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Colombia Has Fifth Most Coronavirus Cases In World; CNN Talks To Colombian President Ivan Duque; Fresh England Restrictions Over New COVID Spike; U.S. President: We Must Hold China Accountable For Virus; Replanting Forests To Restore Biodiversity; CONNECT THE WORLD Wins Emmy For Breaking News Coverage. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired September 22, 2020 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.
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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Well, we have heard from the American and Chinese Presidents and soon the leaders of Russia and Iran
will speak. That is all happening at the United Nations General Assembly this hour on the Global Bodies' 75th Anniversary.
It is day one of general debate from powerhouse world leaders, what is an unprecedented virtual United Nations get-together. Donald Trump and Xi
Jinping speaking just in the past hour, along with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and it is all being streamed over the internet.
The coronavirus pandemic means no big global or side meetings this year at U.N. Headquarters instead just one diplomat from each member nation is in
the assembly. Hall introducing their leaders pre-recorded speeches.
President Trump's speech was far shorter than the 15 minutes allowed. He immediately blamed China for their early response to the Coronavirus, and
using campaign style rhetoric he praised his own diplomatic efforts that critics say fly in the face of typical U.N. diplomacy. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: For decades the same tired voices proposed the same fail solutions, pursuing global ambitions at the
expense of their own people. But only when you take care of your own citizens will you find a true basis for cooperation.
As president, I have rejected the failed approaches of the past, and I am proudly putting America First just as you should be putting your countries
first. That's okay. That's what you should be doing.
I am supremely confident that next year when we gather in person, we will be in the midst of one of the greatest years in our history, and frankly,
hopefully, in the history of the world. Thank you, God bless you all, God bless America, and God bless the United Nations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: That is the U.S. President who spoke virtually, as it were, about an hour ago, addressing those who were in the whole at U.N. Headquarters.
We what to remind you UNGA as it is known is kicking off during climate week, that will be a major topic at this year's virtual General Assembly
along with the global response to the pandemic and the ongoing fight for women's equality.
Well, another person who will be speaking in a couple hours is the President of Colombia; Ivan Duque leads the country where more than three-
quarters of a million people have been infected with COVID-19, the fifth most cases in the world.
Well despite that, Colombia's Capital of Bogota has lifted most coronavirus restrictions. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Colombia this
past weekend, praising relations between the two countries. President Duque joining me now from Bogota and we do thank you for your time.
What do you make of what you have just heard from the U.S. President and no holds barred attack on China Donald Trump who says the United Nations
should hold China accountable for the COVID pandemic. Do you agree with the U.S. President, sir?
IVAN DUQUE, COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, it's a great pleasure to be with you, Becky, and let me make a reference more than for me getting
into interpret a speech or a referral to a specific country.
I think the most important thing that was said this morning by the Heads of State who spoke is that we all have to work in better coordination, in
multilateralism, to face the challenges of COVID-19. I think the takeaway we all have seen in the last five months is that we could have done things
much better multilaterally speaking when this pandemic began.
If we would have had more transparent information at the right time, maybe we would have had better prevention. But now is no time for us to shame on
that, but it's our time to work in better coordination for the months ahead, and especially because we all have to recover and we have to recover
fast so that the global economy can put a stop to the expansion of unemployment and also that we can have a 2021 with a bigger economic growth
that benefits us all.
ANDERSON: And that all sounds very optimistic, and you will not find many people around the world who would disagree with you.
[11:05:00]
ANDERSON: But let's be quite frank here, sir. The United States leader blaming the Chinese for a pandemic which has caused such harm in your own
country, the Colombian Capital Bogota just recently lifting its COVID restrictions, albeit cases are still pretty high, the fifth highest in the
world.
The Bogota Mayor's Office warning that a new outbreak is inevitable. So why lift these restrictions at present, and are you satisfied that as
leadership of the country, you have done enough?
DUQUE: Let me go to the specifics of the question, because I think when we look at aggregated numbers, the aggregated numbers tell us something. But
when we look at the comparable levels, and especially when we look at contagions per million and deaths per million compared to other countries,
and mortality rate, the mortality rate that Colombia has now, it's below Germany, below France, below Italy, below the UK, below the United States,
below Chile and below Peru.
