Return to Transcripts main page

NEWS STREAM

Trump Administration Digs In On Separating Families; Merkel Has Two Weeks To Deal With Partners; Terrified Children Plead With Agents At U.S. Borders; China: We'll Strike Back Hard Against U.S. Tariffs; Japan Lead Columbia, Russia Face Egypt; World Headlines; Illegal Trade; Farewell To Puan; Patrolling The Cosmos. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired June 19, 2018 - 08:00   ET

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


[08:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong, and welcome to News Stream.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Voices of a crisis, recordings of children being separated from their families, brings new weight to the immigration battle in the U.S.

Reduced fears of traveling, Kim Jong-un meets Chinese President Xi Jinping for the third time this year, and skirting the ban, why the illegal ivory

trade appears to be as rampant as ever with quite that ban from China.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: And we begin with cries of outrage growing louder in the U.S. over the Trump administration's so-called zero tolerance immigration

policy. Mothers like these pictured here in McAllen, Texas, and their children forced to separate while the parents are held in federal prison

for crossing the border illegally.

And now it is the heartbreaking cries of some of those children that we are hearing firsthand while the Trump administration doubles down on the

policy. CNN's Abby Phillip reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The United States will not be a migrant camp, and it will not be a refugee holding facility.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The Trump administration digging in, and defending its controversial practice of separating children

from their families at the border.

KIRSTJEN NIELSEN, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Parents who entered illegally are, by definition, criminals. By entering our country

illegally, often in dangerous circumstances, illegal immigrants have put their children at risk.

PHILLIP: Pressure to end the practice intensifying after the release of audio obtained by ProPublica, where children are heard sobbing and begging

for their parents.

(CHILDREN CRYING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Daddy! Daddy!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want Mommy!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mommy!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, we have an orchestra here, right?

PHILLIP: Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen insisting the children are being taken care of.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: How could this not be child abuse for the people who are taken from their parents? Not the ones

who are sent here with their parents' blessing with a smuggler, the people who are taken from their parents.

NIELSEN: Unfortunately, I'm not in any position to deal with, you know, hearsay stories.

PHILLIP: Attorney General Jeff Sessions admitting that the practice is meant to deter other undocumented immigrants.

SESSIONS: Yes, hopefully people will get the message, and come through the border at the port of entry, and not break across the border unlawfully.

PHILLIP: But hours earlier, Secretary Nielsen balked at the suggestion.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you intending for parents to be separated from their children? Are you intending to send a message?

NIELSEN: I find that offensive. No. Because why would I ever create a policy that purposely does that?

PHILLIP: White House officials continuing to falsely insist that family separations are required under the law as President Trump attempts to use

the issue to pressure Democrats into backing Republican immigration legislation.

TRUMP: I'd say it's very strongly the Democrats' fault. It can be taken care of quickly, beautifully, and we'll have safety.

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D), CALIFORNIA: This is not something that just happened to them. This has been a plan. And they're implementing the

plan. They're enforcing the plan, and it's wrong.

PHILLIP: On Capitol Hill, a growing number of Republicans are joining Democrats in urging the administration to end family separations.

CRUZ: All of us who are seeing these images of children being pulled away from moms and dads in tears, we're horrified. This has to stop.

PHILLIP: In the Senate, Republican Ted Cruz and Democrat Dianne Feinstein announcing bills to keep families together. The House is expected to vote

on two immigration bills on Thursday that contain language to address family separations, but the outlook for both bills appears far from

certain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIP: And President Trump plans to meet with House Republicans later today about the issue of immigration. There are already several proposals

to deal with the issue of family separation on the table, it remains to be seen, however, what President Trump is willing to support. He's likely to

get a lot of push-back from Republicans at this meeting this afternoon, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Abby Phillip reporting there. Now Donald Trump singled out the migrant crisis in Europe as an example of what he's trying to avoid in the

United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You look at what's happening in Europe, you look at what's happening in other places, we can't allow that to happen to the United

States, not on my watch.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:05:04] LU STOUT: The U.S. President's comments come more than a week after 630 migrants were rescued off of Libya's coast. They finally made it

to Spain after being turned away by Italy and Malta. Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is meeting with French President Macron today in

an effort to reform the European Union's migration policy.

