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Anger Erupts Across China Over COVID Controls and Xi's Rule; Today, Early Voting in All Georgia Counties Gets Underway; Biden Faces a Broad Set of Challenges at Home This Holiday Season. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired November 28, 2022 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:00]

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: Top the hour, good morning, everybody, I'm Bianna Golodryga.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Jim Sciutto.

An exceptionally rare scene, a brave one playing out in China, as major protests erupt across the country. Demonstrators are calling for an end to strict COVID-19 policies, which has endured for years, including lockdowns and testing, but they go farther, demanding freedom of speech, freedom of the press, some even go so far as to call for President Xi Jinping to step down. We're going to take you to the country live in just a moment.

GOLODRYGA: Plus, long lines for early voting this morning in Georgia as it becomes available statewide. We'll take a look at the tremendous ad spending in the final Senate runoff of the 2022 midterms. Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock looking to hang on to his Senate seat from Republican challenger Herschel Walker.

SCIUTTO: First, we go to China with CNN Correspondent Selina Wang, was in the midst of the crowds, in the capital, Beijing. She filed this report for us overnight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm in the center of a protest in Beijing right now. They're chanting that they don't want COVID tests. They want freedom. They've been chanting this for hours. People have gathered here at the center of Beijing to protest the COVID measures.

We are in Chaoyang (ph) district. This is the city center. This is also where the authorities have urged people to stay at home because the COVID outbreak is severe here. Now, the area is also important because this is where -- the American embassy is over there. There are many foreign embassies over here.

There is a heavy police presence. I am surrounded by police. They're telling me to shift in a little bit and if we just turn the camera around, you'll see there is a row of police. There is mostly young people who have gathered here. And many people are also holding white papers in their hands, which is a sign of solidarity against censorship.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Just unusual scenes that are so striking, to see those protesters standing there face-to-face with the police holding up a blank sheet of paper.

Now, a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry deflecting reporters' questions on the protests, refused to answer if China was looking to end its strict COVID-19 policies.

SCIUTTO: CNN Senior International Correspondent Ivan Watson, he is in Hong Kong, Hong Kong has its own history of protests but also of crackdowns. You've seen some protests there, people defying the police as well in solidarity. How extensive?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well two kind of small demonstrations of people not more than a hundred demonstrators, I would say, at the one that I visited a few hours ago, but all the more rare because Hong Kong has basically banned protesting and crackdown on independent media and opposition political parties and thrown activists into prison.

And it just goes to show how the very unusual nationwide protests that we've seen in China have this power to kind of inspire people here in this former British colony as well. Jim and Bianna, I think this is probably the biggest nationwide manifestation of public discontent that we've seen in China in a generation. I spoke to one of the people who was out in Hong Kong, a man who only wanted to give his first name who is from Shanghai, and he described himself as a victim of China's zero-COVID policy. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES, PROTESTER AT VIGIL IN HONG KONG: I am a victim. I cannot go home for many years, like two to three years, right? My parents were locked down for three months. And even relatives of my good friends, they suicide because of the lockdowns, right, and I know people die because of it, because of the side effects of this policy, right? I think everyone who has a sane mind should say something or do something to stop this unreasonable social measure.

[10:05:07]

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WATSON: Now, we have been able to confirm 16 separate protests in Mainland China across 11 different cities. And, of course, we have reports of additional protests but it is so hard to make sense of that and confirm it, verify it given the intense censorship on the mainland. Jim and Bianna?

GOLODRYGA: Just incredible to see these protests happening organically, not in one or two cities, but several. Ivan Watson, thank you.

SCIUTTO: Joining me now is Bonny Lin. She is the director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, also worked at the Pentagon on China and Taiwan issues. Bonny, good to have you on this morning.

BONNY LIN, DIRECTOR, CHINA POWER PROJECT, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Thank you, Jim. Thank you, Bianna.

SCIUTTO: So, first, let's begin -- these are unusual. They're courageous because of the price that people pay for dissent in China and they're national, at least in many large cities. Do they pose a genuine threat to the Chinese government?

