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Connect the World

Hong Kong Protesters Out in Force; Economic Impact of Hong Kong Protests; China's View of Protests; Obama Welcomes Netanyahu to White House; Jihadist Teen Killed in Syria Airstrikes; Concerns About Jihadists Returning Home; Parting Shots: Hidden Side of Hong Kong

Aired October 01, 2014 - 11:00   ET

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

JIM CLANCY, HOST: A deadline for Hong Kong's leader to step down -- protesters issuing an ultimatum. They say they're prepared to step up

their campaign of civil disobedience. We'll have the latest on the umbrella revolution.

Also ahead, the most intense round of bombing since the start of the assault against ISIS, but the terror group is giving up little ground.

And U.S. health officials are scrambling to contain public fear and a possible spread of the virus after the first Ebola case is diagnosed on

American soil.

ANNOUNCER: This is the hour we connect the world.

CLANCY: This is not what we usually see in the city of Hong Kong during one of China's biggest holidays. Normally on the night of October

1, crowds gather and watch fireworks light up the sky, fireworks that marked the birth of the People's Republic of China some 65 years ago.

But this year, these scenes, protests as student leaders are now demanding chief executive CY Leung step down in less than 24 hours. And

the only fireworks, well, they're purely political.

We've got much more on the Hong Kong protests coming up this hour. We'll be getting a live report just ahead.

Also, we'll examine the impact the Occupy Central movement is already having on the city's vibrant economy and the implications and long-term

fallout.

We'll also bring you the latest reaction from Beijing on the protesters attempt to undermine its authority. We'll take you away from

the demonstrations and show you there's much more to Hong Kong than just these crowded streets as well.

After sitting largely on the sidelines, Turkey maybe getting ready to join the military campaign against ISIS. According to Reuters, President

Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey will fight against that terror group, but he ads the removal of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will remain a top

priority at the same time.

Thursday, Turkey's parliament is expected to meet in special session to consider joining the fight against ISIS. The country continues to see a

huge influx of Syria-Kurdish refugees, people who are desperately crossing into Turkey as ISIS closes in on their villages, scores of them, across

northern Syria.

Now, many of those refugees are coming from the town of Kobani. And Phil Black joins me live from the Turkish-Syria border near that location.

The one thing that they've been asking for in Kobani is U.S. air cover, U.S. airstrikes. They don't seem to be getting it.

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Not as many as they'd like, Jim, no. There were some more today. The United States announced

that a number of ISIS targets had been hit around the city in the last 24 hours. They're talking about a tank, an armored vehicles, an artillery

piece, each one of those heavy weapons that gets hit, it levels the playing field just a little. But the fight is still intense and the momentum is

still with ISIS, because they do have the heavy firepower, they have the greater numbers. They have the ability to be resupplied.

Behind me, you can see Kobani. And now for much of the day there was smoke hanging over this city because an artillery bombardment continued to

hit the city really pretty constantly. In the east and the villages to the southeast leading up to it.

To the west of the city, we saw the front line there first hand. And once again saw ISIS fighters desperately trying to break through a line of

Kurdish fighters that were resisting. On that western front, there are fewer ISIS fighters. They are using lighter arms. And they're not really

getting anywhere. It doesn't appear to be the main thrust of the ISIS advance.

That's what we've been witnessing here in the east. We think it has slowed down a little over the last couple of days as a result of coalition

airstrikes taking out key pieces, key weapons, heavy weapons that ISIS has been using to tremendous effect here on the east of the city.

They may have slowed down the ISIS advance, but at the moment it hasn't stopped. They're still continuing to bear down on those Kurdish

fighters that are trying so hard to hold them off, Jim.

CLANCY: Where and how could Turkey get involved, what's the analysis there?

BLACK: It's difficult to say at this stage. Turkey is not signaling anything specific about precisely just what its contribution could be, but

the potential is enormous, its military is incredibly large. And indeed, its frontier as it stands is increasingly under -- or increasingly being

faced off by ISIS.

What we're talking about as we talk about ISIS advancing through northern Syria is ISIS really creeping much closer in controlling territory

just across from the border with Turkey.