And when we look at the deaths per million, which is also very good way to compare it, we see our numbers are pretty much below the European countries
and also other countries in Latin America. But another thing that is important is that the recovery rate we have now in Colombia is above 83
percent, and we have been seeing a drop in the daily cases and in the daily deaths.
And something that has been also important is that we have continuously been reopening the economy since April, and now we have more than 95
percent of the economy running. At the same time, and it's also important we have seen a lot of citizen behavior being changed positively so that we
have a permanent use of masks, social distancing and other measures.
And I should also say that something that has been achieved is that we have doubled our ICU capacity, and we have expanded testing in exponential
levels so we can keep on doing active testing so we can identify the cases beforehand.
And as I said, the mortality rate is pretty low, so I think in a consistent policy, we have been working positively without any triumphalism, but we
are optimistic that we will continue to endure.
ANDERSON: If you had to lock down, generally, would you?
DUQUE: That's not a good question, Becky, because I think we took the draconian and opportune measures in March and April. And now since we have
improved the testing capacity, the ICU capacity, when we have detected that there is an expansion of cases, what we have done is more focalized
interventions, and we have done that in many cities.
I think a good result of those policies is that overall, we have seen the daily cases have been dropping and the daily deaths have been dropping.
When we have seen cases where we need to have a more explicit and focalized intervention, we have done it so that we don't have to look at a general
lockdown again.
ANDERSON: We speak ahead of your speech at the United Nations General Assembly, an unprecedented gathering this year in that yours and other
world leaders' speeches, of course, are prerecorded and available virtually.
The United Nations, sir, was designed to do just that, unite nations. But our world today, more than ever, feels so divided. You have said, and I
quote you here, a global problem requires global solutions, so only through multilateralism, international cooperation and global governance can we
mitigate the serious consequences of this pandemic and thus build a better planet.
I'm sure your speech will reflect that atmosphere today, but do you genuinely believe multilateralism still exists?
DUQUE: I have always been a believer in multilateralism, and I will always remain as a believer in multilateralism. The last 75 years since the U.N.
has been created or was created has shown that multilateralism works.
Obviously we still have many challenges ahead and we are living in a polarized world by multiple circumstances, especially in specific
countries. But when we look at what we have achieved, for example, in environmental terms.
What we have achieved in order to expand the protection of human rights, what we have seen in the fight against criminals, against humanity when we
see, for example, the global fight against climate change and the way that we have been adopting policies that makes me an optimistic.
[11:10:00]
DUQUE: But I should say there is more work to be done ahead. But on specific measures, I believe what has been achieved in the fight against
climate change, and I will refer to that in my speech, it's important, the challenge ahead is bigger but what we have achieved demonstrates that we
can co-ordinate a lot of efforts that can produce good for the world.
ANDERSON: We look forward to your speech. I just want to drill down on a couple other issues ahead of hearing what you have to say, but thank you
for entertaining the notion on multilateralism and your response to that.
There have been violent protests on the streets of Bogota against your social and economic policies. I just want you to have a listen, and for our
viewers' sake, for them to hear what one demonstrator had to say, sir.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENIFER BOLANOS, PROTESTER: I am protesting for my rights because I am tired. The government is not being fair with us. I am tired because we
don't have a decent education. We have a lot of problems with our education and the government offers no solutions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: This is a tough year, but urban unemployment surging nearly 25 percent this year and young students complaining they have no access, for
example, to good education. What is your response, sir?
DUQUE: Well Becky, on the one hand, I think the expressions of citizens are always very important and we have to listen to them. But it's also
important to highlight what Colombia has achieved in the midst of this pandemic.
We have been able to provide not only subsidies but access to resources and food to more than 10 million Colombians in the midst of this crisis. When
we refer to education, this government, my government, has been the government that has spent the most in education, not only expanding the
coverage but also providing the largest amount of free public education for universities.
We're about to reach this year more than 100,000 students that are going to go for free to public education, and our goal is to reach 300,000 by the
end of my term. But at the same time, we have been providing double titling, so kids that graduate from high school will have the high school
diploma and will have the diploma so that they can also access job opportunities.
We have also been providing funding like no other time before to public universities and public schools and also providing families that have been
affected by the pandemic so that they can fund the education of their children.
