Return to Transcripts main page
CNN 10
China Marks a Milestone Anniversary; Explanation How U.S. Primaries Work; Man`s Effort Leads to Makeover of an Indian Beach
Aired October 01, 2019 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: In the world`s most populated country the stage is set for a major commemoration of a significant anniversary. That`s our
first story today on CNN 10. I`m Carl Azuz, welcome to the show. The first of October marks 70 years since the People`s Republic of China was
established. That`s the country`s official name under the communist government that was formed in 1949, though China itself has existed for
thousands of years. Despite the term People`s Republic, the Asian country`s actually the largest communist state on earth and to celebrate
its founding as a communist country, the Chinese government is holding a massive military parade through the nation`s capital. It`s expected to
include 15,000 members of the armed forces, more than 160 planes, hundreds of weapons, all on display in the center of Beijing.
Security`s been increased. Tourists say police are everywhere, roads have been blocked off, a major subway line`s been shut down, drones and kites
have been banned and residents say there`ve been more restrictions on internet in Beijing with sites like Google, Facebook and Twitter almost
impossible to use. China`s government controls the media as well as the nation`s politics and it wants to ensure nothing goes wrong during the
parade. Ahead of the event, Chinese President Xi Jingping called for unity among China`s people. One areas the government`s keeping a close eye on is
Hong Kong. There`ve been protests for 17 weekends in a row in the special administrative region of China.
Most demonstrators there have been pushing for more democracy for Hong Kong. And some protests have been violent with civilians throwing gasoline
bombs and bricks at police and setting fires and police firing tear gas at the protestors as well as warning shots and blue dye from water cannons.
That`s intended to make the demonstrators easier for police to identify later. China insists it has ultimate control over what happens in Hong
Kong and the Reuters` news agency says China has increased the number of its troops in the city. They may be standing by in case protests well up
during China`s 70th anniversary celebrations.
Across the Pacific the United States is more than a year and a month away from its next presidential election but a lot has already happened among
dozens of candidates. For instance, seven Democrats have dropped out of the race and 19 are still in it. Their party has already seen several
debates and though none are scheduled for Republicans, there are three candidates challenging President Donald Trump for the GOP nomination.
Though analysts have said they`re unlikely to defeat the incumbent president. Still, how does the U.S. get from 19 candidates on the
Democratic side to the one who`s name actually appears on the ballot. That`s decided through primaries and caucuses which start early next year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: American politics is dominated by two parties, Republicans and Democrats. That means only two people have any real chance
in the presidential election every four years. If you want to help decide who those two candidates are, the primaries are your best chance. The idea
of actual voters participating in the primary process, it`s relatively recent as in New Hampshire didn`t put candidate names on primary ballots
until 1948, and those results weren`t binding until 1952. It used to be the presidential candidates were selected at party conventions. It was
mostly party members who selected delegates who went on to a convention to vote.
Conventions still happen but they`re mostly ceremonial since primaries have determined every candidate for more than 50 years. Here`s where it gets
confusing. Every state conducts its own primaries and none of them do it exactly the same. They`re spread over the course of months in presidential
election year which is why candidates set up camp in early voting states like Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. If a candidate banks
on Iowa and doesn`t win there, they might have to drop out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Democrat Martin O`Malley suspending his campaign tonight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A surprising finish in New Hampshire can make a candidate blow up on the other hand and give them new momentum.
JOHN MCCAIN: Tonight, we sure showed them what a come back looks like.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some states like Iowa have caucuses which are more like neighborhood meetings than a traditional primary. People show up and
actually lobby for their candidates. Some states have open primaries, meaning anyone can take part in the primary even if they aren`t registered
party members. Other states have closed primaries, meaning you have to join the party in order to vote and some states like California are
experimenting with completely non-partisan primaries although not at the presidential level. The primary system has continued to evolve after
Bernie Sanders lost to Hillary Clinton in 2016, his supporters complained about the influence of party bigwigs, tipping the scales. The Democrats
have changed the rules for 2020 and given primary voters a stronger voice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia. Which of these cities is located along India`s Arabian Sea coast? New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, or Kolkata. On India`s
west coast you`ll find Mumbai, a city with almost 20 million people.
Pollution and overpopulation are two of the challenges India has struggled with and combined that they created the perfect storm of garbage along a
beach in Mumbai. It wasn`t just because the local population was using Versova Beach as a dump. A lot of the trash was floating down creeks from
other communities. The clean up effort was started by a man who couldn`t take it anymore.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is not a landfill. This was Versova Beach in Mumbai, India in little over three years ago. It was covered in over 6,000
tons of trash. After what the United Nations called the world`s largest beach clean up, this is Versova Beach today. It was a movement started and
led by one man, Afroz Shah.
AFROZ SHAH: My name is Afroz Shah. I`m a lawyer by profession and I love oceans.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In October of 2015, Versova Beach was little more than a dumping ground on the west coast of Mumbai.
SHAH: There were five and a half feet of plastic. I`ve never seen so much plastic that (ph) close to the ocean. It`s scary, very scary. We
(inaudible) state of (inaudible). In garbage either end up on land or in ocean, the big issue is not (inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So Afroz took matters into his own hands. He started picking up the trash himself.
SHAH: I have spent my childhood here and I used to play here and the beach used to be very, very clean. For me (inaudible) it had to be my voice and
journey. Then I told myself with the fickle person (ph) (inaudible). Why not take this (inaudible) to others? I provoked others to join in and
eventually they did join in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Since 2015, every weekend 100`s of volunteers joined Afroz to pick up the trash that has been strewn along a two mile stretch of
the beach and the volunteer work continues today.
SHAH: We have been cleaning for the past 112 weeks now and it`s almost 9 million kgs of plastic (inaudible)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Beach cleaning is one of the biggest preventive action to prevent this plastic from going into the beach here. This is
(inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Through the use of trucks, bulldozers, buckets, whatever people can use the beach has slowly been picked up. But the issue
is more than just the beach, it`s about the mindset of people. So, apart from the beach clean up, Afroz also works with local communities to help
educate them on recycling and proper trash disposal.
SHAH: We go to coastal communities where, you know, (inaudible) talking to them. I go to people`s garbage. I tell them, show me then I tell them how
to segregate, how to handle plastic. This is the first (inaudible) ocean from here. I`m proud that I`m connecting with people and I`m connecting
(inaudible). That gets a very big sense of pride in my heart, you know. This problem that (ph) pollution is created by us but lost a sense of
belonging to (inaudible) planet and to our ocean. A lot of people ask me, Afroz, how long are you going to clean? The day we say that this ocean is
mine and (inaudible) is spic and span, the (inaudible) this question. (inaudible) to what I`m doing. We are in for a long haul and every citizen
on this planet must be in for a long haul and start doing their (inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: Hooray.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: For 10 out of 10, why sit around like a bump on a log when you can roll one under your feet across the Mississippi River. That`s what Alyssa
Weatherbee thought and last Thursday the professional timber sports athlete did it. Rolling and floating on a synthetic log from Port Byron,
Illinois to Le Claire, Iowa. Weatherbee is said to be the first person ever to do this and her husband says she`s a great "roll" model.
We may not know how much "wood would a woodchuck log, if a woodchuck could log roll`. But try as it "maple" it could only "pine" away for the kind of
record Alyssa set as she "plied" her trade, "spinning" from beach to beach while keep her "sea legs" "all aboard". I`m Carl Azuz, "sprucing" up
another edition of CNN 10.
END