Her domestic coalition policy partners have given her two weeks to reach an agreement or face a fresh rebellion. CNN's Atika Shubert joins me now live

from Berlin. And, Atika, I know that right now Angela Merkel is meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron. How are they going to discuss and

try to hash out changes to E.U. migration policy?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's going to be tricky. I mean, because what we have is, you know, basically they're

trying to achieve two different things. On the one hand, any asylum seeker that arrives in the E.U. is supposed to apply for asylum in the country

they land in.

And of course, the vast majority of illegal border crossings into the E.U. are happening in the Mediterranean. So this means countries like Italy,

Greece, and to some extent France and Spain are the ones that are taking in many of those asylum seekers. And they feel this is unfair, that they're

being overwhelmed by the numbers.

On the other hand, so this is what Macron is saying, we've got to overhaul this system, what's called the Dublin Regulations here in the E.U. On the

other hand, Merkel is under pressure from her political allies, and her critics to basically push back, push back the number of refugees seeking

asylum in Germany.

Especially if they've already put in an application in Italy and Greece, that's not what Macron, what Italy, Greece, what other countries in the

Mediterranean want to see -- want to see happening. Now to Germany's credit, Germany last year alone took in about 30 percent of the asylum

applications, as twice as much as any other country in the E.U.

And of course during the refugee crisis in 2015, more than a million came through Germany, and that's why she's getting such push-back now. So these

two leaders of Europe, really the powerhouses of Europe have to try and figure out a fairer system for asylum seekers in Europe to be fairly

distributed, so everybody can try, and share in what is the responsibility for this. The question is, are they going to be able to do that within the

next two weeks. Kristie.

LU STOUT: And she's getting push-back from the U.S. President, Donald Trump, launched that harsh attack on Angela Merkel, amid his own

immigration crisis, no less. How did that resonate across Germany?

SHUBERT: It didn't go down very well as you can imagine, especially since it was factually incorrect. In the tweet he said that crime in Germany was

way up. It's not actually way up. In fact, it's at an all-time low. It's at the lowest point it's been in about 30 years, that's according to the

interior ministry, who put out the statistics in May.

NGO, for all the criticism that Merkel is getting now, she remains the most popular politician in Germany. Recent poll over the weekend showed that

she had an approval rating of about 50 percent. You know, that's not to say, of course, that there's criticism of the immigration policy.

But when you see the President putting out these kinds of tweets, these very critical tweets, well, some people here in Germany felt it was an

attack on Germany, and on the E.U. at its weakest point, which is at this - - at this time, immigration.

LU STOUT: Atika Shubert reporting live from Berlin, thank you. Let's turn back to that crisis at the U.S. border. In Abby Phillip's report at the

top of the show, you heard that part of an audio clip that the nonprofit ProPublica said it obtained from inside the U.S. Customs and Border

Protection facility. Heartbreaking voices of frightened children wailing, just crying out for their parents. I want to play a little bit more of

that audio file.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CHILDREN CRYING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where are you from?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: El Salvador.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Guatemala.

(CHILDREN CRYING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't cry.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to go with my aunt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're going to get there. Look, she will explain it, and help you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to take you to speak to the person from your consulate, ok?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dad.

(CHILDREN CRYING)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At least can I go with my aunt? I want her to come. I want my aunt to come so she can take me to her house.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She'll help you call your aunt, if you have the number, so that you can talk to your aunt.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have her number.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, so she'll help you right now, so you can talk to her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dad. Dad.

(CHILDREN CRYING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: I want to bring in Senior Reporter with ProPublica, Ginger Thompson, she is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who has been helping

to bring this recording to light. She joins us now. Ginger, thank you for your reporting, and for sharing that audio clip with the world.

You know, listening to it just now, and listening to it in its eight-minute entirety, it is stark, it is emotional, it is devastating to listen to.

[08:10:03] How did you feel when you first heard it?

GINGER THOMPSON, SENIOR REPORTER, PROPUBLICA: I felt all those things, obviously. I mean I think it's, it's excruciating to...

