, at this stage because of the volume of the traffic that is coming through here.
And we're starting to get already rumblings about insurance claim, the Suez Canal authority, according to local Egyptian media, the chairman of the authority was suggesting that compensation will need to be paid for those vessels trapped within the canal right now.
We know that dozens are involved in this, both north and south and those sitting south have to have a discussion about rerouting here in the future, and going around Africa to get to Europe which takes a week, if not longer.
So, this one thing, two to three days, yes, you sit it out, if it's a week or longer, of course you have to start thinking about the vessels that are traveling towards the Suez Canal at the same time. And the trade flows between Asia and Europe, Europe and the United States going both ways, dislodging of course, that clogged artery is going to be very important in terms of the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis of the tank. And finally, we've heard from BSM, Bernhard Schulte Management which
is actually the technical management of the vessel, we've heard a lot of different opinions of what's going on, but this is from the horse's mouth, if you will. They are now in stage two because they are dredging as long as well as tugging right now to dislodge the Ever Given. And they have not made progress yet, they did confirm it was a sandstorm, a ferocious one, but no sign of technical mishaps or engine failures.
Again, those were the other reports that were out there yesterday. And Rosemary, 24 hours ago we were talking about the influence on the oil market. We had a rise of three and a half percent yesterday, the markets trading one and a half percent lower. There is 14 percent of daily supplies kind of clogged there right now, but the market thinks it can, get unstuck in the next two to three days.
CHURCH: It's going to be a big operation. John Defterios joining us from Abu Dhabi. Many thanks.
Well another battle is brewing over the E.U. supply of AstraZeneca vaccine. Coming up, the new proposal to keep doses from leaving the E.U. even as the E.U. and the U.K. tried to avoid further conflict.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I don't think that blockades of other vaccines or medicines or ingredients or ingredients for vaccines are sensible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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[03:30:00]
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): COVID-19 in Brazil has reached a critical level, but now more than a year after the pandemic erupted, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is creating a crisis committee to oversee the government's response. The panel will gather every week to decide next steps.
More than 300,000 people there have now lost their lives to the coronavirus. At least that is when you are looking at official data, and now the health ministry is changing the rules for reporting cases and deaths. CNN Matt Rivers is in Sau Paulo.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): On a day we're Brazil's death toll surpassed 300,000 coronavirus deaths for the first time, it was the way that new deaths were reported on Wednesday that really got people talking. On Wednesday the health ministry announced that it would be requiring more personal information about COVID-19 victims from the officials that were reporting those deaths. That immediately sparked concern, that the number of COVID-19 deaths
being reported would be lower. Those concerns apparently justified. On Tuesday it was a record setting day for coronavirus deaths, more than 3,200 deaths recorded in a single day on Tuesday. That number on, Wednesday plummeted to just over 2,000 deaths. That immediately made people here in Brazil suspicious, one day you have a record setting amounts of deaths in a single day the next day, reporting requirements change, the timing certainly made people suspicious.
By the end of the day the health ministry announced that it was basically backtracking, it wouldn't require more information moving forward. We'll have to see what happens when the numbers come out on Thursday, but this whole incident certainly did not give a lot of people here in Brazil more confidence, more trust in the way the federal government is handling this pandemic.
Matt Rivers, CNN, Sau Paulo, Brazil.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH (on camera): Well, countries across Europe are now battling a third surge of coronavirus infections, and that is forcing some to extend lockdowns. Germany in dark red on the map you are looking at now is seeing a big jump in new cases, but just one day after announcing a strict lockdown over the Easter holiday. Chancellor Angela Merkel walk back that plan, and apologized for any confusion saying the issue was her mistake, and hers alone.
France is also working to bring down new COVID-19 cases, the government says, it may extend the current restrictions to three more regions, which would include the City of Leon. And after the European Union proposed tighter control on the expert of COVID-19 vaccines, the E.U. and the U.K. issued a joint statement saying they are working together to expand access to coronavirus vaccine and create a win-win situation.
