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Biden Has First Face-To-Face Meeting With Xi Since Taking Office; The Atmosphere On Mars And NASA`s LOFTID. Aired 4-4:10a ET
Aired November 15, 2022 - 04:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COY WIRE, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Terrific Tuesday to you. I`m Coy. Grateful to be spending part of my day with you right here on CNN 10.
We have a great show today, so let`s get to it. We`re going to begin with the news out of Bali where the G20 Summit is taking place. The global 20 is
an intergovernmental forum between countries that addresses major issues related to the global economy.
President Joe Biden held a three-hour talk Monday with the president of China, Xi Jinping. The meeting was their first in-person encounter since
President Biden took office and an opportunity for both countries to improve deteriorating relations. Dialogue between them hit a new low in
August when U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, a choice that upset China.
Expectations for major change were low headed into the meeting. The White House said in a statement afterwards that President Biden raised concerns
about China`s human rights violations, but that the two countries found areas of agreement especially when it came to the war in Ukraine.
In addition, the two nations promised to work together on global climate issues, world health and food security, and they pledge to keep
communication open. But at the heart of the U.S.-Chinese relations is the Taiwan question.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I`m Will Ripley in Taipei. The capital of ROC, the Republic of China, commonly known as
Taiwan.
This island is a vibrant democracy of $23 million people and a key ally of the United States, about 100 miles from mainland China.
SELINA WANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And I`m Selina Wang in Beijing the capital of China, officially called the People`s Republic of
China. The PRC was founded in by the victorious Communist Party after a bloody civil war.
RIPLEY: On the losing side, the nationalists under Chiang Kai-shek who had ruled since the 1920s, they fled here to Taiwan where the ROC flag still
flies today. Two sides both claiming control of one country, a decades-long dispute, halting travel and trade and leaving a lingering threat of war.
WANG: Initially, both the United States and the United Nations recognized Taipei as the seat of the Chinese government. But amid the shifting
political relations at the height of the Cold War, that changed in the 1970s. The PRC replaced the ROC at the U.N. and the United States changed
diplomatic relations. It moved its embassy from Taipei to here in Beijing.
While the U.S. has adopted a so-called one China policy, it has never recognized the communist party sovereign claim over Taiwan. Washington
continues to sell weapons to Taipei, but it has remained deliberately unclear about whether it would come to Taiwan`s defense in the event of a
Chinese invasion. It keeps Beijing guessing.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, you hear people saying Biden wants to start a new Cold War with China. I don`t want a cold
war with China. I just want to make China understand that we are not going to step back. We are not going to change any of our views.
RIPLEY: That looming threat of invasion is only part of China`s ongoing campaign to squeeze Taiwan. Decades of diplomatic pressure by Beijing means
this island has very few formal diplomatic allies, because any nation that wants to normalize relations with China has to sever formal diplomatic ties
with Taipei.
The island`s Olympic team can`t even carry the Taiwanese flag. They have to compete under the name Chinese Taipei.
In Singapore, in 1992, the two sides did agree at least in theory to the existence of one China.
WANG: It`s impossible to overstate just how important Taiwan is to the ruling communist party and its legitimacy. China sees the self-ruled island
as a breakaway province that must be reunified with the mainland, even by force if necessary. Reunification is also rooted in the communist party`s
goal to reverse China`s century of humiliation by colonial powers. That means returning China`s borders to something more like that of the Qing
Empire. It`s the basis of modern China`s claims to Xinjiang, Tibet, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
RIPLEY: Putting sovereignty on the back burner gave Taiwan`s economy a boost. Cross strait trade, tourism and money moving again. In 2015, the
ruling parties on both sides met again in Singapore, a historic summit between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Taiwan`s then President Ma Ying-jeou.
One year later, a turning point. Taiwan`s 2016 election of Tsai Ing-wen, the island`s first female president, leading a longtime pro-independence
party. Tensions rising ever since, something Taiwan blames on China`s plan to push its power across the Indo-Pacific. Taiwan`s young democracy divided
on the issue of unification with the mainland. The tide is turning.
In 2020, Tsai won a landslide re-election, vowing to defend Taiwan`s democracy from she`s increasingly powerful and authoritarian China. Cross
strait ties plunging to their lowest level in decades.
TSAI ING-WEN, PRESIDENT OF TAIWAN (translated): The broadest consensus among the Taiwanese people and our various political parties is that we
must defend our national sovereignty, our free and democratic way of life. On this point, we have no room for compromise.
WANG: With U.S.-China tensions at an all-time high, Washington and Taipei have moved closer. In 2016, then U.S. President-elect Donald Trump broke a
decade-long precedent and spoke to President Tsai on the phone. He also elevated official exchanges between Washington and Taipei, a move that
infuriated Beijing.
RIPLEY: China`s refusal to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine has many here asking, what is Beijing planning for Taiwan, testing the island`s
defenses, flying scores of warplanes near the island, making President Xi`s long-standing calls for peaceful reunification ring hollow?
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: We will not allow China to isolate Taiwan.
RIPLEY: In August 2022, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi became the highest ranking U.S. lawmaker to visit this island in 25 years, a move Beijing call
a major political provocation. In response, China launched military exercises beyond the median line encircling the island.
During her visit, Pelosi delivered the unequivocal message that America stands with Taiwan. But if the time comes, would the U.S. send in American
troops to defend this Chinese-speaking democracy, a democracy with an uncertain future?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: Ten-second trivia:
When compared to Earth, the atmosphere of Mars is?
Thinner, thicker, or about the same?
The atmosphere of Mars is over 100 times thinner than Earth. And actually, that thin atmosphere on Mars presents challenges for NASA.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
A new initiative from NASA called LOFTID could be a potential solution and will determine if a giant inflatable shield could protect spacecrafts
against the heat of re-entering the atmosphere. The shield can withstand 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit and at feet in diameter, it`s also the largest
blunt object ever to return from space. The technology would help spacecrafts enter Mars`s thin atmosphere because the Martian atmosphere
can`t decelerate a spacecraft as quickly and coolly as Earth`s atmosphere.
And we`re ending today`s show with a bang for 10 out of 10.
Check out this massive explosion in western Kentucky. Drop them like it`s hot. These three structures are actually cooling towers at a closed coal
plant. The towers were 435 feet tall until they weren`t.
Tennessee Valley Authorities said the blast was done on purpose to clear the land for future use. The dramatic footage shows the towers slowly
collapsing to the ground with clouds of dust all around. The Drakesboro, Kentucky, plant was active for nearly 60 years before effectively closing
in 2020.
And now to my favorite part of the day, I want to give a special shout out to Crown Point High School in Crown Point, Indiana. Go Bulldogs!
Thank you so much for watching. It means the world to me and to my team. Today is National Philanthropy Day. So also shout out to all of you who go
out of your way to give back to your communities. Thanks for shining bright and setting a great example.
I`m Coy. And this is CNN 10.
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