We know that one thing that Turkey has been asking for for a long time is what it calls a safe zone, actually reaching out and grabbing a piece of

Syrian territory and holding on to it as something of a buffer zone, particularly to protect the many refugees that have been fleeing this

country initially from the ongoing civil conflict and the forces of the Syrian regime and its president Bashar al-Assad, but also increasingly from

that ISIS advance as well.

This is something that Syria has not wanted to do alone. It believes it should be an international effort, but other nations aren't exactly

lining up to send in ground troops to help establish this safe zone.

But we know that that is a key demand of Turkey. Perhaps if it comes down to it, that is something it could consider acting upon itself. I

should say, there's been no signaling to that effect.

The other thing that Turkey has been calling for is a no-fly zone as well. It believes that all of these things must be part of the

international coalition's efforts and increasingly as you touched on the Turkish president, he's indicating that Turkey will take part in this

international effort in some way, Jim.

CLANCY: Very briefly, perhaps the most important thing in all of this is going on there at the border. What is the morale of the Kurdish fighters

and people today?

BLACK: Well, those we talked to across the border who were still fighting, they say they will fight to the end. They are determined -- I

think they were a little proud of the job they've done so far in holding off ISIS. But they're not optimistic. They don't believe they can hold

them off indefinitely.

They will be heartened to have seen the airstrikes that have been taking place over the last 48 hour or so, but they want more. And indeed

that is the feeling among the many refugees that have crossed over here into Turkey as well. They want international assistance. They ask us all

the time, why is the world letting the Kurdish people die? Jim.

CLANCY: Phil Black reporting there live from the Syria-Turkey border. Thank you very much as always, Phil.

Well, while ISIS has been getting its message out by whatever means necessary, sometimes brutal means, others feel their voices are being lost

in the current battle inside Syria. Now, the Free Syrian Army hopes this little piece of PR will give them a bit of a boost. It appeared on social

media reminding the world their fighters have been taking on ISIS and the Assad government for some time now.

The FSA's message seems clear enough. Moderates deserve more arms and international support inside Syria. We'll soon see whether this entry into

the web information war proves effective.

Well, let's return to the situation in Hong Kong. And it's a dramatic one. Will Ripley is there for us live among the demonstrators -- Will.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, I have to tell you the mood here, while it remains quite festive -- people behind me breaking into

song, holding up their cellphone lights, creating a really remarkable display as you see tens of thousands of people and one of Hong Kong's main

thoroughfares, there's also a growing sense, certainly among the student organizers that the young people who decided to start this fight for

democracy, the sense is that this may be getting out of control.

As more people come here, there's no clear leader of the group, there's nobody who could get on a mega phone and tell all of these people

it's time to go home.

And as more and more people come here, right now it's a national holiday. Hong Kong doesn't have to go back to work. But that situation

will change when -- you know, as the economy in this city continues to suffer, its businesses continue to stay closed, and so there's some very

real concern about what's going to happen next.

This comes as student leaders are also saying if Hong Kong's chief executive, CY Leung, doesn't step down by tomorrow night, they are planning

to occupy government buildings. That would force the police to take action perhaps as they did over the weekend when they used pepper spray on some of

the protesters, which resulted in a large number of people coming out here to show their support.

And all of this is playing out, Jim, on a week when a number of Chinese tourists are here from the Mainland seeing all of this unfold.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY: Each Chinese National Day fireworks fill the skies over Hong Kong. This year's show is canceled.

And this is why. On a normal year, tens of thousands of people would gather in the heart of Hong Kong to watch a spectacular display in the sky,

but the focus this year is right here on the street.

Streets full of tourists from Mainland China here for golden week. This 19-year-old Chinese student who asked us not to use her name is one of

them.

Would this ever happen in China?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

RIPLEY: Why?

"Because, in China," she says. "University students wouldn't dare do what students are doing here in Hong Kong. If you did this in China, you

could be arrested."

Hong Kong has had a lot of autonomy since Britain gave it back to China in 1997. Protesters are demanding more. This visitor says she saw

some students get pepper sprayed on Sunday. She says she supports their demands for real democracy, so do these Chinese students.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the voice of the people. And they are making their voice heard.

RIPLEY: They asked us to hide their faces, afraid of being punished for speaking openly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm very worried about my -- about the safety of my friends and I also want to experience this moment for democracy.