LU STOUT: Yes.

THOMPSON: ... listen for an entire seven minutes of children wailing and wailing as if crying mommy, and papi, as if those are the only words they

knew.

LU STOUT: Yes, and in the recording we hear the recording from a 6-year- old from El Salvador.

THOMPSON: Yes.

LU STOUT: And she says she's only 6-year-old, she has her aunt's phone number memorized, and you managed to track her down -- her aunt down. What

were you able to find out about the girl?

THOMPSON: So this is a little girl who has been traveling more than a month to get here, crossing Guatemala, Mexico, and then the United States

border. Her mother paid $7,000, fleeing gang violence in El Salvador, which we all know is at rampant rates. It's one of -- a country with one

of the highest homicide rates in the world.

And so she and her mother took this very perilous trek across a large swath of the continent to get here. They were intercepted pretty quickly when

they crossed the border, and were taken to this border detention facility - - a border patrol facility. And that's where they were separated.

LU STOUT: And is there a chance that her mother could be deported without her?

THOMPSON: Well so, the little girl is now in a different facility, in a different shelter, and she has told her aunt that one of the things that

she's been told at the center is that her mother could indeed be deported before her, and we've actually heard other cases, I've heard many other

cases from other lawyers, who have had parents sent back to their home countries, without their children.

LU STOUT: And this is the chilling revelation here, because American authorities say that parents are not supposed to be deported without their

children. But is this happening because of the chaos, and because of the bureaucracy?

THOMPSON: Well it seems that the administration has established a plan for separating parents from their children. But not established a plan for

reuniting those parents with their children once their cases have been resolved. And it's -- you know, it just adds more sort of fear to the

implementation of this zero tolerance policy.

LU STOUT: And it adds to more outrage when you hear about this. So how do we move forward from this? How do we end this zero tolerance policy? And

how do we reunite these separated families?

THOMPSON: Well, I think, you know, how do we end this is sort of a question I think we are putting to our government. You know the wisdom of

this policy is one that is under great debate. And the purpose of our story, and the reason that we felt that this tape was so important is that

it adds the voices of the people who have most at stake in this debate.

The voices that have been largely missing from this debate, I think there are people who have tried to keep this debate, sort of a very sanitized,

very staged debate about a policy, and I think if you defend this policy, and if you think this policy is morally correct and wise, it's important to

at least know very clearly what this policy is. And what this policy does. And I think that's what this tape shows us. And I think that's why it's

important.

LU STOUT: Yes, this tape is very important, this tape that you've obtained, and have shared with the world, because up until now, we hadn't

heard from the children, and you have broken their silence with this powerful audio recording. Was this the only way for the world to find out

what's happening to them?

THOMPSON: Well, there's been very limited access to the detention facilities where these children are separated from their parents, in recent

days, and because of the mounting pressure on the administration over this policy, authorities on the border have begun to allow very limited tours of

these facilities. Reporters are slowly being allowed in.

But they're allowed in without cameras, and they're not allowed to speak to any of the people who are detained in these facilities, and so it is the

voices of the children, we have had sort of people talk to us about what the experience of these children is. But until this tape, we haven't heard

directly from the children themselves.

LU STOUT: And Ginger Thompson of ProPublica, we must thank you for your reporting, and for giving the children, and their families a voice in all

this.

[08:15:03] Thank you so much and take care.

THOMPSON: Thank you.

LU STOUT: Now U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions may be using the bible to defend the practice of separating families at the border. But a

bipartisan group of former U.S. attorneys call it a radical departure from previous U.S. policy, and they're calling on Sessions to stop it.

In an open letter they write this, quote, your zero tolerance policies produce a tragic, and unsustainable result, without taking into account

each family's specific circumstances. Under your policy, families and children are greeted with unexpected cruelty.

At the doorstep of the United States, instead of with relief, or asylum, in the greatest country in the world, until now no Republican or Democratic

administration nor any prior attorney general has endangered children in order to deter illegal entry.

Now China right now is playing host to North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un. Mr. Kim, he is expected to brief China about what happened at his Singapore

summit with Mr. Trump. We'll have that story up next.