I obviously understand that this is a crisis that impacts the whole world and that it has produced higher unemployment levels in basically every
single country. But as a middle income country, I think we have been able to give enough resources to attend the biggest struggles of this crisis,
and I think as of today, what we are about to do is have an investment that will reach the highest investment ever by a Colombian government to face a
crisis of this magnitude.
So we will continue to work with this and we will continue to keep dialogue with the whole population. It's very difficult at this time to resolve
every single obstacle, but I think what we have done is with no president in recent history.
ANDERSON: That's fascinating. The U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was just visiting your country. We talked about that on this show ahead of this
interview. The issue of illicit drug production, I know, was discussed. Have a listen to what the U.S. Secretary of State said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE POMPEO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Look, we all need to do more to reach the goal to cut this cultivation. I know you'll do that. The U.S. is here
to help by sharing resources expertise, and we applaud the work that you have done. Thank you for that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Sir, I know you have set a target to destroy 130,000 hectares of Coco this year as well as 100,000 as I understand it last year. Is that a
realistic target at this point?
DUQUE: The important thing, Becky, and it's always good to have the context, is that when I assumed office two years ago, we had seen in the
previous three years the largest exponential expansion of illegal crops in Colombia.
Between 2015 and 2018, our country passed from less than 16,000 hectares to more than 200,000 hectares. So the first goal that we had to achieve was to
stop the expansion, and in fact we did it in 2018. And then we said our next goal is to accelerate the reduction.
We had a 10 percent reduction in 2019, the largest reduction in the last 6 years and we want to be even stronger this year.
[11:15:00]
DUQUE: The biggest challenge is receding, so that's why we have to not only be able to reduce the size of illegal crops but at the same time to
strengthen what we call land control and territorial control with the armed forces, but at the same time, with social expenditure and programs that
connect people to illegal crops.
So yes, we want to accelerate the target, we want to reach the goal, and we have to reach the goal of reducing by 50 percent the Coca cultivation by
2023. So this is going to be the largest acceleration we seen in recent history and something that's also important is that we have reached record
highs in terms of interdiction.
So yes, we represent today almost 50 percent of all the interdictions that are done in the Western Hemisphere. And the fight against drugs, it's a
moral fight. It's my moral fight and it's our nation's moral fight, because trafficking affects not only the economy, it affects social lives, it
affects the democracy, and it affects the peace that must be felt by citizens in different parts of the country. So, yes, we will work to
achieve that goal, Becky.
ANDERSON: Finally, I want to talk about the impacts of what is going on with your neighbor Venezuela and how you might respond going forward? Part
of the focus of the trip by Mike Pompeo, of course, was ensuring that they could drum up support in Colombia for their Venezuela policy.
The U.S. is calling for a presidential election to replace the Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro. Are you on board; is that something that you
support?
DUQUE: Well Becky, let me be very blunt. What we've been seen in Venezuela is really unacceptable. I denounced Nicolas Maduro when I was - before the
international criminal court and then when I assumed office we called other heads of state to do the same we had eight heads of state denouncing him
before the international criminal court.
We saw the Secretary General of the OES doing the same. It took basically three years for the U.N. to come out with a report they came out with last
week that consistently said that Nicolas Maduro his inner circles are criminals against humanity.
So this needs to come to an end. And the whole international community should put all the pressure so therefore things are met. The one thing is
the end of the dictatorship. The second thing is a transition government with a broad participation where everybody is there with a representative
and that they can call for free elections.
And once the free elections are met, we need to put in place an economic recovery for Venezuela. What we are seeing today is the largest migration
crisis ever seen in Latin America, and it is going to surpass the Syrian migration crisis.
The amount of resources mobilized by the international community to attend to this crisis is way, way below what we saw in Syria. We have been
attending almost 1.8 million migrants in Colombia, and this is unsustainable, but we have done it for an eternity.
The essential way to put an end to the circumstance is the end of the dictatorship, and Maduro needs to be prosecuted by the international
criminal court, which was also stated by U.N.
ANDERSON: With that, sir, we will let you go, because I know that likely have already recorded your speech to the virtual U.N. Assembly this
afternoon, but I know you'll likely want to watch with your colleagues.
