Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

NATO Formally Invites Finland And Sweden To Join; Ukraine Gathering Evidence From Site Of Destroyed Mall; Israeli Knesset To Reconvene For A Vote On Its Dissolution; In The 2015 Paris Attack, 20 Found Guilty, Main Attacker Gets Life In Prison. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired June 30, 2022 - 00:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:00:44]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone. I'm John Vause.

Ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM. Vladimir Putin and his terrible horrible no good, very bad day.

NATO welcomes soon to be members Finland and Sweden, amid a historic surge of military force in Eastern Europe.

A judicial milestone in France with convictions of 20 men for their roles in the 2015 Paris terror attack.

And oops, they've done it again. Another integrated coalition government has collapsed, which means another election, the fifth in four years.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.

VAUSE: Vladimir Putin's long stated goal of keeping NATO in check is backfiring before our very eyes. The alliance is well on its way to getting two more members, with formal invitations given to Sweden and Finland on Wednesday. NATO has also agreed to its most significant strengthening since the Cold War, a direct response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

On top of all of this, U.S. President Joe Biden has announced a major infusion of American forces and military equipment to bolster NATO's defenses, including a new permanent army headquarters in Poland, along with thousands of additional troops, fighter jets, ships and air defenses across Europe.

NATO's updated strategic concept (INAUDIBLE) calls Russia the most significant and direct threat to peace and reaffirms the alliance support for Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENS STOLTENBERG, SECRETARY GENERAL, NATO: President Putin has not succeeded in closing NATO's door. He is getting the opposite of what he wants. He wants less NATO. President Putin is getting more NATO by Finland, Sweden joining our alliance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The addition of Sweden and Finland will more than double NATO's land border with Russia. Vladimir Putin says he's not bothered by the expansion, but would still respond to any threats from those territories.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We don't have problems with Sweden and Finland like we do with Ukraine. We don't have territorial differences. There is nothing that can bother us about Sweden and Finland joining NATO. If Finland and Sweden wish to, they can join, that's up to them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: For more now let's bring CNN's Kevin Liptak who is live at this hour for us in Madrid early again.

So, Kevin, that's a very different sort of version of, you know, coming from Vladimir Putin of what we've heard before, especially from other high ranking officials within the Russian government who warned of serious consequences should Sweden and Finland join the NATO alliance.

It almost seems like it's a reflection of the reality right now that Russia isn't in a position to do much to threaten anyone, given the fact they've bogged down so badly in Ukraine.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER (on camera): Right. And I think that leaders gathering here at NATO really see what's going on in Ukraine and come at it with our sort of renewed purpose. And NATO had for so long kind of danced around this issue of how to treat Russia. And in their previous strategic concepts, they had talked about them as a partner.

But now, because as you say, Russia is so bogged down in Ukraine, they view this as a time to really become more assertive and say very specifically that Russia is now the most significant threat facing this defensive alliance.

And also mentioning for the first time, China and mentioning this new budding partnership and alliances between Russia and China and calling that -- saying that that runs counter to the values of NATO.

So, leaders aren't really leaving here with a renewed sense of purpose after what has been quite a historic summit. NATO is leaving here larger, more muscular and more focused.

And those two new member states that have been invited to NATO, Finland and Sweden, that will have to be ratified by each of the 30 parliaments that is part of NATO. But Jens Stoltenberg, the Secretary General said yesterday, he thought that that would go unprecedentedly quickly. So that could happen soon. President Biden really laying out much more muscular force posture

here in Europe, including, for the first time a permanent base in Poland for the Army, the Army of the fifth corps. So, that's a significant development. And that's something that Putin had very long resisted. So, I don't think that will go over well in Moscow, but President Biden certainly wanting to reinforce America's posture here.

[00:05:09]

LIPTAK: The real question as this summit concludes is whether any of this is going to turn the tide around in Ukraine. The momentum is still very much on Russia's side and America's top spy yesterday, painting a quite a grim portrait of the war there. She said that consensus of the intelligence is that that can go on for months. She says that Putin believe gives that time is on his side because he thinks that the will to keep going will eventually wane in the west.