CNN's Melissa Bell is tracking developments. She joins us now live from Paris. Good to see you Melissa. So, let's talk about the latest on COVID restrictions, and also E.U. efforts to find a way to hold on to more vaccines, in this battle with the U.K.
[03:35:03]
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): That's right. You mentioned a moment ago Angela Merkel's walk down when it came to that announcement of the hard lockdown over Easter, and an apology that came from her. Well, similarly here in France, what we are seeing our authorities having to specify precisely what they meant with previous decrease. So we've just heard from French authorities yesterday that in fact, there was a ban on six people gatherings outdoors and that didn't just apply to the 16 regions but to all of them.
It had been there, rather buried in the degree that it hadn't been publish before last week. And we have seen a number of mishaps and miscommunications coming from the French authorities here as well. I think that and the other issues that you referred to which is the E.U. expanding its export ban all speak to the increasing nervousness of European leaders faced with this dramatically sharp rises in COVID-19.
Figures that are borne of that third wave and specifically being driven by the new variance, the one identified in the United Kingdom, in particular. So, tightening restrictions, governments playing catch- up really with figures. Doctors here in the greater Paris warning that the ICUs are once again in the brink of collapse and that the restrictions are simply not tight enough for the time being, Rosemary to prevent a collapse of the health care system going forward.
So great deal of anxiety here by health care professionals and as you mentioned, at the European level that extraordinary announcement yesterday that they were expanding that export ban mechanism that had been used in January, not to focus just on companies as they have so far, but to look in fact at countries to look at whether how the countries were vaccinating. How their programs going? How their COVID- 19 figures were looking and whether they were showing reciprocity.
Of course this particularly targets the United Kingdom, have a look at what the vice president of the European commission had to say yesterday. Even as that announcement came of the draft legislation coming out. It has yet to be approved by European leaders over the next couple of days. Have a listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VALDIS DOMBROVSKIS, E.U. COMMISSION EXECUTIVE V.P. FOR ECONOMY: Just since the introduction of the export authorizations system, some 10 million doses have been exported from the U.K., from E.U. to the U.K., and zero doses have been exported from U.K. to E.U. So, if we discuss reciprocity, solidarity and some say global responsibility. So, it is clear that we also need to look at those aspects of reciprocity and proportionality.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BELL (on camera): So the European Union trying to equip with its self with the means of keeping more doses that are produce in the E.U. in the E.U. because the vaccination campaigns are going so slow. And again, leaders under pressure from those dramatic crises in COVID-19 figures, Rosemary.
CHURCH: Alright. Many thanks to our Melissa Bell joining us live from Paris. Anna Cavazzini, is a German member of the European parliament who joins us now live from Berlin. Thank you so much for being with us.
ANNA CAVAZZINI, GERMAN MEMBER, EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Hello.
CHURCH: Now, in this pandemic world, everyone has been forced into a hunger games scenario to get access to vaccines. But now it looks like the U.K. and the E.U. may have come up with some sort of compromise solution to avoid the European threat of a vaccine export ban. Now you made it very clear, you were never in support of such a ban. So what is this compromised solution to the dispute that the two parties have apparently come up with? CAVAZZINI: I don't know the details of the compromise. I only know
the statement that you also quoted, but I think it is a very good sign. This is exactly what I say all the time, we have to cooperate. We cannot start a trade war on vaccines because this will at the end damage everyone.
But we have to say, that the European Union has a cause to threat with the export then, because you mentioned the numbers, we have problems with the delivery of AstraZeneca. It is not fulfilling the contract with the E.U. while it's fulfilling the contract with the U.K. And of course, this is unfair. I expect the U.K. government to also put pressure on AstraZeneca and apparently I hope the commission and (inaudible) government found a solution.
CHURCH: Now you have previously suggested that the U.K. renegotiate the U.K. first clause in the contract that they have with AstraZeneca, and find a way to equitably divide COVID vaccines to ensure European nations get their fair share. Are you confident that this new arrangement will do something like that?
