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First Move with Julia Chatterley
Clashes Erupt In Hong Kong As Protesters Try To Storm A Government Building; Global Markets Bounce As The U.S. And China Back Away From New Tariffs; Oil Rallies Amid Expectations Of A Deal As OPEC Meets. Aired: 9- 10a ET
Aired July 01, 2019 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Live from the New York Stock Exchange, I'm Alison Kosik and here's what you need to know.
Clashes erupt in Hong Kong as protesters try to storm a government building. Global markets bounce as the U.S. and China back away from new
tariffs. And oil rallies amid expectations of a deal as OPEC meets.
It's Monday and this is FIRST MOVE.
And a Happy Monday to you, we're going to get the very latest from Hong Kong in just a moment. But first let's take a check of the markets.
Global stocks are beginning the new month and the new quarter with strong gains on news of the trade truce between the U.S. and China.
U.S. stocks are on track to rally one percent or more in early trading. The S&P 500 could reach record highs, and looking at across the globe, it's
a similar picture with European and Asian stocks. They're all solidly higher as well. Chinese and Japanese indices, they all closed up over two
percent.
The U.S. and China agreed on Saturday to put new tariffs on hold and restart trade negotiations. The Trump administration also agreed to let
U.S. firms sell some products to Chinese tech giant Huawei again. Investors see this as merely a reprieve with a lot of hard work ahead
before a final trade deal can be hammered out. That said, the truce is seen as the best that the two sides could have come up with right now.
Taking a quick check of oil, it is making strong gains on expectations that OPEC will keep production cuts in place at its meeting in Vienna this week.
We're going to have a live report from Vienna later in the show.
But first let's get right to the breaking news in Hong Kong.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
KOSIK: Angry protesters have smashed their way into Hong Kong's Legislative Council building. A red alert has been issued. But so far the
authorities have taken no concerted action to stop them.
You're looking at live pictures from what is happening in Hong Kong.
Now on the other side of the city, the scene is much more peaceful with thousands of people marching to mark the anniversary of Hong Kong's
transfer to China from Britain in 1997.
I want to bring in Nic Robertson. He is outside the Legislative Council Building where these protesters just broke through. Tell us what you're
seeing.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: This has been a battle that have been raging at this building all afternoon for the last, I would
say about seven or eight hours.
Protesters have been kind of break into the building. They've been smashing through the windows. They have been up there at the front with
the -- they used hammers, they use carts full of rocks, they used barricades that they break up and then try to literally ram them through
the doors, ram them through the windows. When the windows are smashed, they move on to another section.
It has been a very, very tense standoff and I think it's only getting tenser. We are standing here on what has become really a resupply route
for those protesters at the front line. Umbrellas are being taken forward, bottles of water and significantly, helmets.
We saw professional kevlar helmets being unloaded here for the protesters and sent to the front lines. And a few minutes ago, there was a large
cloud of pepper spray sprayed by the police from the inside of the government building that came out.
And this has been the tactic of the police through the day here. When the protesters looked as if they're close to breaching the building to getting
in, the police move forward from their positions inside and they spray the protesters trying to come in with pepper spray.
So this is a cycle that has been going on all afternoon and now into the evening. But now the numbers are growing and typically, the protests here,
it's in the evening that the numbers pick up and the situation can become more tense and more violent.
So at the moment, all the energy and effort of these -- the violent protest, if you will, is focused on the government building, the
Legislative Council Building and they're calling for the Chief Executive, Carrie Lam to step down, to resign.
[09:05:09] ROBERTSON: The calls recently had been with her to completely repeal the Extradition Bill to extradite some criminals from Hong Kong to
mainland China. But this is so much more than that to so many of these young protesters, they value and cherish the democracy and freedoms that
they have in Hong Kong that their contemporaries don't have in China.
These are the same democratic values that their parents here have lived under and their grandparents. And they feel that this law is the tip of
the iceberg, the sort of Trojan horse, if you will, to begin to erode the liberties that they enjoy that don't exist in mainland China.
So what you're witnessing here tonight is quite extraordinary. The 22nd Anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong from Britain to China, this is a
protest like no one has seen here before on this scale or this level of confrontation with the police and all we can see at the moment is the
tension building.
Just behind those doors inside the building there right now are the police. Outside, the protesters pushing with more energy, more effort, more
momentum, as the evening goes on.
KOSIK: Yes, these pictures are extraordinary, Nic, needless to say Hong Kong's government has canceled its meetings in the Legislative Council for
today. Clearly, this is why they have stormed through the building there. What is the end game here?