RIPLEY: Not every mainlander supports what's happening in Hong Kong. The protester hindering the holiday plans of these Chinese shoppers.

"I'm afraid if we go in, we won't be able to get back out again, because the traffic is so jammed up," this woman says.

Shopping and sightseeing draw Chinese Mainlanders to Hong Kong. But they're seeing something that in China could get you thrown in prison, or

worse.

"I support the students struggling against the government and police for democracy and freedom," she says. "They're not afraid."

But China's Communist Party is afraid that Mainlanders like her will be inspired and scenes like this will play out on the streets of other

Chinese cities.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY: Jim, just a few minutes ago, I was chatting off camera with one of the student organizers, Ivan Long (ph). And she told me something

that really stuck with me. She said all of these people here that she sees she feels that they may be in danger and not even know it. She says she

has that feeling because she's afraid of what might happen if this continues and at some point the government decides they have to break it

up. We'll be watching it closely, Jim.

CLANCY: Will Ripley, live from Hong Kong. Will, thank you much for your reporting there.

And still to come right here tonight, a lot has changed in the Middle East. Since these two leaders met the last time, the U.S. president

welcoming the Israeli prime minister to the White House. We get a live update from Washington.

And it was once seen as the world's gateway to China, but how important is Hong Kong when it comes to China's economy now? And how could

scenes like these harm that?

What's -- that's what's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: This is CNN. And you're watching Connect the World. I'm Jim Clancy. Welcome back everyone.

U.S. health officials trying to calm down American's fears about Ebola after a man in Texas became the very first person diagnosed with a virus

inside the United States. The patient is now in isolation at this Dallas, Texas hospital. He fell ill about four days after arriving from Liberia

and was hospitalized four days later. But health officials are reassuring the public saying they are confident the virus can be contained.

Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is at the Centers for Disease Control here in Atlanta.

Sanjay, how worried should people be in this case realistically?

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORREPSONDENT: Well, they talk about the fact that, you know, Dr. Frieden said he's 100 percent confident they can

stop this from turning into an outbreak. I mean, he did not parse his words there. He did not hedge. And part of it is they think that the

infrastructure, the ability to care for patients and the ability to find contacts of this first patient is just much easier to do in the United

States versus West Africa where some of the places where these patients were sick, there just wasn't a public health infrastructure.

Having said that, Jim, there was a concerning part to this as well, and that is that the patient was sick for about four days before they got

him to the hospital and they went into the hospital on day two of their illness and were sent home without being tested.

That's a little bit of a concern, because then there was another couple of days where the patient and possibly having contacts.

Now they have got to go back and they've got to find all those people, Jim. Again, they think they can do it, but it would have been a lot easier

if they were able to confirm that he had Ebola the first time around and not have all these additional people that they have to go find and monitor

for the next three weeks now.

CLANCY: Dr. Gupta, tell us a little bit about the patient. Is he an American, is he a Liberian, a dual national? And what's his condition

right now?

GUPTA: We don't know a lot about this patient, Jim. And part of it is because they are citing health care privacy laws. It's a private HIIPA

laws which basically prevent the hospital without the patient's consent giving any information out.

They obviously want to balance that with the public health concerns.

We do know the patient was in critical condition, we were told last night. But in serious condition now, so that's a little bit of an

improvement. We know that the patient was talking, so not on a breathing machine, asking for food even. Those are good signs.

We also know again just timeline-wise the patient -- when the patient arrived on the 20th into the United States the patient was not sick by

reports, did not have any symptoms, but it was four days later when the patient became sick. So the patient has been sick for around a week now

with what was Ebola, an Ebola infection.

CLANCY: You know, as there is discussion about this, there is some concern, but you know, sometimes there's unwarranted fear as well. I think

somebody put it -- I was out on Twitter this morning, they put it very well. They said your chances of dying from Ebola in the United States are

probably less than dying from texting about it on your phone while you're driving.

GUPTA: Yeah, I mean, look it is really rare obviously. And you can understand the concerns, Jim. You and I have traveled around the world.

I've covered the story in West Africa. It's a completely different scenario. You know, at certain times throughout this nearly 40 year

history of Ebola, the mortality rates in some of these outbreaks has been as high as 90 percent.