And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, when he addressed the NATO summit yesterday -- tried to address the summit, he said that this cannot go on forever. He called for more modern artillery to sort of regain the initiative on the ground there.

So, certainly, leaders have a lot of questions to answer. And despite sort of the buzzword of these summits this week being unity, there are private differences between these leaders about the next phase of this conflict.

Some leaders want to push for a more decisive victory on the battlefield. But there are some leaders who think that this war needs to come to an end, maybe go back to the negotiating table with Russia, potentially see what concessions could be made.

So, while NATO is certainly more assertive, more focused in purpose. There is a lot of questions about what the next phase of this conflict could look like, John.

VAUSE: Yes, absolutely. Kevin, thank you. Kevin Liptak there live for us again. We Appreciate it. Thank you.

LIPTAK: Sure.

VAUSE: David Sanger is a CNN Political and National Security Analysts. He's also a White House and national security correspondent for The New York Times and author of the Perfect Weapon. It's good to have you here, David. Thank you.

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYSTS: Great to be back with you, John.

VAUSE: OK, so there was a rather odd statement we just heard from Vladimir Putin saying Sweden and Finland, they can go ahead, they can join NATO, it's fine. But then he added almost in the same breath, this warning of consequences of deploying troops and equipment.

In the case of military contingents, and military infrastructure being deployed, they will have to respond symmetrically and raise the same threats to those territories for where threats have arisen for us.

You know, is this kind of the honey badger version of Vladimir Putin, honey badger don't care. He's just going to keep doing what he's doing?

SANGER: It's a bit of that. But you know, this is a line of reasoning that we've heard from Putin before. And basically what he said is, if you want to expand NATO, go ahead and expand NATO.

And of course, in this case, he's got to ignore the fact that his own strategy of breaking up NATO has backfired on him, right? And that it's now getting expanded from 30 countries to 32.

But in the next breath, he says, but if you put your weapons there, or you put your troops there, then expect that we will respond symmetric. And this is his excuse for doing something he's been doing to some degree anyway, which is moving some of his missiles, some of his nuclear capable missiles, and troops closer to the borders of NATO nations.

And so, he's basically making the argument here, well force me to do this. The fact of the matter is right now, he can't really afford to go do that, because he's pretty bogged down in Ukraine and the east and the south.

VAUSE: Yes, but there will be it seems, military equipment placed very close to his border, part of this new NATO. President Biden had asked a huge increase in military support for a number of NATO countries, there'll be ships to Spain, F-35 fighter jets to U.K., air defenses to Germany, that list goes on. He's more now from President Biden.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And together our allies, we're going to make sure that NATO is ready to meet threats from all directions across every domain, land, air and the sea.

In a moment when Putin has shattered peace in Europe and attacked the very, very tenets of rule-based order, the United States and our allies are going to step up, we're stepping up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And also, part of the stepping up plans for a permanent U.S. base in Poland, as well as a combat brigade being based in Romania. How important is that word permanent? And how will those troops remain and change the military balance in the Black Sea region?

SANGER: So, the permanent thing is something that the Poles have asked for a long time and they're only getting it now. Now that the invasion of Ukraine is what four months old.

But I think what's more important in today's announcement or the two most important things in today's announcement, the first, the increase in the size of the rapid reaction force, it's been about 40,000, that's supposed to move up to about 300,000. And that's at the moment when NATO is making the case. This is not

just a trigger force that would lead the Russians to just test NATO, but rather that there's actually going to be a significant opposition to the Russians right on the border.

[00:10:07]

SANGER: Now, big question is, are the rest of the NATO nations ready to go pay the price on that?

The second is that they're actually beginning to do some things in the cyber realm because they recognize that if Russia goes after NATO, it's probably not going to be in those three domains the president talked about, but in cyber.

And boy, that's taken a long time, Jonathan (PH), they have promised cyber defenses, better cyber offensive strategy for years, and they've never done it.

VAUSE: So, this increase in, you know, the defense systems and the troops being sent to Europe. In many ways, this seems saying the military leaders in the U.S. have wanted for a long time.

SANGER: It is and I -- in many ways, it's something that we should have been thinking about how to pay for for a long time.