You know, as you said, you know, they want Carrie Lam to resign. They want the bill completely removed. But as far as this moment, they're trying to
get into the building. Are they concerned that this violence will backfire at some point?
ROBERTSON: I think to try to encapsulate the very essence of what it is, they think that their lives would change so much more fundamentally, for
the worse if they lived under Chinese role and they feel that they -- you know, they're not acting with a plan here. They feel that they have to say
something, show something so that China understands, so that the Executive here understand, so that the Chief Executive understand, so everyone
understands this erosion that they fear of their civil liberties won't happen.
So this is a momentous moment in their lives and that shouldn't be underestimated. What seems like a small technical legal issue is so much
more. So that's why there's the passion tonight.
So what is the goal? The goal is to say something, show something, have this moment remembered -- remembered, the way not to have it repeated is to
avoid the legislation and the possible move towards mainland Chinese rule in a way that it isn't today.
KOSIK: All right, Nic Robertson, that's amazing reporting. We're going to try to keep these live pictures up of these protesters making it through
the Legislative Council Building there, and I want to move to someone else, someone who is actually on the front lines of Hong Kong's political battle.
Claudia Mo is a pro-democracy legislator, and she joins me live now. Thanks so much for joining us. Where are you right now in reference to the
Legislative Council Building?
CLAUDIA MO, PRO-DEMOCRACY LEGISLATOR: I'm at the moment in what's called Tamar Park of the Waterfront, but you can see right behind me that crowds,
a sea of young people clad in black and today is such a traumatizing day for Hong Kong.
You can feel the young's desperation, and thanks very much to your previous two reports, very thorough, and very understanding reports on Hong Kong.
You can feel that our young is just -- they want change. They knew they are growing violent, some of them actually going fairly militant, but then
they feel they have nothing to lose -- that sort of attitude.
And probably, possibly there's some martyr complex in there because three young people of ours took their lives in some apparent protest against this
Carrie Lam government. But so far, all we've got was a government segment condemning the "violence" being -- quote unquote -- being conducted here.
Of course, there are acts of violence and instead of trying to understand the anger and the hostility, the government keeps -- they are trying to
turn the tables that Hong Kong people condemn instead these young people and not what the government has done wrong.
[09:10:10] KOSIK: Do you think that this more confrontational approach is going to work in getting the attention that these protesters want and need?
Because clearly, the peaceful methods that we've seen over the past several weeks, they weren't working?
MO: Well, a month ago, if you ask me, all these protests in Hong Kong, are they going to work? Will the government actually scrap this China
Extradition Bill, which is -- which was and still is most controversial? I would have told you no, it's not going to work. But there are things in
politics that would make or say never say never.
It's now been suspended right, but we just don't want bloodshed as a result, because the young are very determined. They are not going to
yield. They won't budge.
The government would need to listen to them, in some ways, right?
KOSIK: Is there any concern among the protesters that they risk giving President Xi an opportunity to justify a tough approach that he could wind
up putting more pressure on Carrie Lam not to compromise?
MO: That I doubt much. I think as of now, the young men, they're trying to vent their anger, and that this government is not really serving Hong
Kong people's interests.
We all know that as of today, Carrie Lam is not going to step down. She couldn't, unless with the endorsement, the approval of Beijing, but they
want -- the young, one change. They want something positive.
They're roughly five demands about what they deserve, they think and Carrie Lam practically hasn't addressed any of them. And so that's why this
uproar at the moment, this government is just not listening to the people.
KOSIK: All right Claudia Mo, thanks so much for your perspective. It's been great talking with you.
Still to come on FIRST MOVE, call it a peace dividend. Global markets rally as the U.S. and China agree to its trade ceasefire.
And we speak exclusively to Airbnb's head of global policy about some of the criticism of how the site is changing our world.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:15:59] KOSIK: Welcome back to FIRST MOVE. We are live from the New York Stock Exchange. I'm Alison Kosik, let's take another look at futures.
U.S. stocks remain on track for a strong open on news of the trade truce between the U.S. and China. Tech stocks look like they're set to gain the
most especially chip stocks that have been hit really hard by the recent trade uncertainty.
In premarket trading today, chip makers like Micron, AMD and Qualcomm, they're up more than give percent -- five percent or more.
Meantime, new data from China, showing why a resolution of the trade war is so important. Chinese factory activity contracted last month to a reading
of below 50 points. The Manufacturing Index has fallen to its lowest levels that we've seen since January.
U.S. factory data fell to the lowest levels of the Trump presidency in May amid all the trade concerns. June U.S. factory numbers, they come out
later today.