So, you know, you can understand the concern.

But keep in mind here in the United States, because of the treatments that are available in terms of just getting fluids back, replacing blood

products, getting people into some sort of isolation, finding those contacts I think it's going to be -- you know, people are going to have a

much, much better chance of surviving this.

But you know, Jim, this is historic, make no mistake, this is -- what we're talking about today has never happened before. We have never had a

patient diagnosed with Ebola in the United States. There have patients who have come to the United States with Ebola over the last few months, but

they were diagnosed elsewhere. They came here for treatment. This person was out and about for a few days after getting sick. And this is a new

thing for the doctors and the public health system in this country.

CLANCY: Great perspective there. Our own Dr. Sanjay Gupta, I want to thank you very much.

Now, Dr. Gupta and other experts are answering your questions on this deadly disease, because the truth is we all know that despite all the

coverage that you can see here, there are still concerns about Ebola and how easily it travels.

Tell us what you want to know using the hashtag #EbolaQandA, that #EbolaQandA on Twitter. Watch for the answers in the hours ahead.

That should be very interesting.

Well, live from CNN Center, this is Connect the World. I'll be back with your global headlines in a matter of minutes, but first we'll take you

to Kenya and visit the home of what's said to be the first wearable technology on the continent, the first firm that makes this. African

startup is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHARLES MUCHENE, CO-FOUNDER, CLAD LIGHT LIMITED: Hi, my name is Charles Muchene. I'm the co-founder of Clad Light Limited the first

wearable technology company in the Africa region. Come, take a look.

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Charles Muchenet co-founded Clad Light Limited with his brother in Kenya's capital Nairobi. The hardware

start-up was incorporated in 2014. It was only a year ago that Cloud Light Limited was just an idea.

MUCHENE: After (inaudible) like my campus life, entered into robotics and electronics. Towards the end of 2013, I hear of an application to

Nailab.

Nailab is a business incubator that offers six month incubation for startups. After I pitched my idea of putting lights on a jacket. And we

thought it could be a viable business idea.

DEFTERIOS: After six months of product development and business training, Clad Lights first invention was born.

MUCHENE: Our first product is this jacket. It is a vest for increasing the visibility of motorcyclists on the road. So we put lights

on that vest. And the lights are controlled wirelessly from the motorcycle's indication system. So they indicate clearly the intention to

turn left, right or to break when you are riding your motorcycle.

So this is a basic simulation of the whole indication system on how it's going to work. Think now after you do the lights here we have to take

to the tailor so that there's a good finishing of the lights so that they show on the jacket. Like we show on here.

DEFTERIOS: Despite an initial positive response, Muchene has yet to sell a smart jacket, but his plan is to collaborate with a range of sectors

making them available to a broad audience base.

MUCHENE: We are sourcing for partnerships with light motorcycle assembly plants that are based here in the country. Once you buy the

motorcycle, you're given the jacket for free.

So with such an elevated indication system on the smart circuit, then you're expecting to bring sanity onto our roads. And we are hopeful we'll

have a reduction in the number of accidents that are happening.

Once we see like there's a good number of guys having the jacket, we'll venture into other markets.

Generally we can talk of emerging markets, because you have like Pakistan and India, they also have numerous motorcycles there.

DEFTERIOS: The dream of selling these jackets also comes with challenges.

MUCHENE: We're looking for other manufacturers to help us lower the cost here. And (inaudible) can get to buy them whether online in retail

shops or from their local motorcycle repair guy, here is Clad Light to tell them that they watch this space.

DEFTERIOS: Success, something Muchene feels is attainable if you just give the customers what they want.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: This is CONNECT THE WORLD, I'm Jim Clancy, and these are your top stories. Kurdish fighters battling ISIS militants right now near

Syria's border with Turkey. In the skies above, US-led coalition airstrikes have been targeting the area around the town of Kobani. ISIS

militants have been advancing on the mostly Kurdish town, forcing civilians to flee to Turkey.

Officials in eastern Ukraine say at least ten people have been killed in the shelling in the city of Donetsk. A school and a city bus were both

hit. The shelling comes despite a cease-fire agreement between Kiev and the pro-Russian separatists last month.

