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Millions More Cars In China Make Future For Oil Uncertain; Xian Ku Interview; Duke University Rape Investigation Updates; Violent Demonstrations In Nepal

Aired April 21, 2006 - 13:59   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Americans are addicted to oil. No surprise there. But now we have to share, compete, outbid like never before. A crude awakening.
The second hour of LIVE FROM starts right now.

Higher and higher the price of gas goes, and when it comes down, well, a lot of people will celebrate.

AAA says the price is up three cents a gallon just today. The nationwide average is $2.85 for self-serve regular, but it's over $3 in California, Washington and New York.

To make matters worse, supplies are disrupted in parts of the Northeast, supposedly because of the annual switch to the cleaner burning blend sold in the summer. But to know what's really going on with gas and oil, you need to look past the Northeast, even past the Middle East, and focus on China. The world's most populous nation is fast becoming the world's biggest oil addict, and that's called a seismic shift in global markets.

CNN's Candy Crowley reports the world will be feeling the effects of that shift for years to come.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Holy gas pains, America, $3.19 for regular in Los Angeles and in Chicago.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it sucks.

CROWLEY: Ever wonder how it came to this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's because of shortage of oil.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know that the world situation is tenuous and that the oil companies will take advantage of any opportunity to stick it to us.

CROWLEY: Kind of. But think economics 101. Think supply and demand.

PHIL FLYNN, VICE PRESIDENT/ENERGY ANALYST/GENERAL MARKET ANALYST, ALARON TRADING: This has been a story of incredible demand growth in China. And -- and what people are starting to realize, that, if you look at the upside potential for China demand over the next 10 to 20 years, there's not going to be enough oil left for anybody else.

CROWLEY: Meet the leaders of the two biggest oil-consuming countries on the planet, the People's Republic of China, the United States of America.

BUSH: China is home to an ancient civilization, and it is helping to shape the modern world.

CROWLEY: It's not just about pandas anymore. This is no longer Ronald Reagan's China. No longer a waking giant, China is a walking giant, powering through the days on an economy growing by as much as 10 percent a year. And, increasingly, China is a speeding giant, dumping bicycles for cars, 10 million privately owned cars, and 75 million more Chinese are expected to buy a car in the next 15 years.

They're going to need a lot more gas. Overall, energy needs are expected to more than double by 2020. Where in the world does China get all that supply? Same place the U.S. does, and elsewhere.

JEFFREY BADER, DIRECTOR, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION CHINA INITIATIVE: Well, they're getting 10 or 11 percent of their oil from Iran. So, it's going to be a -- kind of a push-pull with China on Iran.

CROWLEY: The United States thinks China, having used the global marketplace to prosper, needs to step up to the plate and help solve global problems -- case in point, Iran, where the Bush administration thinks China has been pulling punches on Iran's quest for nuclear weapons, because China wants to protect a key oil supply line.

And while the subject came up at the White House, it appears the U.S. got Milquetoast.

HU JINTAO, CHINESE PRESIDENT (through translator): Both sides agree to continue their efforts to facilitate the six-party talks to seek proper solution to the Korean nuclear issue. And both sides agree to continue their efforts to seek a peaceful resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue.

CROWLEY: The reality is, the U.S. no longer has the world playing field or the world oil supplies to itself. China, once an insular, isolated country, has long since thrown open its bamboo curtain, posing problems and offering possibilities.

Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: When Westerners discuss human rights in China, or, to be blunt, the lack of human rights in China, one image usually comes to mind. Remember this, the picture of that loan protester blocking a tank during the Tiananmen Square demonstrations of 1989?

Our next guest was one of those protesters. Xin Hu went into hiding after the Chinese government cracked down and eventually escaped to America. He later attended Yale, where President Hu spoke today. He joins us from West Babylon, New York.

Great to see you, Xin.

XIN HU, TIANANMEN SQUARE PROTESTER: Hi, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: I want you to take me back, if you don't mind, because just seeing this relationship between the president and the president of China and going back to Tiananmen Square and remembering those protests and trying to decipher how far have both countries come, maybe there's a number of steps that have gone backwards, you were there for the protests, you were helping lead them. Tell me how you orchestrated it and why you thought it was so important.

HU: Back then, I think it was important because of corruption and the inflation cost a massive dissatisfaction in the -- in people. And the people were very active participants in the political change. And today, there's a huge change economically, but political-wise there's still very little change.

PHILLIPS: And we've talked about and discussed those economic changes. A lot of positive things taking place. But let's talk about the human rights.