All right, let's go to Paul La Monica. He is watching the markets for us and we are seeing lots of green arrows this morning on the heels of this
truce as President Xi and President Trump chatted on the sidelines of the G20.
PAUL LA MONICA, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: Yes, as you mentioned, Alison, obviously a lot of optimism, particularly with the tech sector, all those
chip stocks that have heavy exposure to the Chinese market, they are surging this morning. Apple is also up pretty sharply premarket, so that's
another tech stock I think that bears watching.
And then on the flip side, you're going to see Chinese stocks that trade here in the U.S. also doing pretty well. Alibaba is up more than three and
a half percent premarket. I think there is just a sigh of relief, even though nothing is officially permanent just yet that hopefully the U.S. and
China will come to grips and have a real longer term trade deal at some point that would be great news for both countries.
KOSIK: The trick is, though, if talks certainly breakdown suddenly, you know, Huawei was really the bargaining chip and these talks, wasn't it?
LA MONICA: Yes, I think that a lot of people were a little concerned about the fact that, you know, the President was willing to let Huawei be a
bargaining chip in these negotiations.
But right now, this is potentially good news for all of the U.S. companies that still rely on Huawei, in many cases for building out networking
equipment.
I mean, keep in mind, Huawei is a big provider of equipment for the companies that are building out wireless connectivity in rural areas in the
U.S., so that's kind of Trump Central, if you will, for you know, his 2020 reelection chances.
So if you all of a sudden had telecom firms and tech firms in Middle America not being able to provide services that customers are used to that
potentially could be a problem.
KOSIK: All right, Paul La Monica, thanks so much. I want to go back to Hong Kong right now because protesters, as we showed earlier, they've
actually smashed their way into the Legislative Council Building. I'm talking about smashing through metal of the building.
Our Hong Kong Bureau Chief, Roger Clark, he is actually inside the Legislative Council Building and he joins us now on the phone. Roger, what
are you seeing?
ROGER CLARK, CNN HONG KONG BUREAU CHIEF (via phone): Well, there must be something like 500 people who are now inside the Legislative Council
Building in Hong Kong. They smashed through an exit door to get in.
Once that door opened, they just poured in, and now as I said, we've got at least 500 people inside a lobby. They're making their way up some stairs,
the escalators which are not switched on at the moment. They walking up there.
They are going now onto -- what looks like the first floor, where I can see at least a hundred protesters on the first floor. They are very much in
control of this part of the building, and there are no police officers anywhere to be seen.
Everybody is wearing hard hats in here like construction workers hats. Many people have got umbrellas and gas masks and now the crowd is just
going from the lobby up to the first floor.
[09:20:10] CLARK: Two by two by two up the escalators, and other protesters, meanwhile, are busy trying to smash through more walls down to
allow even more people who are waiting outside literally thousands waiting outside to get in.
I mean, this is an incredibly serious situation where so many people, protesters who have forced their way through into the Hong Kong Legislative
Building which is a kind of Parliament for Hong Kong. Very, very serious situation indeed.
But it's also quite incredible that the police allow protesters to get so close to this building in the first place. But once they were here, the
protesters then had decided to smash down doors and trying to smash down some metal stoppers that were brought down by the police. They were having
trouble doing that. That wasn't working, so they went for another door, which was kind of an exit door, which they managed to pry open.
And once that door was pried open, the crowd just poured in and you can literally hear some banging in the background as they're doing another door
about 12 feet from me, which is being kicked in.
And once that door opens, there are more people getting in here. I mean, there are now literally hundreds, possibly a thousand people in here now
and they are all making their way up the escalators to the first floor.
And on their way, I can see some people on the second floor of this Legislative Building in Hong Kong. And like I said a moment ago, no sign
whatsoever of the Hong Kong Police. But plenty of demonstrators here, and as I say all wearing hardhats, goggles, gas masks. They've got cellophane
wrapped around their bare arms, that cellophane is designed to protect the skin from any pepper spray that the Hong Kong Police might fire.
But as of this time, well, there are no Hong Kong Police officers anywhere. I've seen some walls that have been spray painted by the protesters. And
yes, a very, very serious situation here on the ground -- Alison.
KOSIK: And we are right now, Roger, as you were talking, we're looking at the protesters. It looks like they're hopping over these metal barricades
to get inside. So we have a different vantage point now of inside the building where you are.
You said they're going to the first floor, even the second floor, how many floors are in this building? And what are these protesters doing once
they're on the first floor or the second floor? What are they hoping to accomplish now that they're inside the building?
CLARK: Well, the protesters are making their way, as I say to the first floor and up to the second floor. It seems I don't know what's up there.