Doctors at this hospital in Dallas, Texas treating the first person diagnosed with Ebola in the United States. He had recently arrived in the

US from Liberia. Health workers are trying to find anyone he may have come in contact with before he was diagnosed.

No end to those protests in Hong Kong as student leaders demand chief executive C.Y. Leung step down in less than 24 hours or they vow they will

occupy government buildings. They continue to occupy the city's financial district, demanding a fully-democratic election coming up in 2017.

Right there is CNN's own Will Ripley, down amongst the pro-democracy movement in central Hong Kong. He joins us now. Will, the latest?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the latest is, as you mentioned, Jim, this really is kind of a showdown right now between

this group of people along Harcourt, the main thoroughfare in Hong Kong, the central business district behind me.

People as far as the eye can see are just sitting in the middle of this normally-busy street. And essentially, this grinding to a halt all of

the movement in this part of town. That's not significant at the moment because it's a national holiday. A lot of businesses would've been closed

anyway.

But as the days move on and it's time for Hong Kong to start getting back to work, time for the businesses that line this area to get back open,

there's very real concern about what could happen. This as the student protests leaders are saying they're going to raise the stakes, here,

occupying government buildings, forcing the police to act.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We will not occupy departments that are linked with people's livelihood, including fire

stations, hospitals, or social welfare departments. However, we cannot disclose what departments Exactly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: So, the fact that these students are now saying they're going to take this to the next level, that could really change the whole dynamic

here, because right now, the mood here, Jim, is peaceful. You can walk through these streets, there's a positive vibe. People are breaking out

into song.

But if these things -- if this mood shifts and if these protesters decide that the only way they're going to get the desired outcome that they

want, which is for the chief executive to step down or for Beijing to change its policy and allow them to freely elect a leader.

If they don't get that, that's when they're saying they're prepared to act, Jim, and we're really going to have to watch closely what happens over

the next 24 to 48 hours.

CLANCY: Will, those same demonstrators Sunday night, the same student union, making a similar vow. They wanted C.Y. Leung to set down, they gave

him a midnight deadline, all of these things. Nothing came of it.

And I'm just wondering, without a leader down there on the streets, without one figure to bring everybody together, how do they expect to do

this? It would seem that people will go their own way. They may not want a confrontation.

RIPLEY: Well, there are a lot of people here that don't want a confrontation, but what's concerning about this, as peaceful as this is,

you make a very good point that there is no one person who could get up in front of this group and speak for them. There's no unified leader.

There's nobody to tell all of these people to go home.

People are just coming here. And more and more people are coming here, especially because today is a national holiday. So, when it is time

to leave, even if there were concessions made, who's going to pass along that message, and would people listen? That's the question that we just

don't have the answer to right now.

But at some point, something has to give here. This can't last forever. You can't have tens of thousands of people in the middle of a

busy street in the middle of Asia's financial capital, essentially shutting things down. It can't go on, Jim. But the question is going to be, how is

this resolved? How is this going to get results so that these people get what they're asking for? And what happens if they don't?

CLANCY: Will Ripley, our correspondent on the scene there in Hong Kong tonight as he continues to follow the situation and the threats that

the protest may expand into government offices.

Well, Hong Kong has traditionally been seen as a financial gateway in and out of China. But as the mainland economy continues to grow, how much

is Beijing still reliant on Hong Kong as that gateway?

Well, when it was handed back from Britain in 1997, the city accounted for 16 percent of the Chinese economy. Now, that figure stands today at

just 3 percent. China has also gone on to become the world's second- largest economy after the US.

Hong Kong's holiday ends on Friday, and that's when the city is supposed to get back to work, as Will was telling us. But what about the

protest, and what effect will it really have on the economy in Hong Kong and the larger economy of China?

"Wall Street Journal" reporter Isabella Steger joins us now, live from Hong King. Isabella, the bottom line here: how much -- at least in the

near-term, because of the holiday we're not seeing anything -- but say, come Monday morning, what's the realistic impact these protests could have?

ISABELLA STEGER, REPORTER, "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL": Well, actually, there has already been some impact. We've seen some shops close or close

early in the last few days. And I think some people who are anti this movement or skeptical of it are pointing to that and saying the support for

this can't go on indefinitely because, obviously, more and more businesses will be affected.