Sir, it's been a pleasure having you on. Thank you for the wide-ranging conversation, and we look forward to hearing your speech at the U.N.
General Assembly on today.
DUQUE: Thank you so much, Becky.
ANDERSON: Thank you. As I mentioned, we have already heard from two big players so far, China and the United States, of course. They made big news.
We need to break that down for you, so let's bring in our International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson and our Senior UN Correspondent Richard
Roth live at the UN itself.
Like almost every other world leaders this time. And I would like to address with both of you some of what we just discussed with the Colombian
President, but first, Richard, just describe for our viewers how unusual, how unprecedented this first - this UNGA U.N. General Assembly is this year
of 2020?
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's very unusual. You got to see the Colombian President. We're not going to see anybody here.
And usually the streets are closed off. The only people that are happy are drivers and residents of New York who don't have to deal with the limousine
parades and all of the so-called frozen zones.
But of course, everybody is suffering during this pandemic, so nobody is really cheering on the rooftops. You can only put one diplomat per country
in the large General Assembly Historic Hall. This was supposed to be a huge party, hoopla, no matter what the problems are, for this 75th Anniversary
of this global organization.
[11:20:00]
ROTH: Certainly based upon the tone of the two main speakers, you know what it's like at a party when two of the most significant guests start
fighting, what happens? Well, that's what happened with the U.S. and China today.
ANDERSON: Yes, and Nic, pick up from what we heard, if you will. Certainly the gloves were off as far as the U.S. President was concerned, demanding
that the U.N. hold China accountable for the COVID pandemic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, Becky, wasn't it remarkable? We heard a little earlier from the U.N. Secretary General sort
of setting the tone, talking about the need for multilateralism. Here you have the President of the United States, a democracy of 350 million people,
not talking about multilateralism, talking about putting countries first, America First.
He finally said if everyone else does that attacking China by name. And then you have the Chinese President who is best described as an
authoritarian who has, we are told, though the government rejects this notion, more than a million Uyghurs locked up in training camp.
The Chinese government pushes back strongly against that accusation. But China is not a modern democracy. Yet you have the Chinese President talking
about the need to work together, talking about the need to help poorer nations with the COVID pandemic.
It sort of seemed that you would have a role reversal between the two. This feels like the United States under President Trump seeding ground to
President Xi who is able to put an incredible gloss on how he runs his country and how he wants to see the world run? That seems out of kilter.
ANDERSON: Richard, just walk us through some of what it was that the U.S. President had to say and how it fits into what Nic has just been
discussing?
ROTH: Well, if Donald Trump loses the election in a month or so, people here will no doubtable hold up this last speech, his fourth, to the U.N.
General Assembly. Bellicose almost barked out on the teleprompter, and within seconds he went right after China on the COVID Virus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: As we pursue this bright future, we must hold accountable the nation which unleashed this plague onto the world: China. In the earliest days of
the virus, China locked down travel domestically while allowing flights to leave China and infect the world.
China condemned my travel ban on their country, even as they canceled domestic flights and locked citizens in their homes. The Chinese government
and the World Health Organization, which is virtually controlled by China, falsely declared that there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission.
Later they falsely said people without symptoms would not spread the disease. The United Nations must hold China accountable for their actions.
In addition every year, China dumps millions and millions of tons of plastic and trash into the oceans over fishes, other countries' waters,
destroys vast swaths of coral reef and emits more toxic mercury into the atmosphere more than any country anywhere in the world. China's carbon
emissions are nearly twice what the U.S. has.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROTH: President Trump failed to go hard against China on human rights, didn't mention Hong Kong. You saw the Chinese U.N. Ambassador sitting
there. Before he introduced President Xi's tape, he said baseless allegations. Didn't mention the U.S., but no doubt it was a live response
to President Trump's critique of Beijing. Becky?
ANDERSON: Fascinating stuff. Thank you both. We did hear some words about human rights from the U.S. President. Have a listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: If the United Nations is to be an effective organization, it must focus on the real problems of the world. This includes terrorism, the
oppression of women, forced labor, drug trafficking, human and sex trafficking, religious persecution and the ethnic cleansing of religious
minorities. America will always be a leader in human rights.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: The U.S. President speaking at - or at least addressing the United Nations General Assembly today in a prerecorded speech. This is
digital diplomacy.