It looks to be though there are offices up there.
What are they trying to accomplish? Well, they are protesting about their rights. Now, whether this will make the government speak up, who knows? I
suspect they will because this government building has now been invaded by the protesters.
These protestors are largely, Alison, young people I would say mostly in their 20s and these are people who are incredibly concerned about their
human rights going forward with this.
They already believe that China is nitpicking away and chipping away the rights that the Hong Kong people enjoy here.
You'll remember when the United Kingdom gave Hong Kong back to China in 1997, a second administrative region was created, a deal was done between
Britain and China to safeguard and guarantee the rights, freedom and way of life of the Hong Kong people and the Hong Kong people believed that those
rights and freedoms and that way of life are under serious risk.
They think that China is gradually chipping away at the fundamental human rights. They worry that the Hong Kong government doesn't do enough to
protect the Hong Kong people. They have no trust in the Hong Kong government. They have no trust in the judiciary or in the police.
And I think that's why they're here, not just protecting against the extradition bill, they are protesting about so much more than that. They
are protesting because they are worried about their future, they are worried about their rights being eaten away.
And these are people, as I say, who are in their mid-20s now, and they are going to be here for a long, long time and when the Special Administrative
Region administration reaches its end in 28 years' time, they are going to be here.
But between now and then, they want their human rights -- they want their human rights protected and that's why they are protesting.
As I speak now, I don't quite know why, but the protesters are now coming back down the stairs from the higher floors. Quite a lot of skirmish.
There are lots of umbrellas that are up, clearly the protesters are worried that maybe things will be thrown out them, maybe pepper spray or teargas.
[09:25:06] CLARK: So they've all got gas masks on and hardhats and umbrellas. But this is, just like I said, Alison, a very serious situation
that the Hong Kong Legislative Council could have been invaded quite like this and absolutely no sign of the police whatsoever.
And you sort of wonder now how the government is going to respond to this because their government headquarters is being invaded by protesters and as
I said, a serious situation.
I can see now some vandalism that is taking place there. The protesters are spray painting slogans in Chinese on doors and on walls, but as I said,
for some reason, the protesters are now coming down off the higher floors.
Maybe the police are up there, I don't know, but they are coming from the upper floors and the doors which lead to the outside are being smashed down
so that there are more people coming in and I don't know, but it does actually look as though the protesters are starting to leave the building.
I can see some people who are -- perhaps, the organizers you can call them that, somebody with a loud hailer and people waving, and so they are now
asking the protesters to leave the building.
So maybe the protest organizers are thinking that these sorts of people -- the government building being invaded are quite frankly, not the sort of
pictures that they want to be seen around the world and possibly, this kind of behavior by people is not doing their cause any good at all.
So the so-called protest leaders, you can call them that, they are fairly loosely organized, they're now getting everybody to leave the building.
So that's how it is at the moment on the ground, Alison.
KOSIK: All right, Roger Clark, we will continue to follow these extraordinary developments live from Hong Kong.
We are going to get to the markets very quickly and most likely get back to you very soon. Thanks so much for your great reporting.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:30:00] KOSIK: Welcome back to FIRST MOVE. I'm Alison Kosik live from the New York Stock Exchange. What you just heard that was the opening bell
on this Monday morning, and as expected, we got a solidly higher open across the board for U.S. stocks as we begin the second half of the trading
year, hopes that the U.S.-China trade truce will lead to a final trade deal that as you can see is boosting sentiment.
This is going to be a holiday shortened trading week on Wall Street. Markets, they're closed on Thursday for the Fourth of July. There's a
shortened trading day on Wednesday as well. That said, it will be a busy week for U.S. data.
The U.S. jobs report for June that comes out on Friday and with the trade truth in place, markets will focus once again on expectations for any Fed
rate cuts or hints of that. The big question here will rate cut expectations diminish if hiring rebounds from May's tepid levels.
So as we begin the trading day, the S&P 500 is currently in record territory. We will continue to take -- to keep an eye on the markets
today.
All right, let's take a look at how global markets are doing. Stocks are higher, pretty much across the board. As you could see, the Nikkei, the
Shanghai Composite both gaining more than two percent, and as we mentioned, investors have a fresh spring in their step following a climb down in the
U.S.-China trade war.
Clete Willems, was formerly the lead negotiator for the U.S. at Summits such as the G20. He's now a partner at the law firm, Akin Gump. Clete
joins us live from Washington right now. So happy you can join us at this pivotal moment because now that we see that talks are back on track,
everyone is kind of looking at how that actually happened.