But I echo what your correspondent said earlier. Yes, this cannot go on indefinitely, and what happens this weekend will be key. Will the

protesters and the organizers give ground and agree to meet with government officials?

We at "The Wall Street Journal" had a story today saying that the government is ready to talk, but actually the organizers will not speak

with the government unless C.Y. Leung agrees to step down.

CLANCY: All right. So, they may be complicating things right now, but I -- perhaps a fundamental question in all of this: where do

businesses in Hong Kong stand? Are they supporting these demonstrators out in the streets, or are they more likely to support Beijing's contention

that nothing is more important than stability?

STEGER: Well, I think there's some industries that are extremely reliant on business from tourists, particularly mainland tourists, so maybe

jewelry shops or luxury shops. And last night, the protest actually spread to Tsim Sha Tsui district, across the Kowloon side, which is a key shopping

area for tourists from the mainland, especially in this very important holiday period.

And there were fears that the shopping could be affected, but our correspondents went down today, and it seems to be business as usual for

the most part.

And while are a few businesses, too, who have been affected, but there are also some very sympathetic shopkeepers who said maybe my commute's a

little bit longer or my business has dropped 20, 30 percent or something, but in the long run, I'm sympathetic because you have to sacrifice for a

cause.

CLANCY: As we look at it, the cost of these protests in terms of money is one thing, but the cost in terms of politics, something entirely

different. A lot of people look at this and say there is no way that Beijing can say that a mass protest like this one would force any

concessions from their side. They don't want that example for the rest of China.

STEGER: Yes. Well, we've already seen a mild concession, some would say, from the number two official in Hong Kong, who has agreed to delay the

next stage of the political consultation. So, it's not that compromise isn't possible at all, at least within the realm of Hong Kong politics,

leaving out what Beijing is thinking.

The protesters, of course, are -- namely the students and Occupy Central -- are saying they want to see C.Y. Leung step down as a

prerequisite for any discussion. Now, whether that softens and changes as the next few days wears on is going to be critical, because as your

reporter also previously pointed out, the -- this can't go on indefinitely, people have to go back to work.

CLANCY: We will be watching. Will they go back to work? What will the reaction of Mr. Leung, the governor, we'll have to just wait and watch

all of these different things. Meantime, what a spectacle in the streets of Hong Kong. Isabella Steger, a commentator for "The Wall Street

Journal." I really want to thank you for being with us and sharing your perspective. It's an important one.

STEGER: Thank you so much. Thank you.

CLANCY: Well so far, of course, Beijing is leaving the handling of the demonstrations to the officials right there in Hong Kong, but as David

McKenzie reports, China's patience with these protesters and their demands will not last forever.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's a national day here in China, a time for pomp and circumstance around the Communist Party,

celebrating 65 years of the People's Republic of China.

But over in Hong Kong, much more muted celebrations and a sense that this standoff will just continue, with thousands of protesters streaming

onto the street in direct defiance of the Beijing leadership.

And while they've allowed protests to continue peacefully in recent days in Hong Kong, in the mainland, it's a different story. Amnesty

International saying at least 20 people have been rounded up who were showing support for the Hong Kong protests, posting pictures like this one,

with a man and a shaved head saying, "I support what's going on in Hong Kong." It's a disturbing sign, they say, of an increased crackdown on the

mainland.

Some people say that these protests are eerily similar to the Tiananmen Square student movement of 89, and while there are visual

similarities, and people do fear the fact that the Beijing authorities might at some point crack down, the supporters of the government are saying

this is actually a real reason that there won't be a crackdown here in 2014.

VICTOR GAO, CHINA NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Whatever the prospects of gaining anything from this instability, people in

Hong Kong should draw a lesson from what we have learned. That is turmoil is bad, stability has a premium. People benefit, business benefits from

having stability.

MCKENZIE: But as these protests drag on, it's anyone's guess what the next move of the Communist Party will be.

David McKenzie, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Well, so, we're bringing you the protesters' perspectives and the Chinese government's perspective you just saw.

But here's a view that you probably haven't seen yet, and it's really remarkable. You're looking at video of the protests shot from a drone,

soaring high and sometimes not-so-high above those streets in Hong Kong. It really gives you sense of how packed the streets were day and night.