Up next, a new COVID crackdown in England and in Scotland as the British Prime Minister warns of a perilous turning point. We'll bring you live
reports on the tighter rules and what they mean for the UK economy.
[11:25:00]
ANDERSON: Plus the time to avert the dire effects of climate change is ticking away. But one polish town is finding it hard to steer away from its
coal mining roots. We'll take you there after this.
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ANDERSON: Work from home if you can with those words, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson doing an about-face, abandoning his recent push to
get people back into offices across England, alarmed clearly by a spike in new COVID cases. Mr. Johnson told the UK parliament a short time ago that
the time is now for tighter measures to contain a second wave.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JHONSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Yesterday, on the advice of the four chief medical officers, the UK's COVID alert level was raised from 3 to 4,
the second most serious stage, meaning that transmission is high or rising exponentially. So this is the moment when we must act.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Let's get to Scott McLean who is outside the Houses of Parliament. This is the moment when we must act. This was expected, but
still must be quite a shock to the people of Britain well, certainly of England.
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And on top of what you heard in parliament, the Prime Minister is actually going to be giving a televised
address on TV tonight to try to convince people of his plan to tamp down the Coronavirus.
But he's speaking to a British public that's gotten quite accustomed to some newfound freedoms they gained over the summer, certainly compared to
the lockdown that we had in the spring. But this afternoon in the House of Commons, the Prime Minister said that bars would have to close early, plans
to bring fans back inside soccer stadiums would be put on hold indefinitely.
Guidelines for wearing masks inside shops would actually become legal requirements. And as you mentioned, if you can work from home, you should.
And that is a big reversal from the messaging that we heard from the government just even a month ago.
The prime minister urging employers to send their workers back into the office. The prime minister also promised more funding for police to
actually crack down and better enforce the rules that are already in place right now, even giving forces the option to call in the military if
necessary. As for how long these rules might be in place, well, the timeline wasn't so hopeful. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNSON: We will spare no effort in developing vaccines, treatments, new forms of mass testing. But unless we palpably make progress, we should
assume the restrictions I've announced will remain in place for perhaps six months.
[11:30:00]
JOHNSON: For the time being, this virus is a fact of our lives, and I must tell the House and the country that our fight against it will continue. We
will not listen to those who say let the virus rip, nor to those who urge a permanent lockdown. We are taking decisive and appropriate steps to balance
saving lives with protecting jobs and livelihoods.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCLEAN: So, Becky, one criticism you might hear of this plan is it sets the UK up this winter for holiday celebrations that might either be limited to
immediate family or you might end up with a lot of illegal family dinners.
ANDERSON: Yep. All right, well, it's not a good story out of the UK, but you heard it first here on CNN. Scott, thank you. Still ahead, after the
American President slams China over its handling of the Coronavirus, we will speak to a Former U.S. Ambassador to China. That is just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Let's get you more on our top story this hour. The 75th Annual United Nations General Assembly like you've never seen it before. It is
UNGA pandemic style, UNGA pandemic style all virtual day one underway featuring prerecorded speeches from world leaders, including earlier the
Presidents of the U.S. and of China.
Donald Trump praising his handling, his own handling of the Coronavirus, and he slammed China's response, while Chinese President Xi Jinping said
the world should follow science to contain the virus and get through the pandemic together, and he said politicizing the pandemic should be
rejected. Here is what some of the American President had to say. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We will distribute a vaccine. We will defeat the virus. We will end the pandemic. And we will enter a new era of unprecedented prosperity,
cooperation and peace. As we pursue this bright future, we must hold accountable the nation that released this plague onto the world: China.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Believe me, there was no holding back. The gloves were off in Donald Trump's criticism of China during his speech, slamming the country
for its response to the pandemic. Mr. Trump also claimed that the World Health Organization is controlled by China's influence, something that he
has said in the past and blasted China's environmental record.
[11:35:00]
ANDERSON: Well, I want to bring in for you now Max Baucus. He is a Former U.S. Senator, and importantly today for us, a Former Ambassador to China.