We saw the U.S. make a big concession on Huawei allowing the company to buy tech equipment from the U.S., but the administration, it has been clear
that Huawei is a national security threat. So what happens here?
CLETE WILLEMS, PARTNER, AKIN GUMP: Well, I think what the administration is saying on Huawei, is that there is a difference between having a
national security threat to being a part of your networks, and producing cell phones for use in China with American parts.
And I think you can distinguish these things. And I think the administration's position is defensible. I think they don't want to let
Huawei penetrate the networks. But if U.S. companies want to do business on things that aren't directly related to that, they may let them do so.
KOSIK: Okay, so you look at the China trade war itself, you know, for all the hand wringing going on about President Trump's tough stance on tariffs
against China, you know, some Republican and some Democratic lawmakers, even they're worried that President Trump will actually give up too much in
any deal he is going to make because he is eager to make a deal. Do you see that happening?
WILLEMS: No, I don't see that happening, and I think it's really interesting that there was no deadline coming out of this meeting.
By all accounts, the meeting went well, it's good that the two sides are talking. But the fact that there's no deadline signals that the U.S. isn't
in a hurry here to get a deal at any cost. Rather, I think it shows that the U.S. is pretty comfortable with its position, and is willing to
continue the negotiations as long as it is needed to make sure that China makes the changes, the structural changes, and its economy on forced
technology transfer an IP rights that the United States is seeking.
KOSIK: But where do -- where do talks go to now? Now that they're back on track, I mean, we saw talks get even close to a deal before, but we saw,
according to the administration, China actually backtracked on the deal. How can there be -- how can you sort of hold China's feet to the fire?
I get it that that tariffs are the leverage that the U.S. has over China? But is that enough leverage to keep China on track to actually when they
shake hands in a deal that they actually hold to it?
WILLEMS: Well, I think the tariffs are a big part of the leverage. The other piece of the leverage, of course, is Huawei and as the administration
clarified yesterday, big changes are not expected until a deal is effectuate and until a deal is completed. So that's going to continue to
be a source of leverage.
Obviously, to the extent that the U.S. can continue to work with allies and partners to pressure China that's going to help and I think if you look at
the G20 readouts from the President's meeting with Japan, with India, with Germany, they all talked about needing to deal with this China stuff
together.
So there's a lot of ways that the administration can impose leverage. But ultimately, I think in order to get a deal, the administration is going to
need to show a little bit of flexibility on the tariff issue. And China, as you pointed out, is going to need to show some flexibility on the
question of how are they going change their laws to implement any of these commitments? That's going to be critical.
KOSIK: Okay, Clete Willems with law firm, Akin Gump. Thanks so much for your perspective today.
[09:35:11] WILLEMS: Thank you.
KOSIK: The cartel of oil producing countries, OPEC is meeting in Vienna. It's expected to extend its agreement with Russia and other producers to
cut supplies. Oil prices are rattling on reports that suggest it's a done deal. This is how Brent and WTI are trading right now.
Let's go to John Defterios who is live for us in Vienna. So hello to you, first of all, you know, the market seems to be working in favor of OPEC
right now. Are the tensions with Iran and Saudi Arabia around the Strait of Hormuz impacting negotiations?
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN BUSINESS EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: I think clearly so, Alison. In fact, the meeting has started nearly two hours late because of
the geopolitical tensions and the backroom deal making that often takes place trying to find a neutral party. This should be almost a slam dunk,
if you will, just to renew the extension six to nine months because the oil markets working in the favor of OPEC and the non-OPEC players around $60.00
for WTI, around $66.00 for Brent. This is sweet.
But you have Saudi Arabia and the UAE on one side in the Gulf and Iraq and on the other and the Strait of Hormuz bang smack in the middle. So of
course this is the challenge.
I asked the Iranian Minister in this context of the sanctions against him and the tensions that we see against Saudi Arabia in the UAE, what would
you like to see from the meeting because there's a discussion inside right now about the future of OPEC, can it withstand this sort of tension from
the U.S. and the tensions in the Gulf itself. Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIJAN ZANGANEH, IRANIAN PETROLEUM MINISTER: It's important for me to protect the existence of OPEC. The existence of OPEC for me is the main
important thing. And in this meeting, I think we had achievement for better procedure for decision making in situ.
KHALID AL-FALIH, SAUDI ENERGY MINISTER: We've had wars, we've had complex differences between different countries. We keep them outside the room.