Take a look at this.

We're going to have much more on this and other big stories coming up on "iDesk" with Robyn Curnow. That starts in less than 30 minutes from

now.

Live from the CNN Center, you are watching CONNECT THE WORLD. US president Barack Obama and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu met at

the White House. This was the scene just a few minutes ago. A lot has changed in the Middle East since these two leaders met seven months ago.

Are they getting along any better? We'll have a live report.

Also, a mother's pain. This woman's son slipped past the British government to become a rebel fighter in Syria. Now she's left to mourn

his death and deal with her anger.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Welcome back everyone. US president Barack Obama welcoming Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to the White House a short

time ago. The two men are expected to discuss the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, of course, as well as the fight against ISIS and the ongoing

negotiations over Iran's nuclear program.

The last time these two leaders met was about seven months ago. White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski joins us now, live. A little bit

more on this sometimes troubled personal relationship. Michelle?

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Right. It hasn't exactly been the best lately, either. During the conflict with Hamas over

the summer, we heard some of the harshest criticism of Israel from this administration than we've heard in a long time, openly and repeatedly

saying that Israel needs to do more to minimize civilian casualties, the US expressing disappointment at how that conflict ended, as well as a

breakdown of peace talks.

Then we heard Netanyahu's really fiery speech, is a good way to describe it, during the UN, wondering why there was so much jumping on the

"let's fight ISIS" bandwagon when there was also criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza, saying that both of those, ISIS and Hamas, are "branches

of the same poisonous tree," as he put it."

And also criticizing US -- basically the US's criticism of Israel. On the Iran question, that's been difficult, too. Israel would like to see

Iran's nuclear program disappear entirely, but the US involved in negotiations sees there at least some leeway there for a peaceful use of

that program.

So, there's been sort of this back-and-forth going on for some time. All of those subjects are expected to be discussed during this meeting

today. Possibly the only area for common ground, though, might be the fight against ISIS. Israel agrees that this is a threat, but again, Israel

sees Hamas as being just as big a threat as ISIS, Jim.

CLANCY: Michelle, I'm going to ask you to stay right there, because there is another concern that has surfaced in relation to ISIS. I'm going

to share that with our viewers, but I want to come back with a question to you in just a minute.

In England, a mother is trying to understand how her son was able to leave the country and go fight for an Islamist militant group. She says

her 19-year-old traveled to Syria on a stolen passport and then became a jihadist. He managed to get killed in US airstrikes there. Karl Penhaul

has her story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Seaside Britain, home of fish and chips and ice cream cones. Brighton was supposed

to be a fresh, happy start for a mother fleeing war in Africa and a broken marriage. Now, Khadija Kamara sits reading condolence notes.

KHADIJA KAMARA, MOTHER OF JIHADIST TEEN KILLED IN SYRIA: "To the lovely lady in the shop, I am so sorry for your loss."

PENHAUL: Last week, her 19-year-old son, Ibrahim, was killed in the first wave of US airstrikes on Syria.

(MISSILE FIRING FROM SHIP)

PENHAUL: Family and friends say he left early this year to join the al Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front.

KAMARA: Why did he do it?

(CRYING)

PENHAUL: Ibrahim Kamara had been studying computer science at college. His mother said he regularly helped out at a charity store

raising funds to build a school in their native Sierra Leone.

News reports of civilians suffering in Syria infuriated Kamara, but his mother had no idea he'd joined rebel ranks until he phoned in February

to say he was in Syria. Khadija said she was so mad, she hung up.

KAMARA: I don't think it's just because I was angry with him. It's because I couldn't stand it that my kid went to such a place.

(CRYING)

KAMARA: I didn't want to face it.

PENHAUL: Kamara did not have a valid passport. His mother says he stole his 15-year-old brother Mohammad's. She's dumbfounded how her son

could ever have boarded a flight.

KAMARA: I didn't see my son, he's dead. I didn't even have to bury him. At least let me get this answer, let me know how he traveled. I want

to know how he passed that airport with 15-year-old's passport. I want to know how he did it. I want to know.

PENHAUL: Britain's Home Office, responsible for homeland security, said airlines, not border police, were in charge of checking departing

passengers' identities.