You know why you protested there in that square, and you saw what happened. Why are so many people still protesting and talking about the human rights issue? Why is it still such a big problem and such a concern?

HU: I think in 1989 people were all very active participants in the political change, ways of government. And there was a hope that they can be part of the change.

And today, the economic change is great, but the government only allowed economic change, but as a political power still keeps the same way as it was in 1989. So, there's still a lot of dissatisfaction, and there's no way to let it out. So people still protesting.

PHILLIPS: So, Xin, do the majority of those in China think, well, the economics are getting better so we'll just keep our mouths shut and not worry about human rights so much, because economically my life is doing better?

HU: Hey, if you feed the pigs and dogs well, and let them just be happy, would you want to be a pig? No. Yes, economically we are well off, but still people want to talk freely and they still want to socialize with people about whatever they like.

PHILLIPS: And here we are, a war in Iraq, talking about how Saddam Hussein tortured people, killed people. What do you want to see the president of the United States doing now when he has the president from China here?

Do we need to talk more about Falun Gong? Do we need to talk more about Tibet? Do we need to talk more about those that are continually harassed and not treated well? Are we not putting enough pressure, do you think, on China to talk about these issues more? HU: I think that China has progressed a lot. U.S.-China relationship has helped China in this transformation a lot. So, the more important thing is to focus on what the majority of the people want. What do the majority people need?

Yes, culture is a big problem, but I think most of the people need to feed their family and need to buy a house, want to improve their living. So I think that for the U.S. government to emphasize on the mutual, beneficial relationship on economics and also promote human rights as world rights, that's very important.

PHILLIPS: Is it true, Xin, that students there in China, they don't see that famous videotape of one of the protesters facing off with the tank? They don't learn about the protests? They don't learn about why you and your fellow students gathered to fight for a better life?

Are you still with me, Xin?

HU: Yes. I'm sorry. I lost you.

PHILLIPS: That's OK. Can you hear me OK now?

HU: Yes.

PHILLIPS: I'm just asking about the fact that there is so much censorship still and that students are not learning about what happened in Tiananmen Square. They don't see this videotape of this lone protester in front of the tank.

How do you feel about that? And should students be learning about this part of history? Because if they don't, they'll never realize that they have a chance to fight for a better life or for human rights.

HU: That's OK. They have their own needs. And when the time comes, they will ask for their own rights.

So, in one sense, it's good to forget about a bloody crackdown so they will have the courage to do whatever they like. But on the other hand, forgetting about what happened also means that a tragedy may happen again. So, they probably need to be more tactful in pursuing their needs in their generation.

PHILLIPS: So, Xin, do you believe that students may come together again like you did in 1989 and protest exactly like how you did it in Tiananmen Square?

HU: Probably in different format. The dissatisfaction, a large scale of human rights abuse, and also the political dissatisfaction may spawn (ph) into the area that people will protest again.

PHILLIPS: Did we find out what happened to the tank guy? That's how everybody refers to him. Do we know what happened to him, where he is? HU: I don't know where he is, but I always remember him. So does many of my friends. And he will be remembered for all the people in China for what he did for China.

PHILLIPS: Yes, I don't think any of us will ever forget him or that videotape.

Xin Hu, a student leader there during those protests in 1989, now at Yale.

Great to see you. Thanks for your time.

HU: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Waiting for charges in Riverton, Kansas. We're hearing five high school students could appear in court this afternoon after what police are calling a foiled plot to shoot up their school.

The teens were arrested Wednesday night and Thursday, which happened to be the seventh anniversary of the Columbine massacre. Investigators were alerted to the alleged plot by messages on a Web site. They reportedly found guns, ammunition, knives and coded messages in the bedroom of one of those suspects.

Whom to believe, the accused or the accuser? If there were witnesses to an alleged rape at a party thrown by the Duke University lacrosse team, well, they haven't spoken up yet. But someone who was there is telling reporters what she saw.

Kim Roberts is an exotic dancer for hire who also performed at that party. She's never said that she saw a rape, but she tells The Associate Press that she's convinced, "... somebody did something besides underage drinking."

CNN's Alina Cho has more now on this case from Durham, North Carolina.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The grand jury will be back here in a little more than a week and could hear more evidence in this case. And there is new information today about exactly what police were looking for and what they found when they searched the dorm room of one of the suspects.

(voice over): Just hours after suspects Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann arrived at a Durham jail in handcuffs, police were searching Finnerty's dorm room on the Duke campus. A copy of the search warrant reveals officers were looking for photos or videos of the lacrosse party, clothing worn on the night of the alleged attack, even a white high-heeled shoe the accuser says she lost when she left the house.