LIN: I think right now it is a bit early to say that because we're on, what day two-and-a-half or day three. If you look at the large scale protests that has had a significant impact on China's leadership, I think Tiananmen in 1989 is the best example. The protest activity started in April and we didn't see the culmination of the effect until June, right? So, we still have a little bit of time to see how much this will spread.

And as mentioned by Ivan earlier, what we're seeing right now is at least 16 different locations but we still don't have a sense of how large this is. It seems like each location is a couple of hundred people per location. And if it is spread out across the country, it is actually relatively not too difficult for China to clamp down if it is only a couple hundred per location. But if we start seeing thousands and tens of thousands in one location, I think particularly as it gets centered around Beijing, I think that would be much more of a challenge for the Chinese government to deal with.

GOLODRYGA: But the fact that there are already 16 protests tells you that China's very powerful censorship machine has not been able to act quickly enough to take down some of these videos and posts denouncing zero-COVID policy, denouncing even Xi Jinping himself. What does that tell you about their limitations because this is really the first time we've seen them challenged to this extent under Xi Jinping?

LIN: That is a great question. I think what we need to see to what extent some of the measures that the Chinese government has taken in these initial protests, including more policing, more arrests, more censorship, to what extent this will actually curb the protests moving forward. So, what we don't know is, for example, tonight, Monday night, or tomorrow, if this is going to continue to escalate if China will have been able to sort of toned this down a little bit.

But what I would say even if we see more protests growing the next couple of days, we don't see the same political conditions that we saw in 1989, which was a very divided Chinese leadership, in which one leader could take the fall for this. Right now, we saw Xi Jinping consolidate power from the 20-party Congress. I don't see any potential major challengers to him right now. So, it could be possible that one of his deputies take the fall but I don't see Xi Jinping himself taking the fall for that.

SCIUTTO: Yes, he's deliberately eliminated challengers.

Let's talk about China's zero-COVID policy, which help sparked what is going on right now. China tried to relax them, this policy, a bit earlier this month but then was forced to tighten restrictions again because cases went up. I mean, the fact is its COVID policy is failing really and they don't have the medical resources to handle it if more and more people get sick.

What can Xi Jinping and the Chinese government do realistically to tweak its COVID policy to give some ground to these people or can't it?

LIN: I think Xi Jinping and the Chinese government is in a very tough spot. So, China is now at record number of COVID cases, a little bit under 40,000. And just to put this in context, that is actually around the same number that the United States has. But that's the official Chinese reporting. We actually don't know if that is the actual number. It actually could be much larger.

The main issue is, as you mentioned, is the vaccines, right? We know that about 90 percent of China's population is vaccinated but only 60 percent of its elders are actually boosted. And we also know that China's vaccines don't work quite as well as our mRNA vaccines. So, as China looked forward, the main issue is can it afford to open up at the risk of large numbers of its population potentially contracting the virus. And then depending on their vaccination or if they're not vaccinated, they could be at risk of potentially dying or of severe complications.

[10:10:01]

SCIUTTO: And China has refused to import those better working mRNA vaccines. Bonny Lin, good to have you on, I'm sure we're going to be talking about this again. Thanks so much.

GOLODRYGA: Well, back here in the U.S., early voting is underway in Georgia, as Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock facing Republican Herschel Walker.

SCIUTTO: Already this morning, we've been seeing long lines of people waiting to vote in Atlanta, similar to what we saw over the weekend.

CNN's Eva McKend is there. So, Eva, as you know, some Georgia counties, they started early voting over the weekend. Of course, the Saturday voting had been a long court case but Democrats won on that. Tell us what the numbers are showing you as to how many people are taking advantage?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER: Well, Jim, we know that more than 70,000 Georgians voted on Saturday. And a long line here this morning at this polling location in Atlanta, as you can see, the line wrapped around here. We're learning from some that it takes about 30 minutes to come in and out, maybe perhaps a little longer now.

But Senator Warnock and Democrats have really put a heavy emphasis on this early voting. And I think it sort of speaks to a culture the Democrats in Georgia have fostered, essentially arguing, don't wait until December 6th, that is too late. That is what we heard from Senator Warnock on the trail this weekend at a number of events.