We come here. We are pragmatic. We talk about supply demand balances, and how to get the oil markets to stabilize and in turn lead the global economy
in the right direction.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEFTERIOS: Right direction, would be of course to keep this price where we are today. Falih told me in that scrum there, they'd like to extend it for
up to nine months. But how about the pain on Iran, Alison? They're looking at a loss of up to $50 billion a year due to the sanctions.
So the game right now is to try to save face, try to keep OPEC together and walk away and go back to Tehran and say, "I fought the good fight." Even
though their production now or the exports are around 400,000 barrels a day. This time last year, it was around three million barrels a day.
So the pressure is on Iran. And also the tension that we see within the OPEC and non-OPEC deal that's two and a half years old -- Alison.
KOSIK: All right, CNN's John Defterios live from Vienna. Thanks so much.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
KOSIK: Okay, we want to get back to our breaking news in Hong Kong. You're looking at live pictures, where protesters have forced their way
into the Legislative Council Building. They've actually smashed through metal barriers across the entrance. They've actually made it to the first
and second floors. And it's hard to tell where they are right now.
They look like they're in what some sort of meeting room where there's an emblem there. Not sure what they expect to accomplish inside the building.
Maybe we can get more from Sherisse Pham. Is she with us now? Sherisse?
SHERISSE PHAM, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: Hi, Alison. There is no clear -- sorry, Alison, go ahead.
KOSIK: Tell us what you're seeing there.
PHAM: We're just around the corner from the Legislative Council Building, as you mentioned there and we are now starting to see little bursts of
violence.
We are on this main thoroughfare of Hong Kong. It runs through the heart of this major financial international hub. But as you can see, this four-
lane highway has been taken over by tens of thousands of protesters.
Mostly in the area that we've been here -- we've been here for several hours. It's been peaceful, but they've been supporting their fellow
protesters around the corner at the Legislative Council Building, at the main government building where they have broken through.
They have been rushing hard hats to fellow protesters. They've been running umbrellas to fellow protesters to continue this push and we're
hearing these chants of "Hong Kong, add gas," or "Add oil," which is essentially a cheer that you would say at a basketball saying, "Go Hong
Kong go. Push forward. Keep on going."
[09:40:06] PHAM: And the protesters here are really fighting for the future of Hong Kong. They say that the political freedoms that the semi-
autonomous city has enjoyed for years are being eroded as Mainland China pushes further into Hong Kong -- Alison.
KOSIK: And we're watching live pictures right now of protesters spray painting an emblem that looks like it could be in one of the Council
Building's meetings room. What are they trying to accomplish now that they're inside the building?
PHAM: A couple of mixed messages. We heard when they were trying to get into the building that they just want to be heard, that they say that the
government is not listening to their demands, and by pushing into the main government building here.
And just to give you a sense of what the Legislative Council is for Hong Kong, this is like -- this would be like protesters, breaking into Congress
in the United States and taking over the main foyers and smashing and breaking and causing destruction and spray painting that building. That is
what is happening here in Hong Kong just in the last few minutes.
We've also heard reports that there are some protesters who are trying to shut down the electricity of the Legislative Council that as far as we know
has not happened yet. But what they have accomplished so far is that they have broken through the barrier, because it is a national holiday today.
So the glass windows were shattered. But for a very long time they were kept out by steel barriers that had been barricaded down because the
complex is closed. They've been able to pry those metal gates open and pushed their way into the complex.
And now, just in the last hour or so the Legislative Council is saying that all meetings that were scheduled for tomorrow have now been cancelled.
KOSIK: Okay, so meetings today are cancelled, meetings tomorrow cancelled. And yes, we saw the protesters there spray painting the symbol of Hong
Kong. Is there any concern that all of this violence can backfire and embolden President Xi to push Carrie Lam to not compromise once things
settle down?
PHAM: That's absolutely a fear. The one thing that has made Hong Kong such a special place is that it has acted as this middleman between
Mainland China and global financial markets and global investors.
But as these political freedoms are being eroded by Mainland China, the question is, is will Hong Kong lose its special status? And will China
back down from all that we've seen of President Xi Jinping style of governing so far in China is that he is not the type of leader who will
back down.
And analysts that I was talking to say they don't care. Xi Jinping's government doesn't care if foreign firms and international business decide
that this is not a place that they want to be.
Xi Jinping is concerned with keeping his power intact and that could mean cracking down even further on the city here -- Alison.
KOSIK: Okay, Sharisse Pham live for us from Hong Kong outside the building. I want to go inside the building with Roger Clark. He is on the
phone for us. He is our Hong Kong Bureau Chief, once again inside the Legislative Council Building. Joining us now live on the phone. What are
you seeing, Roger?