The NATO -- other NATO nation's member all committed to spend up to two percent GDP on their defense budget starting in 2024. That's not very long from now at this point.

But the fact of the matter is, if you're going to sustain the force at the level at which the president is now talking about, two percent isn't going to do it. And everyone knows it. They just didn't want to discuss it this time.

VAUSE: Yes, that two percent is more of a floor rather than a ceiling these days, and it's going to be a long time before they get there.

David, as always, thanks for being with us.

SANGER: Great to be with you.

VAUSE: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is pleading for the West to ramp up pressure on Moscow, saying current measures are doing little to deter ongoing Russian attacks, like the civilian targets hit by 10 Russian missiles on Wednesday in the southern city of Mykolaiv, leaving at least five dead.

Meantime, Ukrainians are celebrating the return of 144 troops in the POW swap. Nearly 100 of the release prisoners were defending the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol before they surrendered more than a month ago. Ukraine's defense ministry says many of these returning soldiers are badly wounded.

Vladimir Putin has made less than credible denial that a Russian missile targeted a crowded shopping mall in Kremenchuk on Monday. But Ukrainian prosecutors are already gathering evidence to prove that it's not true, including fragments of the missile itself.

We have more now from CNN's Salma Abdelaziz.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER (voice over): This surveillance footage shows a Russian anti-ship cruise missile capable of carrying a 2200 pound warhead hitting the Amstor mall in Kremenchuk. And this is the devastating aftermath. The complex completely obliterated in a city far from the battlefield.

The Kremlin says it is not to blame for what happened here. It claims Russian warplanes struck a hangar packed with U.S. and European supplied weapons and that those Western weapons detonated afterwards causing this fire.

The Chief Prosecutor of this region Anton Stoletniy says he's collecting evidence to prove Moscow is lying, and that it intentionally targeted innocence.

We're investigating the site of the blast, he says. We have removed fragments of the rocket and we will examine its trajectory.

Only two hours after the strike, Stoletniy and his team started their work.

We created a group of investigators that includes the police and the security service, he says and we as prosecutors coordinate their activities.

There are two operations happening simultaneously here, emergency workers clearing the rubble and trying to find the bodies of the missing at the same time, Ukrainian investigators and prosecutors collecting evidence for what they say are Russian war crimes.

Stoletniy took us to the site of the second missile strike, the plant where the Kremlin claims Western weapons were stored. But Ukraine says this is a road Machinery Factory, civilian infrastructure.

There are no bullet holes from other shells in the walls around us, which would indicate that no ammunition exploded, he tells me.

Is there any military infrastructure anywhere in this area?

ANTON STOLETNIY, KREMENCHUK CHIEF PROSECUTOR: No.

ABDELAZIZ: Another claim from Russia's Defense Ministry is that the shopping center was non-functioning. But President Volodymyr Zelensky says about a thousand people were inside that day. Among them was this survivor.

I live near the mall and I come here almost every day, she says. It's always packed with people and I remember all those faces.

When you look at that mall now and I know this is your first time back. What do you think about what happens? I feel dread and fear, she says. No Ukrainian is safe now. We're in

the crossfire. At any moment, any of us can die.

Ukraine hopes to one day take its case to the hague but bringing alleged Russian perpetrators before the court is a tall order.

Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, Kremenchuk.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[00:15:05]

VAUSE: A disgraced political dynasty making a comeback in the Philippines at this hour, swearing in ceremony of the incoming President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. He's now speaking live as part of his inauguration there. It is 14 minutes plus 12 in the afternoon in Manila.

He's the son of the former dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. who ran the country with an iron fist for 21 years. His son was elected in a landslide last month.

The father was forced to flee the Philippines after his regime was toppled in a popular revolution back in 1986. But Marcos Jr., who is known by the nickname Bong Bong says he should be judged by his own actions, not his family's past.

Israeli lawmakers about to set the stage for the fifth election in less than four years. Country's parliament the Knesset, scheduled to reconvene in the coming hours to formally vote to dissolve itself.