Herschel Walker off the trail this weekend, he was not out, but he will be campaigning a lot this week in Dalton, Cumming and various other places outside of Atlanta. And though Walker was off the trail both of these campaigns on the air, the ad -- the airwaves just flooded with ads. We know that Senator Warnock has -- the campaign has spent $18 million to Herschel Walker's $6 million. The spending, of course, is only one measurement of a campaign strength. Ultimately, this is a turnout game. This is about which side can turn out the most voters. Jim, Bianna?

GOLODRYGA: Eva McKend, thank you. We'll be following it all week.

Well, still to come, President Biden back in D.C. with a full to-do list but plenty of roadblocks in his way as well. What he hopes to get done in this lame duck session of Congress.

Plus, big changes expected this week at Twitter as Elon Musk says he will restore suspended accounts and roll out his new paid verification system. But will the advertisers stick around for this new Wild West version of Twitter?

SCIUTTO: Later, we're going to be live in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, as concerns grow about the future, the safety of the nuclear power plant there, Europe's largest, as Russia refutes claims it is planning to pull its troops out.

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GOLODRYGA: Well, President Biden is back at White House this morning hoping Congress can push through some of his priorities before Republicans take over the House.

SCIUTTO: CNN White House Correspondent Jeremy Diamond on the north lawn of the White House with more. So, Jeremy, the president has got a long list, right, wish list for this lame duck session here. What is he looking to accomplish?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. The president has a lot to get done as he returns to Washington now and prepares for this lame duck session of Congress before the Republicans take over the House of Representatives come January. He has got things in terms of policy priorities that wants to get done, but he also has to do some of these fundamental aspects of governing, like funding the government, for example. Government funding expires on December 16th. So, that is just a couple of weeks away.

The president has requested $37 billion in funding for Ukraine, $10 billion of COVID funding and, of course, there is the broader government that needs to be funded as well.

The president has also talked in recent days about wanting to try and push through an assault weapons ban. It is very clear at this point that the White House does not have those votes in the Senate in particular to get that done, but, nonetheless, something that the president is talking about. There is the national defense authorization bill, that annual authorization bill for defense spending and also questions about whether or not Democrats will try and get through a debt limit deal before Republicans take over the House.

So, House Republicans, of course, have threatened to use that as a negotiating tactic next year. We are not expecting to hit the debt limit until later in 2023. So, that is an open question mark.

The president also has several key events this week. He's hosting the French president, Emmanuel Macron, for the first state visit of President Biden's presidency so far. Tomorrow, before that, though, he's heading to Bay City, Michigan, where he's going to be hosting an event on touting the chips bill from earlier this year, that bill that invests in semiconductor chip manufacturing. He's highlighting their investments by a South Korean-based company in Michigan in a partnership with the state of Michigan. And then on Friday, the president bracing for the next jobs report to see where the direction of the economy is headed.

So, a lot on the president's agenda this week, and, of course, these final crucial weeks before Republicans take over the House are going to be so important to determining the course of the next year. Bianna, Jim?

GOLODRYGA: All right. Jeremy Diamond, a lot on their plate there, we appreciate it.

SCIUTTO: Joining us now, CNN Political Commentator Errol Lewis, he is political anchor for Spectrum News, New York 1. Errol, always good to have you on.

So, it is a long Christmas list for the president during this lame duck session here. I mean, you have the must-gets, right, a government funding bill just to keep the government operating. But what about these other things that he wants that are genuine priorities, same-sex marriage, the possibility of doing the debt limit now so you don't have to do it when Republicans control Congress, Electoral Count Act reform. What is realistic, in your view?

ERROL LEWIS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. Well, I think, realistically -- good morning, Jim. I think, realistically, what they're going to have to focus on, this is essentially start of the Biden re-election campaign, whether he wants to announce it officially or not.

[10:20:01]

The Electoral Count Act will be extremely important. This is a way of cleaning up some of the misperceptions that swirled around January 6 of 2021 and making clear once and for all that the vice president of the United States does not have the power to summarily throw out electoral counts and declare the winner of the next election. It is an extremely important piece of legislation. And for them to get it done now would be a very good time to get this done as he starts to gear up for re-election.