What they seized, a news article and an envelope addressed to Finnerty from his girlfriend in Boston. It's not known how these items might be connected to the case. Defense attorneys say Finnerty and Seligmann are innocent and were not at the off campus home at the time of the alleged rape.

A potential key witness, cab driver Moez Mostafa, who now says he made not one, but two trips to the home in the early morning hours of March 14th. His first trip, he says, was to pick up Reade Seligmann. Less than an hour later, around five minutes after 1:00 a.m. Mostafa says he was back to transport four other players. When he arrived...

MOEZ MOSTAFA, CAB DRIVER: I saw a bunch of people outside the house on the right side, on the left side.

CHO: Mostafa says he noticed what he called "some kind of trouble" and overheard one of the players talking about either the accuser or her friend.

MOSTAFA: But he, one guy, he said she's just a stripper.

CHO: News of the alleged rape has not stopped thousands of Duke alumni from returning to their alma mater. It's reunion weekend.

Bucky Fox went to Duke Law School. He's here for his 40th reunion and says he's not worried about how all of this will affect the university's reputation.

BUCKY FOX, DUKE ALUMNUS: I still get calls from parents and friends who want their kids to go to Duke and they want to know if I can help them in that process. So, that tells me that there are still an awful lot of kids who'd love to come to Duke.

CHO (on camera): The next court appearance for the two suspects is May 15th. And at that time, the D.A. will present his evidence to the defense.

Alina Cho, CNN, Durham, North Carolina.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

PHILLIPS: It's by no means an instant replay, but a New Jersey appeals court says former NBA star Jayson Williams can be prosecuted again on a charge of reckless manslaughter. Prosecutors allege that Williams was reckless when a gun he was handling fired and killed a limo driver in his home back in 2002. He was convicted in 2004 of trying to cover the shooting up but acquitted of aggravated manslaughter. And jurors deadlocked on the reckless count.

Williams claimed a second trial would amount to double jeopardy.

Some are fighting for their political lives, others just to survive. Coming up on LIVE FROM, the crisis in Nepal.

The news keeps coming. We'll keep bringing it to you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Power to the people. The king of Nepal makes the promise, but protesters say he's not going far enough. A general strike and violent demonstrations have rocked Nepal for two weeks and pro-democracy groups, backed by Maoist rebels, vow to continue until the king leaves.

King Gyanendra seized absolute power 14 months ago but says he now intends to hold elections for a prime minister who would control the Nepalese army. A government official tells CNN the king plans to stay on as guardian of the constitution and a symbol of national unity.

Despite the king's pledge, strict curfews are still brutally enforced by government soldiers. CNN's Dan Rivers is in the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN RIVERS, REPORTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Kathmandu burst into life briefly, the curfew lifted for just a few hours allowing people to buy food and supplies. Trade was frantic, but prices here have shot up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One lemon is eighth rupees.

RIVERS (on camera): And how much is it normally?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Normally one rupees -- one rupees for two.

RIVERS: Well, as you can see, the city now is bustling once again. This is the first time in two days that people have been able to get out and by some food and by some fuel. But everywhere, there are large numbers of security forces, soldiers armed with tear gas and guns, and the curfew comes back in again in half an hour.

(voice over): The precious minutes slip by. The shelves at the bakery empty rapidly.

(on camera): How has the business been?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very bad. This is very bad.

RIVERS (voice over): The police announce the curfew is about to start and the traders have moved on.

The shops closing after just a couple of hours' trade. More than two weeks of general strike and protests have crippled the economy here.

News is a precious commodity. People glean details of the latest shootings and wonder if the pro-democracy demonstrators will succeed in wrestling power from the king.

And then the army arrives with orders to get everyone off the streets.

(on camera): You can see the security forces are beginning to clear this marketplace. The curfew is now in force, and everyone is scattering inside as fast as possible.

And no one's arguing. Dissent in Nepal has been brutally put down so far. Families running home terrified of being caught out at the wrong time.

Kathmandu is an imprisoned city. Their freedom taken by their king.

Dan Rivers, CNN, Kathmandu, Nepal.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: A gracious concession. How do you say "fat chance" in Italian? Italy's highest court is confirming Romano Prodi is the country's new prime minister, but sitting prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has yet to admit defeat in the nation's closest election ever.

The court says Prodi's center-left coalition edged past Berlusconi's coalition by fewer than 25,000 votes. Prodi has already picked his first cabinet minister. Berlusconi tried to float the notion of a coalition government, but Prodi rejected that gambit. Berlusconi is telling the media he will keep fighting.