CAVAZZINI: I hope, that we come to a situation when there is a shortage for example of AstraZeneca that they cannot deliver what they promised that at least it will be equalized a little bit between the U.K. and the E.U. And if this is renegotiating the contract or if it's something informal, it is not so important.
But I think the important sign to us, the European citizen is that the, yes, European Union will not just be magically left behind and the U.K., everything is happy. This is just a very unfair perception, but nevertheless, I think this has to be done in a corporate way. This export ban would be a bad idea.
[03:40:12]
CHURCH: Yes. It is worth pointing out that less than 12 percent of the E.U. block's population is reported to have received a COVID vaccine shot, compared to 40 percent in the United Kingdom. A vaccine export ban would have delayed the U.K.'s vaccine program probably by about two months or so, analysts suggest.
Now sharing those vaccines with Europe will probably do the same, a two month delay of some sort. So can European nations guarantee an improved vaccine rollout, when they do get these extra doses? Given we know 29 million AstraZeneca vaccines are currently being held up in Italy? And that country also blocked vaccine supplies to Australia, nearly 300,000 or so?
CAVAZZINI: Yes, I think there are different problems. So, one is that AstraZeneca doses found yesterday in Italy, and I think no one really knew about them. And the other one is that a lot of European countries decided to hold back the second doses for the people being vaccinated, or to be sure to have them. Because you get the first doses and then you have only 47 days to get the second doses.
And I think a lot of European governments decided to play the safeguard to keep the doses there for the second shot. And this is also why it's getting a little bit slower. The third problem is that indeed some European countries, including also I think my own Germany, is a little bit too slow in really getting the vaccine to people, very absolutely need to speed up, and this is not acceptable.
CHURCH (on camera): Right. And while I have you here, I do want to ask you about your chancellor, Angela Merkel reversing her initial decision to have an Easter lockdown. Let's just listen to what she is now saying.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): It is important to say here, a mistake needs to be called a mistake and above all, it must be corrected. And if possible, this needs to happen as soon as possible. At the same time, I am aware that this whole business has created even more uncertainty, and I deeply regret this and asked for forgiveness.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH (on camera): Now, we certainly don't see this come from politician very often, Chancellor Merkel apologizing for the confusion and admitting this was a mistake. How confident are you in Merkel's leadership?
CAVAZZINI: I think it is very good that if politicians do a mistake that they admit it, and you say that we don't see very often, and I think personally this increases frustration. Of course, (inaudible) if something goes wrong. But of course, I expect (inaudible) a little bit more leadership but also foresight. I have (inaudible) the government is only doing its politics from one day to the other, they are not really planning.
The testing (inaudible), we don't have a concept for the schools. We have corruption cases in their own party, so, there is a lot of mess being created at the moment by the German government. Nevertheless the gesture that Merkel apologizes, I think it's a good one because if there is mistakes happening, we have to also admit them.
CHURCH: Alright. Anna Cavazzini, thank you so much for talking with us, we do appreciate it.
Well, COVID vaccinations in Northern Ireland are being administered to the population at a steady rate, but across the border, in the Republic of Ireland, it is a very different story. Just ahead we will explain what is behind the disparity.
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[03:45:00]
CHURCH (on camera): The fallout from Brexit is leading to vaccine inequity among those living on the same exact island. More than a third of those living in Northern Ireland have had at least one dose. Compare that to just 12 percent on the other side of the border in the Republic of Ireland. CNN's Nic Robertson has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): 101 years-old, Mary Devlin gets a second vaccine shot.
How do you feel having the second shot?
MARY DEVLIN, 101 YEARS-OLD: I feel wonderful.
ROBERTSON: Her doctor, Dr. Frances O'Hagan is on a role.
FRANCES O'HAGAN, GENERAL PRACTITIONER, ARMAGH NORTHERN IRELAND: I want to give a vaccine.
ROBERTSON: Putting shots in arms at the Northern Ireland clinic in Armagh, just as fast as she can all her over 60s done.