Also, I would say, we shouldn't overlook the possibility that when it comes to an assault weapons ban, which the president has said he's really going to push hard for, that he might get attached to some of those other must-pass legislation, whether it is the debt limit or the defense authorization bill. There are ways to make this happen. And for the president to say that this is going to be a priority for him suggests that they're going to look for every legislative angle they possibly can to try and make America safer.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. The debt limit though definitely have to be done through reconciliation now in this lame duck session because, clearly, you're not going to have Republicans come on board for that.

Something else on his wish list though is not a must-have is another Democrat in the Senate, right? And so you have former President Obama traveling to Georgia to campaign for Raphael Warnock this Thursday. You don't have notable names, like former President Trump, which may be a good thing, given what we've seen happen in the past there, or even the people like Governor DeSantis campaigning for his opponent, Herschel Walker. What does that tell you about the stakes in terms of how Republicans see this?

LEWIS: Herschel Walker has been badly damaged, Bianna, make no mistake about it. It has been a very rough campaign. And in these closing weeks, Senator Warnock has taken the step of essentially trying to disqualify him by pointing out some of the crazier things that Herschel Walker has said and continues to say.

That is not something any ambitious Republican national leader wants to be associated with, especially if this is not a pivotal vote as far as control of the Senate. So, Herschel Walker is not -- he is a political novice. He doesn't have a lot of political debts that he's incurred. And so nobody owes him, nobody has a reason to stick their neck out for him and he's in a very, very tough fight and has taken a real pounding in the last week. I think that explains the lack support from national Republicans.

SCIUTTO: All right. Let's talk about the one so far announced candidate for 2024 for presidency, who's Donald Trump. He had -- he dined at Mar-a-Lago not just with Kanye West but with Nick Fuentes, who is a Holocaust denier. He's a white nationalist. And yet it remains only the outlier Republicans willing to criticize the former president for this, such as an Asa Hutchinson, Republican governor there, McCarthy has not, Mitch McConnell not explicitly. Why? Even after Trump proved the limits of his political appeal in the midterm elections with so many of his candidates failing, why still on such, you would think, an easy and necessary thing, to criticize dining with a Holocaust denier? Why? Why not?

LEWIS: Well, it is necessary but it is not politically easy, Jim. That's your answer. I mean, the reality is they don't like to talk about it in polite company. But believe me, these candidates go out there and they know that there is a racist, Holocaust-denying, anti- Semitic base out there and they want those people in their column and they don't want to necessarily antagonize them. That is the simple truth of the matter.

There's nothing else to explain why no one, not former President Trump himself, nor any of the other so-called responsible leaders have opened their mouths to say that this is completely unacceptable. We do not want their votes. We do not want their participation in mainstream politics. They could easily do that and they have refused to do so.

And then when you look at what the statements are coming back from the extremists, who are gratified by the silence, it tells you everything you need to know. It is one of the ugliest parts of American politics and one of the things we're going to have to deal with in the run-up to the 2024 presidential race.

SCIUTTO: No question, the bottom falls lower. Errol Lewis, thanks so much.

LEWIS: Thank you.

Well, Ukrainian nuclear officials say that there are signs that Russian troops may be preparing to leave Zaporizhzhia's huge nuclear power plant. This is as shelling continues in regions around the plant, threatening it. CNN is live in Zaporizhzhia. That is coming up.

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[10:25:00]

GOLODRYGA: Well, this week, Elon Musk is expected to begin restoring previously banned Twitter accounts. But the billionaire has been silent about how the company plans to decide which accounts to bring back. And the worry is that the move could further alienate Twitter's remaining advertisers after many fled the platform.

Joining me now is CNN Media Analyst and Axios News Reporter Sara Fischer. So, Sara, after we saw about a dozen pharmaceutical companies leave advertising from Twitter, given that fake Eli Lilly account offering free insulin, we're seeing more concerns about other big advertisers doing the same. How worrisome is this from a business standpoint for the company given where so much of that revenue has come from these big companies?

SARA FISCHER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: Yes, it is a great question. I think look at it in the short-term versus the long-term. In the long-term, Elon Musk wants to pivot a lot more of Twitter's revenue towards subscriptions so that he doesn't have to be so reliant on advertisers.

[10:30:06]

But in the short-term, he is reliant on advertising.