CLARK (via phone): Well, the crowd inside the Legislative Building have actually gotten smaller. The protest organizers started waving people out
about 10 to 15 minutes ago. So the crowd is definitely smaller and they've come down from the first floor and the second floor, although no sooner do
I say that, but more people are actually starting to walk up to those higher floors.
The protesters are completely in control of this ground floor and then moving through it completely. I see no sign of the police anywhere, but
there's graffiti all over the walls now. The spray paint people have been out and there's some very offensive slogans written on the walls here about
the Hong Kong government.
Everybody I mean, everybody is wearing a hard hat, the kind of hats that you see construction workers use. They've all got goggles. Many are
wearing things on their arms to protect them from pepper spray. But the protesters are completely in control of this ground floor area.
And as I say, they are going up the steps again towards the first floor, the second floor as people -- they have come back into the building. They
did start to funnel out again, after we had at least a thousand people in here. The tide went through exit doors when they were forced open and
people poured in about 45 minutes ago.
[09:45:05] CLARK: But now we find ourselves in a situation where the protest organizers are trying to get people to leave, and they did for a
while. And now people are coming back in again.
So it's a very sort of confusing picture here. But a very, very disturbing picture for the Hong Kong government. No question about that.
They're going to look at this and be absolutely horrified to see their Legislative Council Building having been stormed by hundreds, if not nearly
thousand protesters who are extremely unhappy clearly, with the way the Hong Kong government is treating them here.
I'm just walking out through a security barrier, which needless to say is completely ineffectual. You're supposed to swipe your card, I think to
come through the security barrier. But clearly, nobody is swiping any cards today, they're just walking around. They've got their spray cans, I
can see them spraying offensive slogans on the walls.
Some people actually have got some make shift riot shields. I stood next to one guy with half a suitcase and a strap inside and he is walking around
with the base of the suitcase as his shield should the police decide to attack.
Now, something is going on here because the cows are now rushing down the stairs. All of those people I was telling you about who were calmly
walking up the stairs, they are now walking back down the stairs, and they're doing it pretty quickly.
So you've got to wonder whether the police are perhaps up there somewhere.
(INCOMPREHENSIBLE CONVERSATION)
CLARK: Outside or inside? Okay, so the words from that chap said -- speaking to me said to be careful and get out of the way because the police
are gathering, and whether the police are gathering inside the building to push people out from the higher floors. I don't know because I can't see.
But they are certainly moving down from that first floor to the ground floor pretty quickly and people are now starting to leave.
Now, earlier today -- pardon?
(INCOMPREHENSIBLE CONVERSATION)
CLARK: The police are up there, are they? How many? You know?
(INCOMPREHENSIBLE CONVERSATION)
CLARK: Okay, thank you very much. So that chap was telling me that the police are up there and they are apparently going to start moving down, but
I can't see the police officers at the moment.
I can see plenty of protesters still are coming down and they are coming down pretty quickly now. So you wonder what is going on those higher
floors. Some people are starting to -- people are starting to leave the building.
And now I'm just seeing all of the makeshift barriers being dragged into the Legislative Building. So what I think they're going to do to protect
this is they're going to get all the protesters down the stairs out of the way. Then they will put the makeshift barricades at the bottom of the
stairs that as we see the police try and come down and clear people from this lobby area, they'll have some difficulty getting past these barriers -
- the makeshift barriers that the protesters are carrying in.
So it's all -- I mean, these protesters, I've got to say are pretty well organized once they -- once they put their minds to something, they are
pretty well organized in the way that they move around with their barriers and they move around with their supplies.
Today throughout the day, you've seen a huge amount of supplies coming to the Legislative Building and what happened is, you'll see a couple of
family vans pull up and then the family van's door will open and water, hard hats, umbrellas, films, cling films and other supplies will be
unloaded and passed along a human chain, literally thousands of people passing these supplies down the human chain to people who have been
demonstrating here.
So in a kind of highly disorganized way, this has been very organized, and as I speak, the lobby where I am now, it actually smells quite a lot of
spray paint to be honest with you. Everywhere I look, the walls are being spray painted with offensive slogans.
And now the stairs are almost completely clear, and I suspect, nearly all of the protesters have come down from those upper floor, so maybe the
police are gathering there.
But I have to say, this is the Hong Kong Legislative Council Building. This is the heart of the Hong Kong government. The building has been
invaded by protesters and we see not one single police officer, not one single police officer is here.