O'HAGAN: It's feels fantastic and at every clinic there's a real (inaudible) atmosphere.
ROBERTSON: At a nearby sports center, the same buzz. Dozens of health officials delivering 1,200 shots a day. So far across Northern Ireland, more than one third of the population have their first shot of vaccine rollout according to the government is going well.
South of the border in the Republic of Ireland, it's an entirely different story. Just across the Irish border in Monaghan, government vaccines supplies are stalling. Local doctor Illona Duffy has no shots for the next few days.
ILLONA DUFFY, GENERAL PRACTIONER, MONAGHAN REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: The real issue is that we are a large practice, we have over 1,500 patients over the age of 70 and today we have only been able to vaccinate about 210 of those patients.
ROBERTSON: In Monaghan, people eye the other side of the border with vaccine envy. Unlike the U.K., Ireland relied on the E.U. for vaccines and a way behind.
UNKNOWN: It's a bit frustrating for people here, like, you know what I mean.
ROBERTSON: In this bar, Raymond Aughey is counting the cost of being shuttered for COVID restrictions for almost a year. A slow vaccine rollout in the south is adding to his worries. Business lost to Northern Ireland.
RAYMOND AUGHEY, OWNER THE SQUEALING PIG: They'll probably be open so much faster and when they open the young people are just going to flock across to the border.
ROBERTSON: On the border, (inaudible) police run occasional COVID checkpoints preventing non-essential journeys. They began when rocketing infections into the north spilled over, spiking outbreaks in Ireland. In the first month of full cross border operation, police here have handed out more than a 140 fines to drivers coming from Northern Ireland. However there is no reciprocal system on the other side of the border.
Both side of the border, the uneven COVID response is worrying politicians.
BRENDAN SMITH, CHAIRMAN, FIANNA FAIL PARLIAMENTARY PARTY: Pandemics don't recognize borders. We are a very small community, a small island of the northwest periphery of Europe. We need to walk together to deal with health issues.
ROBIN SWANN, NORTHERN IRELAND HEALTH MINISTER: (inaudible) crossover movements that we actually see a higher degree of people who aren't vaccinated to actually starting to come to Northern Ireland and mix with our people here (inaudible).
ROBERTSON: Paradoxically Northern Irelands vaccines success offers hope south of the border.
UNKNOWN: Now that the rates in the northern (inaudible) somehow that we know that that would probably continued because there will be less community transmission because so many people are vaccinated. I think we are going to find that our rates will reflect that.
ROBERTSON: Both sides of the border hoping for a leveling up fast. Nic Robertson, CNN, along the Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland border.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH (on camera): U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to meet virtually with E.U. leaders later today, when the European council hold its summit. It comes as U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken is wrapping up two days of high level talks E.U. and NATO leaders, one of his top priorities was ensuring transatlantic relations that were badly strained during the Trump presidency.
Blinken stress the need for western democracies to develop a united response to what he called, China's coercive behavior. But he also urged cooperation with Beijing whenever possible, especially on urgent issues such as climate change and health security.
[03:50:17]
Still to come here on CNN Newsroom, we will head to Japan where the delayed Tokyo summer games just cleared their first hurdle.
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CHURCH: The Olympic flame completed its grand start in the past hour ahead of the Tokyo Games. The event was very different this year, because of COVID-19 of course. The relay which was led by members of Japan's women's football team, was closed to the public. It took place in Fukushima, 10 years after the nuclear disaster which followed the earthquake and tsunami there. And CNN's Blake Essig is in Fukushima prefecture, he joins us now. So
Blake, the Olympic flame just completed its grand start, talk to us about what happened and the very latest on all of this.
BLAKE ESSIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Rosemary, it has been making its tour around Fukushima all day today, and actually should be arriving right behind me any minute. You can see, taking a look behind me this is a festival like atmosphere, there are tense, there is a stage of human size snow globe, hundreds of people in samurai on horseback, it is a party down there.