Free one-way plane tickets, but the government picks the destination and the schedule. And don't even ask about the seat assignments. It's the return part of catch and return, a crackdown on illegal immigrants.

LIVE FROM tags along right after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: CNN continues to look into the future of transportation. And today our focus is on American's highways, a system that is now 50 years old and may be in need of an update.

CNN's Miles O'Brien shows us one idea that could make our highways better and safer down the road.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VERNON: I was on the move eight hours a day, eight hours a day, 24/7. Our primary job is dealing with accidents, keeping the traffic flowing as quick as possible. Cell phone, eating, not paying attention to the highway, all it takes is one improper lane change for the motorist to cause an accident on the interstate. If the public just paid attention to what they are doing, the way they drive, you know I believe driving would be safe for everybody.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: That's a great goal, but it seems like a long way off. About 40,000 people die on America's highways every year. That's 109 people every day. But what if our cars could warn us of the dangers even before an accident occurred?

(voice-over): Meet Jim Misener, a transportation safety expert at U.C. Berkeley. His goal, simple, to eliminate accidents.

JIM MISENER, TRANSPORTATION SAFETY EXPERT, U.C. BERKELEY: We focus on something called intelligent transportation systems. Essentially putting technology into the roadside, into cars to make the road safer.

O'BRIEN: It's like your car's GPS navigation system beefed up and made interactive with intelligence sensors mounted on the car and on the street alerting you to unsafe intersections, blocked lanes or hazardous road conditions.

MISENER: You can have intersections talking to a car, cars talking to intersections. The cars, therefore, can communicate better to the drivers what's happening.

O'BRIEN: Misener says the system could roll out as soon as 2010 with an end goal of George Jetson proportion.

MISENER: In the end, we could have very safe cars that drive automatically. If you have a fully automated system, you have to have a lot of acceptance by drivers and by society for it to happen.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: China reports a new bird flu death today, its 12th since November. A 21-year-old migrant worker died Wednesday shortly after the World Health Organization confirmed his illness as H5N1. It's not clear how he was exposed, but other cases have come from contact with diseased poultry.

Pakistan, on the other hand, has not reported any human cases, but a mass slaughter is under way at several poultry farms near Islamabad.

This is a test. Repeat, this is only a test.

Bird flu hasn't landed anywhere in the U.S., not even in birds, but in the ounce of prevention department, Atlanta's Hartsfield- Jackson International Airport hosted a drill dubbed "Operation Big Bird."

The simulated scenario involved a packed plane and a passenger with bird flu. And then police, fire and emergency workers responded, as did experts from Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Atlanta's airport is the world's busiest airport and has frequent drills to test security and safety.

Well, you may soon be able to pay a fee and jump to the front of the airport security lines.

Susan Lisovicz, I hate it when I don't get your name right, because it just doesn't slip out -- Lisovicz, I have to say it four times straight -- there we go -- at the New York Stock Exchange.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: You have a very good track record on a very difficult name, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Thank you, Susan.

LISOVICZ: You can just call me Susan.

PHILLIPS: OK, Susan.

LISOVICZ: Well, this is all about, you know, getting through the line quicker, more easily. And this is really good for frequent flyers, obviously.

It's called a registered traveler program. It is a pilot program going on right now, but the Transportation Security Administration is working with private companies to sell security fast passes as early as this summer.

You might even get to keep your shoes on. We really don't know that yet. But we do know that you have to pay a fee. You'll pass a government background check and submit 10 fingerprints.

Up to 20 airports could participate. And it could be expanded if successful.

Right now, the pilot program is operating in Orlando, Florida. It costs about $80 to participate. Eight million people fly two to three times a month. They are the ones, obviously, who could benefit. And for those business travelers, I'm thinking that maybe you could even ask the boss to pay the fee for that one.

PHILLIPS: You think?

LISOVICZ: Yes.

PHILLIPS: All right. Well, you may have to pay to get through security quickly, but at one airline -- you and I were talking about this -- hey, at least the drinks are free.

LISOVICZ: Yes, how about that? You can fly economy and you can get your drinks for free.

It's a limited program, Kyra, and it's being offered at Southwest Airlines if you leave from the carrier's home base, at Dallas Love Field. The program lasts through Memorial Day and it's all about good old-fashioned competition.

Southwest is fighting off some new competition from American Airlines, which launched its own service at Love Field last month. And, by the way, American gave away three tickets at a Dallas Mavericks basketball game earlier this week. By the way, there was a two-drink maximum.

And you know what? You might be thinking that you're seeing double if you look at the markets today, Kyra.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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