Thank you, sir, for joining us. It's a pleasure having you on.
MAX BAUCUS, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO CHINA: Thank you.
ANDERSON: The U.S. President, gloves off, basically put China in his crosshairs today. Your reaction to what you heard from the U.S. President,
and to a certain extent, the sort of counter from his Chinese counterpart?
BAUCUS: Well, my first reaction that a lot of this is politics. President Trump is not gaining in the polls. I think he's getting more and more
nervous he might not win the election. So a lot of this anti-China, I think, is political. It's somewhat recognized in the U.S. and somewhat
recognized I think in China.
However, the deeper problem is that it's causing a greater rift between our two countries. China is not going anywhere. China is always going to be
there. It's a huge country, it's economy is prospering, and the U.S. must find a way to work a deal with China, not just continually criticize.
ANDERSON: Do you think that this Trump Administration is looking to work out how to deal with China? I understand why you say this is sort of
political posturing, as it were, but this was, like I say, the gloves were off as far as President Trump is concerned.
He took only five or six minutes of what was 15 minutes of allotted time at the UNGA, which I think really surprised, everybody. Like I say, it was
pretty much a full-on campaign speech, it has to be said, but directed squarely at China, saying that the U.N. should hold China accountable for
the Coronavirus pandemic. I wonder whether you agree with him on that point, sir.
BAUCUS: I don't. I do think that China was a bit late in announcing to the world the extent of the virus. I think part of that is just Chinese
bureaucracy. China is not one big monolithic country. It's many provinces, many municipalities and it's made up of different people.
I think to some degree when the virus was first discovered in Wuhan, officials were a little reluctant to pass it on to Beijing, a little
frightened. My point is there was no great intention to deceive the world. It just turned out that way to some degree.
The bigger point, I think, is how well China has handled the virus and how poorly the U.S. has handled the virus? They've done a great job in China.
We've done a very poor job in the U.S., and that must be remembered.
I do think, though, there is a lot of people in the Trump Administration, unfortunately, who are trying to stop China's rise. They criticized China
and it's having a negative effect, if you will, to the American public.
Pew Polls show that Americans now think much less favorably of China may be five or six years ago a lot of this is because of the drumbeat of anti-
China rhetoric primarily from the administration, from some members of Congress, and I think it's very short term.
Too few members of U.S. Congress, too few Americans have actually spent time in China, they don't understand China. They don't understand the
complexities, the subtleties. Sure, China is a different culture, it's an autocratic country no question.
But we have to work with China, and where we start to see each other in each other's shoes, or walk in each other's shoes, go to other countries,
especially Americans going to China, it's going to help.
ANDERSON: Let's have a listen to what the Chinese President had to say, as part of what he had to say in the past hour or so in what was his
prerecorded speech to the U.N. General Assembly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
XI JINPING, CHINESE PRESIDENT: In particular, major countries should act like major countries. They should provide more global public views, take
out their responsibilities and live up to people's expectations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: You know the country well. Were you to be advising the Trump Administration at this point, and are they asking you what you would
suggest if, indeed, they are in any way looking to try and cut the ultimate deal with Beijing?
BAUCUS: Well, our goal as a country is to protect our national interests. But second is to work with the second largest economy in the world: China.
How do you do that? You do that, I think, in much the same way you and I work with each other or any two people work with each other.
[11:40:00]
BAUCUS: It's based on a mutual respect. There may be different points of view, different cultures, different religions, different backgrounds, but
still, if we're going to work things out, there has to be some mutual respect.
I think that means more quiet diplomacy but firm diplomacy. Not tweeting, not calling people publicly names but more quietly. We've done that in the
past, during the Obama Administration, and I was part of this very directly, we told Xi Jinping, privately and just few people in the room.
President Obama looked President Xi straight in the eye and said, no, no, you're not going to militarize for example - one of the South China Sea
Islands and guess what it worked. It was quite - Obama looks you straight in the eye and says no, no, there will be bench repercussions if you go
there, and it worked. It's quiet diplomacy but tough diplomacy. That's the way you deal with China.
ANDERSON: I want to just come back to something that we were talking about in the beginning of this interview and whether you genuinely believe that
China had any sort of responsibility or should be held in any way accountable for the pandemic?