CNN's Hadas Gold has details from Jerusalem.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): It was an evening of political chaos in Israel. The Israeli parliament was originally supposed to vote on its dissolution before midnight, the political squabbling in the last minute deal making dragging out the process.

At one point, parliament members were rushed back to the floor late in the evening, only to have the last minute effort fall apart almost as quickly as it began.

The parliament is now expected to reconvene Thursday morning to try again and start the votes needed to dissolve itself after the governing coalition lost its majority and decided they'd rather dissolve themselves rather than let the opposition do it.

Once parliament is officially disbanded, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, a centrist and former journalist and anchor will become caretaker Prime Minister the moment the clock strikes 12:01 on Friday as per the coalition agreement.

New elections will be triggered in the fall. All of this political upheaval and the new elections presenting a huge opportunity for former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to return to power even though he's facing an ongoing corruption trial and the polls don't necessarily show that his block of parties will have enough votes to secure a majority.

But Netanyahu will now have one fewer competitor, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced on Wednesday evening that he will not run in the fall elections and is leaving politics for now. Saying now is my time to step back a little and look at things from the outside.

Hadas Gold, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: When we come back, (INAUDIBLE). A Paris courtroom holds true (PH) to French justice heading down in in a historic verdict in the 2015 Paris terrorist attack. We'll have details in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: In the Paris courtroom with little fanfare, French justice reached a historic moment Wednesday, the life sentence given to the only surviving jihadist who was directly involved in the 2015 terror attacks which left 130 people dead.

[00:20:03]

VAUSE: Well, the sentencing will not bring back the dead, nor will it heal those who have suffered in the months and years since it delivers a powerful message about the rule of law, the importance of justice for all. In this case, justice for the many survivors who were allowed to testify in detail, and at length.

CNN's Melissa Bell has details.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Guilty. Those were the verdicts handed down in the biggest trial in modern French history.

19 out of 20 defendants were found guilty on all charges of planning, aiding and carrying out the 2015 terror attacks. Of those, only 14 were in the dark (PH). Most notably, Salah Abdeslam, one of the only known survivors amongst those directly involved in the attacks. Abdeslam was found guilty on all five counts, including murders in an organized gang in relation with a terrorist organization.

During the trial, the Belgian born French national told the court he was a proud soldier of the Islamic State, but later apologized to the victims.

It was November 13th, 2015 when France was shaken to its core, a night of terror that began at the Stade de France.

Then saw coordinated attacks across the region bars, restaurants, and the Bataclan concert hall, as people enjoyed a Friday evening on the town. In all, 130 people were killed. Now, their families and those who survived are seeing some respite, after nearly 10 months of agonizing testament.

ARTHUR DENOUVEAUX, BATACLAN ATTACK SURVIVOR: It's a relief. It's mostly a relief. Those because it means that justice, you know, has made what it had to do, but also because it means that this trial is behind me and I can go on with my life.

So, you know, it's been a long time now, but I think we can be proud of what we've achieved. So, I'm just happy it's coming to an end.

BELL: About 450 people took the stand one after another, many tearfully reliving the horrific events of that November night.

Family members of those who were killed recounted their struggle of living without their loved ones.

Abdeslam was sentenced to life in prison without parole. The most severe punishment in the French justice system. That sentence only handed down four times since first established in 1994.

Beyond the guilty verdict, the end of the trial marks a time for healing for the victims, their families, and for the nation.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: CNN European Affairs Commentator, Dominic Thomas is with us out from Los Angeles for more.

So, Dominic, this really was -- it was a trial like no other, 10 long months. And that time was needed to let all the survivors, all the relatives to testify in great detail and at great length like Bruno Poncet, he was at the Bataclan theater that night, here's what he have to say, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNO PONCET, BATACLAN ATTACK SURVIVOR (through translator): This trial proved that the answer to barbarism, to terrorism is justice with a fair trial and democracy. If we hadn't responded like that, if we had responded like the Americans with the French Guantanamo, I think we would have lost everything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: That's such a telling point at the end, the comparison with U.S. with a due process and constitutional rights were in many cases thrown under the bus after 9/11.

DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Yes, there's so much transatlantic sort of looking at the U.S. and looking at France. And I think it's quite clear that the French learned a lot from watching the response to 9/11. I mean, I remember that newspaper headline in the morning, the day

after 9/11, you know, we are all Americans.

But then, as the American response unfolded, and as words like, you know, extraordinary rendition and the French Prime Minister memorably spoke at the United Nations against sort of an attack on Iraq and so on, you could see the differences.

But having said that, and in the immediate aftermath of those November 2015 and attacks, the French President Francois Hollande at the time immediately responded by saying, you know, we are at war, he imposed a state of emergency that was extended all the way into 2017. And that was heavily criticized.

But having said that, the bigger picture is yes, you're absolutely right, there was a concerted effort to do things differently. And as this trial played out, that became more evident, John.

VAUSE: And by French standards, the sentences that were handed down, were quite severe, ranging from two years to life in prison. Here's the reaction from the head of the organization, which represents the families of those who were killed on that day. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILIPPE DUPERRON, BATACLAN ATTACK VICTIM'S FATHER (through translator): For me, I considered the sentence was not the reparation the victims were waiting for. The reparation the victims were waiting for lied in how the trial went in the possibility given to the victims to express themselves in the court and let out their pain and their suffering.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[00:25:01]

VAUSE: And again, the contrast here to many countries, including U.S. where justice is often seen purely in terms of punishment.

So, how do these two countries which have been the targets of terrorism, with you know, civil legal system, at least in terms of fundamental core beliefs and values, end up heading into very different directions?

THOMAS: Yes, and that's really the contrast, I think, at the moment at which the main defendant on trial here had put on an explosive vest. There was no ambiguity about what the legal outcome was going to be, and that that best serves one and particular purpose. And so, the trial shifted towards the discussion of something else.

Now, of course, the French, like many other European countries have a long standing history with terrorism, and with responding to this, I mean, the attack in France came a few years after the Madrid bombings, the London attack, and so on. I think there was an attempt to sort of put into place something that would look a bit more like the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa in the aftermath of apartheid.

And the victims, the survivors, the victims' families themselves have spoken about how this was effective, and that the opportunity to speak out and to be heard was transformational, and that needed to take 10 months. And that was the path towards healing here. And I think to that extent, it achieved its goals and its various objectives.

VAUSE: This has been the biggest trial in French history. And now that it's over, there seems it's not so much a sense of pride, but more sort of contented reassurance that the legal system worked. It rose above a human desire for revenge.

But the attacks on those nights and the implications still seem to be having consequences in French politics to this day, right?

THOMAS: They do, John and that's where this issue is just so completely complicated and it's historical, it's sensitive. Today was all about the survivors and the victims' families. And it's important to maintain the focus on that.

But having said that, 2015 is an awful long way away when we think of the -- of the election that just took place in France and the persistent presence in French politics of the proverbial three eyes, immigration, identity and Islam. The way in which all political parties, all candidates talked about colonialism, the way in which the great replacement racialized theories was talked about, and the fact that the national rally headed by Marine Le Pen has ended up with the strongest representation in parliament and that the current newly reelected president can essentially not legislate because of those divisions. Compounded of course by all the uncertainty around COVID and conflict in Ukraine, means that France is at a very difficult and crossroads and that the issues that were so intrinsically linked to this and this discussion to terrorism remain there in French society.

But today, what happened in court was important, and it was a crucial step in the sense of France and being able to reconcile and restore and repair some kind of justice around the horrible events that unfolded in November 2015, John.

VAUSE: It was a good day, in many ways. Dominic, thank you.

THOMAS: Thank you, John.

VAUSE: Up next, Xi Jinping set to visit Hong Kong for the 25th anniversary of the handover to China. Some journalists won't be able to cover the official ceremony, you know, because they've been banned. China does that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Friday will mark 25 years since Hong Kong's handover from Britain to China. Chinese President Xi Jinping set to attend all the official events.

[00:30:54] But a number of local and international journalists, including from CNN, won't be there. That's because they've been prevented from covering ceremonies during Mr. Xi's visit.

Hong Kong Journalist Association says at least ten applications were rejected for security reasons.