Now, earlier today, I saw about 500 or 600 officers who are outside the building in a different side of the building from the protesters. But I
haven't seen any police officers in the last -- where are the police? Up there? So as we speak at the moment, people are leaving the upper floors,
but down in the lower floors, everyone is now wearing gas masks and hard hats, so I think they are anticipating some kind of police activity in the
not too distant future -- Alison.
[09:50:10] KOSIK: Yes, it is amazing. You make a point that this is the heart of the government in Hong Kong where it's literally been invaded by
protesters who are spray painting and you know, hanging an old Hong Kong flag from when it was under British rule that we're watching protesters rip
up books near the dais where we can assume that Council Members, government officials actually sit and create law.
And you haven't seen any police officers, yet thousands of people streaming into this building. Do you feel like that police are outnumbered?
CLARK: I mean, it's quite incredible because the protesting you see around the world, normally the police would make an area around Parliament
buildings and government building sterile areas, so protect them -- and not let anyone near them, let alone storming them and smashing windows and
literally pressing their noses up to the walls.
I am actually just walking up the steps myself --
(INCOMPREHENSIBLE CONVERSATION)
CLARK: Yes, so I'm just walking up the stairs now. Which is now pretty much deserted from protesters, one or two stragglers are in here. There
are alarms going off inside the building and I am just making my way to the top of the stairs, so bear with me one second. Have you seen the police up
there?
(INCOMPREHENSIBLE CONVERSATION)
CLARK: Are the police up there?
(INCOMPREHENSIBLE CONVERSATION)
CLARK: No police.
(INCOMPREHENSIBLE CONVERSATION)
CLARK: Okay, so what we're finding out now is that the protesters who went up to the first and second floor, they realized that there wasn't a lot
they could do on the first and second floors. They are now trying to direct the protesters towards a different part of the building where the
Legislative Council Chamber is.
So we see some escalators here, Alison, so -- Alison, we are able to see, I am coming down the escalators now where the crowds are amassing and moving.
I think they are trying to find their way through this building to get to the Legislative Council Chamber, but it looks they don't quite know where
it is or how to get there.
But this is a very, very serious situation, no question about that. The Hong Kong Government Legislative Council has been invaded by protesters.
It's been vandalized and they are very much in control of this part of the building. And no sign of any police officers anywhere -- Alison.
KOSIK: Yes. So the Legislative Council Chambers is what we actually are seeing on our TV screens right now. We see protesters moving chairs and
spray painting the chamber. So I would say dozens and dozens of protesters had made their way to the chambers. And they are literally ransacking the
chambers.
And as you said, there is no sign of police. Do you get the feeling that police are just waiting this out at this point, they're just waiting for
this to sort of finish?
CLARK: Well, I don't know what their tactic is, to be quite perfectly frank and I suspect when all of this over, there will be a full scale
review of their tactic because protesters would not have been able to get into this building, and I can't believe it. If this is a police tactic,
it's a very strange tactic I have to say.
But it was very unusual for the police to allow protesters to get so close to this building in the first place. Now what the protesters are doing is
building a whole bunch of barricade and using plastic slides, you know, the plastic strips, the zip ties to tie these things together. These are crowd
control barriers, and they're being used by the protesters in Hong Kong to effectively blockade this part of the building to make it very difficult
for the police to actually clear it.
Now, as I speak, more and more people are pouring in and I think they're trying to make their way to the Council Chamber. But it is pretty chaotic
in here.
In fact, one of the protesters just don't know where the Council Chamber is, they suddenly went up to those higher floors and found that those
higher floors didn't really take them anywhere.
Now the barriers, these barricades were in the shape of a triangle. They use barricades like this to try and crash their way through and now they
are using the barricades to effectively prevent the police from coming in and clearing them at some point.
And as I said, the walls are now covered in graffiti, there are people shouting on megaphones. It really is an utterly, utterly shambolic and
very, very worrying situation on the ground here with the Hong Kong Police having done nothing in the last 45 minutes or so to try and retake control
of this part of the Legislative Council Building.
[09:55:18] CLARK: But you've got to understand, Alison, that here in Hong Kong, passions run very, very high. People here, they are not just
protesting about services or taxes or anything like that, they are protesting because they fear their fundamental human rights are being
eroded.
These were human rights guaranteed 20 years ago when the British government and the Chinese government signed a treaty which would guarantee the way of
life and the laws of the Hong Kong people and the Hong Kong people here, most of them here, they claim -- they feel that the Hong Kong government
and the Chinese are nipping away those --
KOSIK: All right, Roger Clark, thank you so much for your great reporting. We will stay on these pictures and stay on this story right here on CNN.
This has been FIRST MOVE. Stay with CNN for the latest with what's going on in Hong Kong.
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