Certainly the U.S. President believes that, and, of course, bang on about what he calls the China virus. I just wonder if you think that China could
have been more transparent about the pandemic from the start, thus avoiding the amount of deaths in cases that we are seeing right now?
BAUCUS: Frankly, I think China could have, in a perfect world, been more transparent, but of course that's looking backwards. We don't have all the
facts. It's just difficult to know. More importantly, I think we should move forward.
Frankly, when this developed, maybe I was a bit naive. I thought it was a terrific opportunity for the United States government, for President Trump,
to say directly to President Xi, gosh, this is terrible what's happening in China? What can we do to help?
Any supplies we can send over? We want to work with you. That would have gone a long, long way but of course the opposite it occurred. I do not
blame China I didn't not think China should be held accountable. That just gets into the blame game. That's negative. I think rather we should look at
mistakes made and learn from our mistakes and go forward.
ANDERSON: With that, we're going to leave it there. We thank you very much indeed for joining us. I will be fascinated at some point to find out from
you what you think a Biden Administration would do to improve relations with China and whether he can do a better job than Donald Trump. That is a
conversation, sir that I hope you will have with me in the weeks to come. For now we will leave it there.
BAUCUS: I'll look forward to that.
ANDERSON: Thank you. Thank you Ambassador.
BAUCUS: Thank you, Becky.
ANDERSON: How restoring this forest one tree at a time brought back its wildlife that, after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:45:00]
ANDERSON: As part of our call to earth commitment, sharing solutions to critical issues impacting our environment all this we're highlighting bio-
diversity in the efforts of those working to protect ecosystems around the world.
Well, healthy ecosystems are essential of course for providing fresh water, food and protection from extreme weather events worldwide, and we bring you
the stories of those doing extraordinary work at the front lines of conservation, of protecting biodiversity to create a better more
sustainable future and today, how restoring the native forest of Rodrigue, bringing back the Island's wildlife.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEAN ALFRED BEGUE, PROJECT SUPPORT OFFICER: Being a kid, I always loved being in nature, and I think this is why I'm here today, and I think I will
be still here in the future, because I do care for my island.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For more than 20 years, Jean Alfred Begue has been helping preserve wildlife in Rodrigue located in the Indian Ocean, around
560 kilometers east of the main Island of Mauritius.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEGUE: Rodrigue is only 104 kilometer per square on the whole planet; it's a very tiny spot. The main reason why we started this work here is because
Rodrigues has lost most of its biodiversity. Most of the species have gone extinct.
We have lost 90 percent of our flora, and we have lost nearly 99 percent of our fauna. So we've got very, very little left. So the main mission was to
keep and save and preserve these species from becoming extinct.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With help from the Rodrigue Regional Assembly, Begue and his team are working to restore the island's native ecosystems as well as
weeding out invasive and exotic species. It starts here in a nursery where plants endemic in the Rodrigue are grown. These seedlings are then
replanted in protected areas on the island, including the nature reserve.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEGUE: When we started the restoration program, there were a few species, but now with the restoration program, we are almost close to thousands of
plants being planted out in the nature reserve.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And according to Begue, their efforts are making an impact on the forest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEGUE: We've seen, through scientific research, that insects are coming back into the reserve. We've seen the number of - the two endemic birds
that we have in the Rodrigues coming back in very rapid in numbers. It's very encouraging news for us to see that just by planting a few plants out
here. We've seen nature coming back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Begue says he is proud of the work that has gone into restoring and preserving wildlife on the island.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEGUE: I do care for all the species that are still surviving. We've been an example to other countries. We've been doing a lot on our environment to
try and save species from extinction. So it's a great honor, and it will be a great honor tomorrow to show my kids, to show people what is being done
on a very small Island of Rodrigues.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: We will continue showcasing inspirational stories like that as part of the initiative at CNN. Let us know what you're doing to answer the
call with the #calltoearth. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:50:00]
ANDERSON: All right, some breaking news just in to CNN. This was a milestone that the United States didn't want to pass, but it has. It just
surpassed 200,000 deaths from COVID-19. That count, according to Johns Hopkins University.
In the past hour or so, we have heard a speech by the U.S. President to the world, effectively, at the virtual U.N. General Assembly where he demanded
that the U.N. hold China accountable for COVID-19.