President Xi will be in Hong Kong for a hand-over ceremony and the inauguration of the incoming chief executive, John Lee. This will be his first trip outside the mainland since the pandemic began.

Banning journalists from Friday's event is the only (UNINTELLIGIBLE) that freedoms promised Hong Kong 25 years ago continue to be curtailed. That's especially being felt in recent years as China, under Xi Jinping, expands its influence and control.

CNN's Ivan Watson has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A massive police deployment in central Hong Kong on June 4 to stop what used to be an annual tradition here, a candlelight vigil for the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing.

For 30 years, the vigil attracted tens of thousands of peaceful participants, until the practice was banned in 2020, they say due to COVID-19. In fact, the authorities have banned all independent street protests, while also cracking down hard on the city's political opposition.

DENNIS KWOK, FORMER HONG KONG LAWMAKER: People are living in a state of fear.

WATSON (voice-over): For eight years, Dennis Kwok was an elected Hong Kong lawmaker until the government disqualified him from running for office in 2020.

KWOK: There are so many of my colleagues who are either in jail or have been arrested.

WATSON (voice-over): Speaking from self-imposed exile in the U.S., Kwok argues the freedoms Hong Kong enjoyed coming under threat when Xi Jinping took control of the ruling Communist Party in 2012.

KWOK: Hong Kong is one of the symptoms of where China is going. And I'm afraid that the country is taking a turn for authoritarianism, of a kind which we haven't seen for many, many decades.

Xi JINPING, CHINESE PRESIDENT (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: The era of the Chinese nation being slaughtered and bullied is gone forever.

WATSON (voice-over): This year marks Xi's tenth year as the leader of China. C.Y. LEUNG, FORMER CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF HONG KONG: He's a very affable

(ph) person.

WATSON (voice-over): C.Y. Leung previously worked as Beijing's appointed chief executive of Hong Kong. He's also an enthusiastic supporter of Xi.

LEUNG: On the environmental front, for example, he's a key and major driving forces, on behalf of basically cleaning up the country. And also, his anti-corruption efforts on all levels in the country.

WATSON: This would be, in your opinion, the highest marks of his kind of biggest accomplishments?

LEUNG: I would say so, and also the development of the economy.

WATSON (voice-over): Xi has asserted Chinese hard and soft power overseas, building man-made islands and military bases in contested waters of the South China Sea. Under his rule, China has made huge trade and infrastructure investments around the world, as part of the Belt and Road initiative.

In 2018, China's ceremonial parliament removed presidential term limits, paving the way for Xi to potentially rule for life.

CARL MINTZNER, SENIOR FELLOW FOR CHINA STUDIES, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: You look back at the '50s and possibly the '60s and see that, if I can bring back some of the political ideology, the vibrancy of that period, this can help combat sloth and corruption and other problems with the Chinese system.

WATSON (voice-over): Xi's time in office has also seen dramatic expansion of a high Texas state surveillance is them, used to chilling effect in China's Xinjiang region, where western governments accuse Beijing of detaining up to 2 million Uyghur Muslims and members of other ethnic minorities in internment camps. Traumatized victims of this crackdown question Xi's legacy.

ABDUWALI AYUP, UYGHUR ACTIVIST AND FORMER POLITICAL PRISONER: What are we willing to leave behind? Genocide, cruelty, dehumanization, this kind of cruelty? And do you want this to become the culture, become, like, the behavior, and do you want to expand this behavior to different countries like this? Do you want in the world you become -- you create this system, digitalize present in the world?

WATSON (voice-over): The Chinese government rejects criticism of its human rights record, arguing it uses lawful measures to maintain security against violent extremists.

WATSON: In mainland China, officials offered cash rewards for tips about hostile forces. While here in Hong Kong, this public awareness campaign warns people to be on the lookout for possible terrorism.

WATSON (voice-over): After a decade in power, Xi Jinping says he is making China great, but his government seems to talk about internal and external threats more than ever. (END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Ivan Watson, CNN senior international correspondent, an apparent security threat, joins us now, live from Hong Kong.

So Ivan, this is sort of a victory lap in a way for Xi Jinping. Now, he's brought Hong Kong to heel. He gets to take the tour of the city, his first one outside of mainland China since the pandemic.