These Olympic Games, though, have been billed as the recovery games in showcasing that recovery is why we are here in northeast Japan for the start of the torch relay. But when you talk to people living in Fukushima and you asked them about the idea of recovery, their responses are always the same. They politely laugh. If you spend a little time here, it is easy to understand why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ESSIG (voice over): The road to recovery is different for everyone. For 48-year-old Takayuki Ueno who has suffered unimaginable loss, it is a road lined with guilt and no end in sight.
TAKAYUKI UENO, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR (through translator): For me, it is totally impossible. My family will never come back.
ESSIG: This home alter honors the memory of his daughter, son and parents, they lost their lives when they were swept away more than 10 years ago by the tsunami triggered by a magnitude 9.1 earthquake of Japan's northeast Coast.
Ueno plans to send a special message to an unseen audience of four. He carries the Olympic flame as a torchbearer. Ryoji Sakuma will also carry the torch, his path towards recovery started when he was just six in 2011. Forced back then to evacuate their dairy farm in Katsu, due to the fallout from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. He will run with the torch to show the world that his small village is still trying hard to recover.
RYOJI SAKUMA, OLYMPIC TORCHBEARER (through translator): The recovery means for me that this village will be rejuvenated, and people can come back and live happily.
ESSIG: It is an idea that will be on display all across the disaster ravaged area of Fukushima throughout the torch relay in Tokyo 2020 games. An event which the Japanese government has built as the recovery games.
I'm walking along a roughly 500 meter torch relay route in Futaba town and this is what the world is going to see, a handful of newly constructed buildings like this train station.
[03:55:10]
But if you look at the bigger picture, just about a block away, buildings and homes remain abandoned, decayed and in ruins. A result of the ongoing fears of radiation.
Fears that Nobuyoshi Ito believes are justifies. He lives in (inaudible), about 30 kilometers from the damage power plant. This former farmer was forced into retirement after the nuclear disaster, ever since, he has been armed at all times with a Geiger counter measuring radiation levels.
NOBUYOSHI ITO, RETIRED FARMER (through translator): My dosimeter shows 2 to 3 (inaudible) per hour, if 0.05 is the standard level it is 30 to 40 times higher, 0.05 is the level before the nuclear accident.
ESSIG: Ito, known affectionately as the monitoring grandpa took us to several spots around town, including the torch relay route to highlight elevated levels of radiation. While Ito says, exposure at these levels doesn't pose immediate dangers, a United Nations special report outline concerns for younger generations and the potential for serious health problems they could face years down the road.
UENO: Protecting children is everything for a parent. And I am a parent who could not protect his children.
ESSIG: On the day of the earthquake and tsunami in 2011, Ueno was at work. He saved others thinking his family had evacuated, instead, he took shelter at his home one kilometer from the coast. Too close to the waters that would rise swiftly and sweep them away. He says his recovery will only come when he can think straight and reflect on the death of his parents and children. For now, all he can do is send a message to his family watching from the heavens. He'll do that while carrying the Olympic flame.
UENO: I want to tell them that I am well, I am all right so that they don't have to worry about me. I'm going to run smiling so that my father, mother, Erica and Kotaro will not worry about me.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ESSIG (on camera): The relay is meant to connect the people to the torch and Olympic organizers are hoping that this event generates excitement and support for an Olympic games that to this point, Rosemary, are extremely unpopular across Japan.
CHURCH (on camera): Yes. Indeed, and tragedy mixed with hope there, Blake Essig, incredible story you're bringing us there from Fukushima prefecture, in Japan. Many thanks. Well finally, art that couldn't be more modern.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SOPHIA, A.I. ROBOT: We are proud to be part of these activities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH (on camera): Move over dollies, Sophia is in town, the digital artwork by the famous robot has just sold at auction for almost $700,000, it is in the form of a non-fungible token or NFT, a uniquely coated digital item that is proving a hit with wealthy art lovers, the piece is a 12-second mp4 file that is accompanied by physical artwork which was painted by Sophia's own hands robotic though they are. Well done Sophia.
And thank you so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church the news continues with Kim Brunhuber.
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