Lebanon's Economic Freefall Fueling Protests; Hong Kong Leader Warns Against Protests as Pandemic Slows; South Korea Has Become Model of COVID-19 Containment.
VAUSE: Hong Kong is marking Labor Day amid calls and concerns for pro- democracy demonstrations. But with the number of coronavirus cases beginning to slow, Chief Executive Carrie Lam is urging protesters to stay at home. In a statement posted on Facebook, she said, "Hong Kong is currently able to withstand the pandemic." But warned the city may be unable to not withstand the resurgence of violence and continuous devastation caused by politics." CNN's Kristie Lu Stout, live for us this hour in Hong Kong. So Kristie, when we're looking at the situation there as far as these protests go, what -- this is a very sensitive time, I guess, for the pro-democracy demonstrators, for the government, for the people of Hong Kong. It seems everybody right now is on edge, and a pandemic is not helping.</s>KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's a sensitive time. And there are growing concerns that protests and clashes will return to Hong Kong even during a pandemic. There are usually Labor Day protests taking place this day. This is May 1, after all, here in Hong Kong, but labor unions were not granted permission to protest by Hong Kong police, because they were citing concerns over the coronavirus. Pop-up protests are expected today. There have been posters and telegram messages, encouraging protesters to shop at yellow businesses that support the pro-democracy movement. There are also, quite worryingly, reports that up to 3,000 Hong Kong police in riot gear are patrolling Hong Kong with tear gas, with rubber bullets and ready to deploy in order to maintain order. Now, we've been monitoring this area. I'm in the busy shopping district of Causeway Bay. We've been walking around here for the last hour or so. And we did see dozens of riot police wearing riot gear. And with the right gear on them. They're where I'm now, as we go live. Now, the anger is real. There's a lot of anger here in Hong Kong directed at the government here in Hong Kong, as well as in Beijing, especially on the back of the mass arrests that took place last week. Fifteen high-profile pro-democracy leaders were arrested, including the 81-year-old Martin Lee, the founder of the Democratic Party. There was also anger over comments made by China's most senior official here in Hong Kong, Luo Huining, who said that there needed to be new security legislation in Hong Kong in order to curb dissent. And on top of that, additional anger against new claims that we've never heard before by Beijing, saying that they have supervisory power over the legal system and the political system here in the territory. Tension has been bubbling. In recent days, there have been these flash mob protests at shopping centers across Hong Kong, where people would gather and sing the glory to Hong Kong song. The Hong Kong police came in, broke up those flash-mob singalongs, citing social distancing guidelines. There is a ban on gatherings of up to four people. Carrie Lam, what is she thinking right now? It's interesting that you read that Facebook post earlier by the chief executive, because it signals something that's very significant. Carrie Lam is basically saying she is more worried about the Hong Kong protests than the pandemic itself. In that post, she cites five consecutive days, zero COVID-19 cases here in Hong Kong. She says that we can manage the, quote, "harsh winter" of the pandemic, but she is worried that Hong Kong is unable to manage a resurgence in violence -- John.</s>VAUSE: Just very quickly. Heavy security presence, armed police, riot police on the streets, breaking up singalongs. To me this suggests, you know, the heavy hand of Beijing in some way.</s>STOUT: There's a lot of concern that Beijing is having a role behind all of this. In fact, that was a question I posed to Martin Lee, the founder of the Democratic Party, who was one of the 15 arrested last week. Whether or not Beijing played a role in that decision for those arrests to be made. And he believed yes, that under the cover of the coronavirus, that Beijing is encouraging the powers that be to carry out these arrests. And that is raising fears of greater crackdowns to come -- John.</s>VAUSE: And just very quickly, I guess the pandemic has been an sort of an advantage for the government. But have there been many demonstrations during the pandemic?</s>STOUT: You know, it's been interesting. Because no massive marches, demonstrations, since the pandemic began. But there have been, as you recall, that protest. The one-week-long strike in February by medical workers, who had their own five demands. But they were demanding more PPE and isolation wards, and a full closure of the border. Also during this time, we've seen pro-democracy groups, like the one founded by Joshua Wong, Demosisto, engage in mass campaign drives to give away masks. That has been the focus of the movement so far.</s>VAUSE: OK.</s>STOUT: But with those new arrests, those new comments by Beijing, there could be more protests to come, John.</s>VAUSE: Kristie, thank you. From Hong Kong, we're going to quickly go to South Korea. Ivan Watson reports on the success that they're having now in that country. Here he is.</s>IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Crowded beaches, traffic jams, open mega churches. Not exactly what you would expect in a country that just reported no new local coronavirus infections, and only four imported cases. Yet this is South Korea, viewed by health experts as one of the few countries that did most things right from the beginning of the disease outbreak to flatten the curve and to save lives. In the wake of an initial spike in infections in February, largely centered around the a religious group in the city of Daegu, the country adopted widespread testing measures, pioneering the drive- through method of diagnosis that allowed for faster testing with less exposure, that has now become common around the world. One that I had the unfortunate pleasure to experience. (on camera): That's really uncomfortable. (voice-over): After a slight initial hiccup in supply, and after an apology from the government for that failure, uniformity in mask distribution, with mass availability, and affordability, and aggressive contact tracing. Social distancing and quarantine enforcement. (on camera): The government mandated that I had to install an app on my phone from the South Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare, which forces me to conduct a daily health check and, theoretically, can track me if I don't cooperate. (voice-over): The U.S. and South Korea both reported their first laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 on January 20. Since then, South Korea has reported just under 11,000 cases, and only 247 deaths, and next to zero new infections recently, while the U.S. now has a total of more than a million cases and more than 63,000 deaths, with new cases in many states still continuing an upward climb. A stark contrast between two nations who began the fight to combat the virus at the same time. Even more remarkable, while schools were closed and the public advised to avoid large gatherings, the country held a parliamentary election with the highest turnout in 28 years. And restaurants and shops have remained open throughout the pandemic. The Korean outbreak has so far proven to be much smaller and far less deadly than in countries like Spain and Italy, which eventually enforced full lockdown measures to quell the flood of illness that brought their healthcare systems to the brink of collapse. Despite what appears to be somewhat of a victory over the spread of the virus, the South Korean CDC remains cautious. Amid concern for what the future may hold, the present feels pretty relaxed. A Golden Week holiday now bringing many South Koreans together, even though government guidelines advise them to celebrate apart. Ivan Watson, CNN.</s>VAUSE: The global town hall is next. I'm John Vause. See you next week.