And this all comes as China is trading again verbal punches with the U.S. over, guess what, tariffs. Living trade war is making global markets

nervous, and analysts are warning neither side is likely to back down.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: All right, coming to you live from Hong Kong, welcome back, this is News Stream. Chinese President Xi Jinping is getting a briefing on the

Trump-Kim summit from Kim Jong-un himself. The North Korean leader is visiting China on Tuesday, today, and Wednesday, his third such trip in his

many months.

Now China has supported the talks, and U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of suspending U.S. military drills without Korea is seen as a

big win for Beijing. The Pentagon says it is pausing its plans for exercises scheduled for August.

But while Beijing is pleased with how the summit turned out, it is furious on Washington's latest trade salvo. China says it is going to hit back

hard if the White House imposes tariffs on an additional $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to move after

China vow to retaliate for the $50 billion worth of tariffs that the U.S. announced just last week.

Now, the rising sort of a trade war hit Asian markets today pretty hard with both the Shanghai Composite, and the Hang Seng Index here in Hong

Kong, dropping nearly three percent on the condition in Shanghai even more.

Now, Matt Rivers joins me now from Beijing with more on all these developments happening in China. And, Matt, busy day for you -- Kim Jong-

un, he is in town back in China. Why is he becoming a regular there?

[08:20:00] MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is part of the new norm. I mean, it is absolutely remarkable, Kristie, that six months ago,

if you and I were having, or even thinking about having this conversation, it would've seemed far-fetched to say the least, and yet it was less than

three months ago that Kim Jong-un came to Beijing for the first time, and this is now his third trip to China over all, twice to Beijing, once to

Dalian.

And this latest trip is not really a huge surprise, given that the first two happened. We know that this is going to become the new normal. And we

were expecting Kim Jong-un and Xi Jinping after that summit, much like U.S. allies met after that summit as well. It's not really all that surprising.

We were thinking maybe Xi Jinping might be going to Pyongyang.

We have heard officials here in China talk about Xi Jinping making a trip to North Korea. But here we are with Kim Jong-un in Beijing yet again.

They're going to be talking about that summit. They're going to be talking about what is the definition of denuclearization.

They're going to be talking about what was said privately between President Trump and Kim Jong-un during that summit. And you can bet, Kristie, that

China is going to make sure that its strategic interests are going to be continued to be represented at any negotiations going forward, much like

they were at that Singapore summit.

LU STOUT: And, Matt, the fact that Kim Jong-un is again cozying up to Beijing. And now at a time of deepening U.S. and China trade tension,

could Kim effectively play one super power off the other?

RIVERS: He could. If he has that kind of skill, it's something that we've seen before in North Korea, during the days of China and the Soviet Union.

So there is some precedent there. So, yes, Kim could certainly take advantage of the growing rift.

I'm not sure that the rift is so large, and that China will not see through that kind of a play. But, you know, it's certainly within the realm of

possibility.

But I think the other thing you're seeing here, Kristie, by Kim coming back to China is it reinforces the notion that if anyone thought China was going

to be sidelined during these negotiations, and that North Korea wasn't going to be listening to Beijing before any negotiations that take place,

that notion is well out the window.

This is the third trip now, and China's role in these negotiations are very, very clear. Yes, they weren't at the summit, but their interests

certainly were there, and so the fact that Kim is here shows that he is committed to keeping China a part of this process.

LU STOUT: Absolutely. Kim Jong-un's third trip to China in three months, China a very key player. Matt Rivers reporting live from Beijing. Thank

you.

The tariff back and forth, it's weighing on the markets. In fact, much of Asia, end of the day lower, and take a look at this, futures in the U.S.

are pointing to steep losses at the open. We're going to have a lot more on this, including the opening bell. CNN Money with Maggie Lake, that is

starting in about 35 minutes from now.

Now speaking of the Trump-Kim summit, a new CNN poll shows that the surge of optimism and positive feelings from that meeting is wearing off just one

week later. It seems that American's approval of how Trump is handling North Korea actually dropped by five points since May.