Kamara traveled to Syria with two Brighton friends. They were heading to join their brother, Amir Degias (ph), pictured here on Brighton Beach.

He was already fighting with al-Nusra Front, his family says. He sent new of the teenager's death.

KAMARA: He said to my son, "Congratulations, your brother Ibrahim died this morning as a martyr. What a nice way to -- to break the news to

a family member.

PENHAUL: Khadija's mind drifts back to her last phone call with her son four months ago.

KAMARA: When I talked to him, I told him that I have found it my heart to forgive you and that here, no matter what, that I love you.

PENHAUL: The last words of a mother to her son from Brighton Beach to the battlefield.

Karl Penhaul, CNN, Brighton, England.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: All right, I want to bring back in Michelle Kosinski at the White House. Michelle, we've heard over and over again from US officials

how concerned they are about returning jihadis.

This mother is -- she's asking the obviously question, he was carrying a stolen -- his brother's, 15-year-old brother's stolen passport, taking

off and going off to the Middle East. Is the White House concerned, are US officials doing anything doing anything to try to stop American citizens

from making the same journey?

KOSINSKI: That's a great question. We've asked those same kinds of questions of the administration, too. What you hear from the US is often

the same as you hear from the UK. Well, it's a free society, people are traveling for all kinds of reasons. So the scrutiny generally comes on the

return from that region, specifically Syria.

And the US government hasn't been giving a lot of information in terms of tracking, what kind of tracking is this country doing, exactly, of these

people? How many are there? Where are they, exactly?

It seems like gradually over the course of a few weeks, we've been hearing more and more information. But usually they'll say, well, that's

for the intelligence community, some of that is sensitive information that we don't want to give away.

But what we've heard, sort of the latest numbers are pretty interesting. From the US perspective, they see about 15,000 foreign

fighters in Syria right now. About 2,000 of those are Westerners.

And of those, now, they believe about 100 Americans have either gone to Syria, considered or planned going there, been killed there fighting, or

returned and are now being tracked. Tracked is about as specific as they'll get in terms of how close tabs they can keep on people who've

returned from the battlefield.

They also think about 12 or so Americans are currently fighting with ISIS in Syria. And when you ask, well, how well can we keep track of these

people, what kind of monitoring is there? That's where they don't want to give a lot of detail generally, but they basically we're tracking them as

best as we can, Jim.

CLANCY: Fascinating side of the story. Michelle Kosinski, thank you very much for a detailed look in there at actually what is going on.

Well, coming up right after this short break on CONNECT THE WORLD, these are the scenes that we've grown accustomed to in Hong Kong over the

past few days. But there is a much quieter side to the territory that's completely immune to the protest. We're going to take you to hidden Hong

Kong just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(COUGHING)

CLANCY: Excuse me. Hong Kong, one of the most recognizable cities in the world. Even downtown's recent transformation into a giant protest camp

doesn't hide its distinctive skyline, the bay.

There are photographs taken by CNN's team on the ground I want to share with you. They take a city already known for its population density

to a new level. But don't think that all of Hong Kong is carpeted in huge crowds. Oh, they're there, but only in parts. And in today's Parting

Shots, former resident Nicol Nicolson shows us that you just have to climb a hill to get away from it all.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICOL NICOLSON, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): Behind the crowded shopping streets of Central, above the mega-density dwellings of Mongkok,

there's another, less-celebrated side to this territory. High rise in its own way, but cleaner, greener, and infinitely more relaxing.

The mountainous wilds of Hong Kong take up 70 percent of its land mass. The hills tumble down to golden beaches, often so quiet, you'd

scarcely believe 7 million people live a matter of miles away.

Many among those millions are angry about Beijing's perceived interference in their hugely-treasured semi-autonomous system. But the

best thing about Hong Kong, crazy, chaotic, noisy, never-sleeping Hong Kong, is that there's always a corner where you can find perfect calm.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Perfect calm, indeed. Great photographs. The team at CONNECT THE WORLD would like to hear from you, facebook.com/CNNconnect.

Have your say. And you know, you're always welcome to send me a tweet @ClancyCNN. I am Jim Clancy, and that was CONNECT THE WORLD. Thanks for

joining us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END