WATSON: Yes, and we didn't know until later, about a week ago whether or not he would actually come to Hong Kong, which is officially part of China.

The authorities here aren't taking any chances. There are an awful lot of COVID prevention measures. Hong Kong has been registering about two thousand new COVID cases a day. All the officials that will be attending events, attended by Xi Jinping, they had to go into hotel quarantine, starting on Wednesday.

I had initially been invited to cover some of these events. And I was informed that I had to take a week of COVID tests and then also go into hotel quarantine starting Wednesday.

But then, of course, I was informed that the police had rejected my application to attend after initially being invited by the department to cover the event.

So the long and the short of it is that these are two of the hallmarks of Xi Jinping's term in office. It's approaching ten years, is the zero COVID policy, which he doubled down on during a visit to Wuhan, the original epicenter of the COVID pandemic, saying that China is going to continue fighting to eradicate the virus completely and also political control, not leaving any room whatsoever for dissent, as we've seen here in Hong Kong, with virtually all political opposition either in jail or fleeing overseas.

The slogan for this 25th anniversary of the handover here, John, I think that reflects these priorities. It is stability, prosperity and opportunity. We'll see what the next 25 years for this former British colony, how much prosperity, opportunity and stability there will be here -- John.

VAUSE: And no mention of freedom. Ivan, you're in good company, Reuters, AFP, "China Morning Post" (ph) all being banned, as well. Thank you for being with us.

Ivan Watson there in Hong Kong.

And we'll take a short break. Be back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:40:23]

VAUSE: White House counsel Pat Cipollone has been subpoenaed by the House Select Committee investigating the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. He's considered a key witness, who repeatedly resisted Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

The subpoena was issued a day after explosive testimony from former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, who described an unhinged Donald Trump in the days leading up to the Capitol riot. Here's what Hutchinson said about one interaction with Cipollone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CASSIDY HUTCHINSON, FORMER AIDE TO TRUMP WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF MARK MEADOWS: I saw Mr. Cipollone right before I walked out onto West Exec that morning, and Mr. Cipollone said something to the effect of, please make sure we don't go up to the Capitol, Cassidy. Keep in touch with me. We're going to get charged with every crime imaginable if we make that movement happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Cipollone give a closed-door interview to the committee in April but has refused to talk since then.

Police have arrested two more people in connection to the deaths of 53 migrants in Southern Texas, including the suspected driver of the semi-truck where the bodies were found.

He's facing charges related to human smuggling resulting in death. The Justice Department says the driver was seen on surveillance footage when the truck crossed through a border checkpoint on Monday.

Well, he was once a very successful R&B music superstar. Now disgraced singer R. Kelly has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. He was convicted last year on federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges; faces another trial in a matter of weeks.

CNN's Jean Casarez breaks down what happens at this sentencing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: R. Kelly was emotionless in that courtroom right before the judge announced the sentence. Survivors actually held hands at that moment before it was announced.

The judge said that what R. Kelly had gone through during his childhood, she had taken that into consideration, but she said it is not an excuse for what he did. She sentenced him then to 30 years. And she said this is about violence, cruelty, and control.

Now R. Kelly could have addressed the court, but he didn't. And his attorney said, because we have other litigations in federal court, he's not going to be saying anything.

And the judge said, finally, "You left in your wake a trail of broken lives."

Now victims gave victim impact statements, seven altogether. One of them said, "I was victimized 23 years ago, and as these years went on, I kept saying, why is nothing being done." And then she turned to R. Kelly and said, "Now you will know what it's like to not have your freedom."

The defense says that they will be appealing this verdict. And as far as where R. Kelly goes from here, it is all up to the bureau of Prisons, but there is another federal prosecution involving many things, including child pornography, set for August in the Chicago area. So the Bureau of Prisons may send him to a person in that vicinity.

Jean Casarez, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: A little more on that story next hour here on CNN NEWSROOM. But in the meantime, WORLD SPORT is up after a very short break. I'll be back at the top of the hour. Hope to see you then.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:45:19]

(WORLD SPORT)

[00:57:54]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:00:00]