And when asked which leader got the better deal for his country, about 40 percent think Mr. Kim did, five percent more than Mr. Trump. When the full

text of the agreement from the summit was released, it was quickly pointed out complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization was not

mentioned. And only about a quarter believe that North Korea will eventually give up all of its nuclear weapons, and facilities to make them.

Another Trump administration deal is coming under fire, the U.S. Senate passed a defense bill that would keep ZTE from buying U.S. parts, a key

issue that could make or break this Chinese tech company.

ZTE shares, in fact, they dropped more than 25 percent on Tuesday from the news. It is already lost billions in value after resumed trading last

week. And U.S. lawmakers insist that ZTE is a national security issue, and are unhappy that Mr. Trump ordered the deal to save the company's

operations.

To Russia and the World Cup, where after today, every team will have played at least one game. Now the action has just kicked off between Japan and

Colombia in Group H. And we have a goal, and a red card already.

Later, Senegal face Poland before a highly anticipated match between host Russia and Mohamed Salah's Egypt. World Sports' Alex Thomas, of course, he

is following that, and every other game at this year's World Cup, he joins us from Moscow. And, Alex, we know that Japan and Colombia, they are

playing now, but all eyes on host Russia when it's up against Egypt.

ALEX THOMAS, CNN HOST: Yes, we'll get to that game in a second. Absolute excitement though in that opening game on day six of the World Cup here in

Russia. Kristie, Colombia trailing Japan by a goal to nil. Colombia expects to be the leading team possibly in this Group H, wide open.

[08:25:00] Poland are the top seed, it shows there's no real superstar nation in this particular, and the Spanyol midfielder, Carlos Sanchez, who

was shown the red card as early -- as early as the third minute, the second fastest sending off in World Cup history.

Upstep Borussia Dortmund, Shinji Kagawa, and scored from the resulting penalty kick, a deliberate handball by Sanchez and save the ball heading

for the net, stopped it with his hand, and shown the red card by the referee.

So not only a Colombia down to 10 men, and not only are they a goal down, but they're also missing their star player, James Rodriguez, who won the

Golden Boot as the leading scorer in Brazil in 2014 when Colombia managed their best ever World Cup performance reaching the quarterfinals.

So, a huge upset on the cards so far in the opening game taking place (Inaudible), which is about a nine-hour drive east of us in Moscow. Later

on, as you says, part in Senegal here in Moscow at the Spartak Stadium.

And in St. Petersburg, the late game are the host Russia, after that 5-nil crashing of Saudi Arabia on the opening day, up against Egypt, who are

expected to start Mo Salah. He needs to come back from injuries, whether he's ready or not, Kristie, for Egypt to get some points on the board, and

not be sent home before they've even got started.

LU STOUT: Egypt, they need to win it to stay in the tournament. Alex Thomas across it all for us, thank you so much. Take care. Still to come

right here on News Stream, CNN goes undercover to find the depths of corruption fueling the illegal ivory trade in Mozambique. What's behind

it? Cash from China.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Chinese have become strong. I think they're bought their way in here, and they are like -- they have protection.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching News Stream. And these are your world headlines.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Japan are currently playing Colombia, the first of today's World Cup matches. The score is currently 1-nil. Thanks to an early penalty

scored by Japan. Later Senegal face Poland before a highly anticipated match between host Russia, and Mohamed Salah's Egypt.

Dozens of former U.S. attorneys are calling for an end to the Trump administration's zero tolerance policy on immigration. They say separating

children from parents who enter the U.S. illegally is a radical departure from previous Justice Department policy. And can have tragic results.

House Republicans will meet with President Donald Trump on immigration later on Tuesday.

Asian stock markets plunged on Tuesday after China said it would hit back hard on the latest threat of U.S. tariffs, President Trump said that he

would impose tariffs on an additional $200 billion of Chinese goods if Beijing goes through with its promise to retaliate against U.S. tariffs.

[08:30:06] Thirty-nine people are missing after a ferry capsized in a lake in the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Relatives gathered on a pier, waiting

for news about their loved ones. Officials say 58 people were on board when the boat sunk. One person is known to have died. Eighteen have been rescued

so far.