Let's get straight to CNN's Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen. He certainly demanded that - sorry, I'm hoping she'll be with us shortly.
That's certainly what the U.S. President demanded in a five or so minute speech, a pre-recorded speech, for distribution by the UNGA.
What he didn't talk about was the fact that his country was about to pass 200,000 deaths? What a milestone. The U.S. President, of course, giving
himself an A-plus for his performance - a conversation that he had with the veteran Correspondent Bob Woodward.
Is Elizabeth Cohen ready for me? I do believe she is. Elizabeth Cohen, a milestone, as I said, that nobody wanted to see pass.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, certainly, and certainly a milestone that really public health authorities tried to avoid,
but it just seemed like the U.S. public health system could not do all the right things, all the things that were necessary in order to get this under
control.
Nobody wanted to hit this milestone. Unfortunately, the president has said, oh, we're going to turn the corner any minute now. Last spring he said,
when the weather gets warmer, this will go away. He has constantly forecasted that this will go away, this will turn around. Unfortunately,
this milestone shows that he is unfortunately wrong.
ANDERSON: And lest we forget, Dr. Fauci, Anthony Fauci, was speaking with our colleague, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, earlier, and this is what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Masks work, physical distancing works avoiding crowds work. Thank
you, Sanjay, for giving me the opportunity to be on television now to say that. That is the fact. So people should not worry that that's wrong or
worry that that's something that's going to change. This is where we are, and it's based on fact.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: And yet, Elizabeth, people are still ignoring that advice.
COHEN: Right. You know, I can say in the United States, there are many people who are heeding that advice and are very careful about wearing masks
in public, about keeping distance. So I don't want to make it sound to our viewers around the world that all Americans are doing the wrong thing.
That's not the case.
But there are significant pockets of people who are not doing the right things. And all you need is one large party, one large wedding, one large
gathering where people are ignoring this advice, the advice we just heard from Dr. Fauci.
That's all it takes to get another spark and another spark and another spark. And when you have enough sparks, you get this fire that just won't
go out.
[11:55:00]
COHEN: You need to have - people anywhere around the world need to be very disciplined, and the United States has had a hard time doing that across
the country.
ANDERSON: Elizabeth Cohen in the house, we thank you very much, indeed, for joining us on a story that matters so much for all of us right now. As does
everything we've brought you from the UNGA, for example, this hour. That's why I do this job, to tell the world stories, those good and those bad, and
ultimately we hope to make a difference.
As Ted Turner put it, CNN here to be a positive force in a world where cynics abound, it's what we do. It's our Raison D'etre. And last night the
incredible level at which CNN works how we go there and why was on full display?
This network, I'm very proud to say, won seven Emmy awards, by far and away the most out of any other organization, and I'm so immensely proud to call
CNN my home, and I'm delighted that "Connect the World" was chosen for our breaking news coverage of Turkey's incursion into Syria. If you are a
regular, you will remember how we did it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.
ANDERSON: Last hour Turkey started its long expected military offensive into Northeastern Syria.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This was sparked by a conversation between President Trump and President Erdogan where Fox
actually felt they had got a green light.
TRUMP: It's time to give our brave warriors in Syria a warm welcome home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Streets, roads just chocked full of cars filled with families desperate to get out of here.
ANDERSON: I want you to explain, if you will, exactly what Ankara strategy is from here on in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To protect our border from all terrorist elements whether it's YPG or ISIS.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You effectively have all the key factors in place that would lend themselves for ISIS resurgence.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mostly captured on the battlefields, allegedly fighting for the so-called Islamic state, they're malnourished and weakened, but
these men still pose a threat. Their guards are from the Kurdish dominated Syria democratic forces, and they're all that stand between these men and
freedom to rebuild a terrorist army.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Myself and my colleagues doing what we say on the tin, connecting you to the news and to the news makers, connecting you to our teams in the
field, connecting you to the people stuck in the fighting, connecting you to the story as it happens.
It's what we do here, and we are so pleased that you join us to ensure that we can connect your world for you. So thank you for that. Stay safe
wherever you are watching in the world. It is a very good night, at least from us here, in the UAE.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