Despite bans, protests and outrage around the world, the ivory trade is still alive and well. And African elephants are being pushed closer to the

brink of extinction. Between 2007 and 2014, the number of these animals in the wild plummeted by some 30 percent. Many countries, including the U.S.

and China have banned ivory sales, but a steady flow of Chinese cash has kept the poachers in business.

David McKenzie, he travelled to the epicenter of poaching in Africa. He joins me now live from Johannesburg. And David, you went to Mozambique to

find out if China's ban on ivory is working. What did you uncover?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kristie, that ban was brought in on the very first day of this year by the Chinese government. It

was lauded as the real last hope for elephant. One headline remember saying that it was the year of the elephant. Well, six months on, we traveled to

that new epicenter in poaching in Sub-Saharan Africa and we found out that the slaughter continues.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCKENZIE (voice-over): Just a few remaining villages before the remoteness takes hold.

PHILIP MCLELLAN, CONSERVATION PILOT, WILDLIFE CONSERVATORY SOCIETY: I think, you know, it's one of the last great wildernesses and that really

needs to be protected.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): From the plane, Niassa Reserve seems untouched by man's greed.

MCLELLAN: I'm looking for elephant number 30. We are slowly approaching her last known tracks.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): But even with the help of GPS, we struggle to find a single herd.

What have you seen?

MCLELLAN: An elephant. Yes, I got one. I got one.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): Just like the rest of Africa, here, too, the poaches have found a way in.

What's happened to the herds?

MCLELLAN: They've been decimated by poaching.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): There should be upwards of 10,000 elephants in this reserve. He estimates there are less than 2,000 left.

MCLELLAN: Just flying over what used to be bountiful countryside. We are now struggling to find animals.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): A Chinese government ban on ivory has been heralded as the key to saving the species. The world's largest market should now be

off-limits. But here, conservationists say the slaughter continues.

"We were in the bush when we found a group of elephants," he says. "I shot the first one and then I shot the second one. We were about to remove the

ivory when security officials arrived to apprehend us."

Inside a prison yard, this poacher speaks freely. He's agreed to talk to us because he wants people to know.

"I had nothing else I could do," he says. "This is the only way."

He says the demand for ivory hasn't diminished. Who, then, are the buyers?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Chinese have become strong. I think they've bought their way in here. And they are like, they have protection.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): This investigator is actively tracking poaching syndicates.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They know how to get things out.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): So we are protecting his identity. Despite the ban, he says the Chinese continue to control the market.

What does that mean for conservation?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very, very bad. Very bad. If it continues like that in Niassa, there will be nothing left.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): And are the Chinese to blame for this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, 100 percent. Hundred percent.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): We wanted to see for ourselves. Using a hidden camera, we follow an investigator as he posed as an ivory middleman at the

main Chinese trading center he was invited into. It was remarkably easy to get them interested.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you get 10 meters?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ten meters, yes.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): But then, China is mentioned.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't take it there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But it is possible to get it through customs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a crime.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): It could be a negotiating technique. Drive up the risk to drive down the price. Or perhaps the ban's message has made it to

Mozambique's Chinese traders.

But a massive bust by authorities in Maputo would show otherwise. In mid- April, more than three tons of ivory was confiscated.

[08:35:02] Police say the container is linked to a Chinese trading company. The suspects fled and the investigation continues.

Why had there not been prosecution of Chinese nationals Mozambique?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That one is now the problem, the biggest problem. I think they are buying their way out.

MCKENZIE (on camera): Corruption.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Corruption. Corruption.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): These photos show ammunition, still wrapped in government-issued packaging. The poachers caught wearing all too familiar

fatigues of the national army. The rot runs deep. Just listen to the government's own prosecutor.

"We have no doubt about that," he says. "Corruption is at the source of poaching." But he says there's a commitment by the state to prevent it.

MCLELLAN: I don't believe that it's too late. No. I'm an optimist and I believe that there are elephants down there in little pockets that we

haven't seen. And they will come together and breed and come back strongly.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): But their population has reached a critical point. And unless China's ivory ban is felt here, this Eden could be emptied.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCKENZIE: Kristie, what we learned time and time again during this investigation, it's not really the poachers themselves that are the key

because if you put a poacher in jail, someone will take his place because often they're just trying to feed their families.

The networks and particularly the criminal networks that appear to be at least led by Chinese traders and syndicates that are the real problem here.

And so far, they've evaded all prosecutions. Kristie?

LU STOUT: To end this, you have to crack down on the poaching, on the money supply. You also have to end the demand. So, David, in China, are

attitudes changing about ivory? We know that there have been a number of high-profile campaigns involving celebrities. Are they making a difference

at all?

MCKENZIE: Well, the ban was put in place to make it too punitive for people to actually want the ivory in case they'll be prosecuted in the

Chinese mainland. But just a couple of days ago, you heard a study come out which shows that in cities like Shanghai, up to a quarter of people of

people surveyed had bought ivory in the last year.

And a fifth of all people in major cities across China would be quite happy to buy ivory in the future and didn't see it as a major moral problem. So,

the attitudes aren't changing fast enough. The problem is, investigators say that they're running against the clock.

This is really important. It's not just the elephants themselves which of course are iconic species, these reserves across Africa have a huge tourist

potential to bring in dollars. If the elephants go, they will go most likely forever. And that will, the people on the ground will lose any

opportunity to benefit from them.

So, it's a big problem for conservation and it ties very much Asia and Africa together. Can't stress enough of how much it seems like these

investment tentacles of China in Africa have led to illicit wildlife trade over the last few years. Kristie?

LU STOUT: An entire species at risk, also the benefits of ecotourism as you point out. David, we thank you for your investigative reporting. We'll

talk again soon. Take care.

Now, Australia's Perth zoo paid tribute to one of its stars today as Puan, the world's oldest known Sumatran orangutan, dies at age 62. Puan had lived

at the zoo since 1968. She had 11 children there, helping to ensure the survival of her species. This image is the last photo of Puan, taken by her

long-time handler, Martina Hart.

In her eulogy for Puan, Hart wrote this, quote, over the years, Puan's eyelashes had grayed, her movement had slowed down, her mind had started to

wander. But she remained the matriarch, the quiet, dignified lady she had always been.

We'll be right back.

[08:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Hong, welcome back. This is "News Stream." Now, it's unclear whether Donald Trump got his inspiration from

George Lucas or Gene Roddenberry, "Star Wars" or "Star Trek," but the U.S. president wants to expand the military into space. Jeanne Moos reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It made for almost too easy a target --

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to have the space force.

MOOS (voice-over): Instantly, the internet began taking potshots at the president's order to start to establish a sixth branch of the armed forces.

The president will easily qualify as the first space cadet. Tweeted one critic, the space force will make the galaxy great again!

TRUMP: We are going to have the Air Force and we are going to have the space force. Separate but equal.

MOOS (voice-over): It reminded some of an old Dave Chappelle routine about a president trying to distract from other shoes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The United States of space. I'll stop at the moon (ph).

MOOS (voice-over): President Trump has been musing about this for months.

TRUMP: I said maybe we'll need a new force, we'll call it a space force. And I was not really serious, and then I thought what a great idea.

MOOS (voice-over): Maybe not such a great idea was how some in the Pentagon reacted. But the president forged ahead and is now getting a

spacesuit makeover on Twitter. Read one tweet, we're going to build a space force and the aliens are going to pay for it.

(on camera): Just the way the president pronounces it --

TRUMP: Space force.

MOOS (on camera): Makes you want to salute. Delivered with such gusto, it could become the next favored Trump word to imitate.

TRUMP: China, China, China.

MOOS (voice-over): But members of the --

TRUMP: Space force.

MOOS (voice-over): -- would be going a lot farther than --

TRUMP: China.

MOOS (voice-over): Jeanne Moos, CNN --

TRUMP: Space force.

MOOS (voice-over): New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(LAUGHTER)

LU STOUT: And that is "News Stream." I'm Kristie Lu stout. Don't go anywhere. "World Sport" with Christina Macfarlane is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:45:00] (WORLD SPORT)

END