>> building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions. this is abc 7 news. kristen: i'm kristen sze. you are watching getting answers, live on abc 7. and we get answers for you in real time here the world's largest volcano and a world heritage site interrupts after 38 years. the monologue volcano on the big island of hawaii spewing ash, turning the sky red. will it threaten people or property? a whole can all adjust will be joining us. the holiday classic "a christmas carol" is back on stage in san francisco soon. this year, there is a special performance with people -- four people with sensitivities paired we will talk with the founder of

inclusive arts money -- working with act to develop this unique show. unprecedented stunning protest breaking out across china. citizens are taking to the streets, risking their safety, demanding an end to their government's covid zero policy. they are calling it oppressive and deadly. joining us live is china expert and professor of sociology at uc davis. thank you for your time. >> thank you for having me. kristen: put the importance of these protests in context for us. we have protests here all the time in the u.s. why is that we are seeing in china so seismic and surprising? >> that is a good question. china does -- china does have protests but they tend to be local and short-lived and fragmented. this is probably the first time we have seen something so large-scale and synchronized across major cities in china

since the protests student movements in 1989. that is a -- that is unprecedented. kristen: you are turning to -- you are referring to tiananmen square in. terms of what people are protesting for, some of them are quite direct. i have heard some people say xi jinping should step down, isn't this the kind of activity that could kit --? could get them in trouble? >> yes, indeed. that is something that we should continue to observe. i want to point to another important phenomena, which is the symbol of this protest. a lot of people, instead of chanting xi jinping moscow, they are holding a piece of blank paper. some of the foreign media are referring to this as the white paper movement, or white paper protests. i think it is significant in the sense that it is a unifying symbol that can connect with people in different parts of

china, but also in response to what you are saying, the blink of pete -- the blank piece of paper does not say anything. it is a nod to the denial of free speech. the paper itself is not saying anything. it would be tricky for the government to arrest people for promoting antigovernment suggests. kristen: it is a message in itself that the paper has no message. you saw a video of fire. that is one of the things people point to that has driven them to this point. there was a fatal fire and they are saying the response time was slow because of covid zero. they point to some medical cases where people had emergencies but were not ticket to the hospital in time. talk to us about that being the price of china's lockdowns and quarantines. prof. lo: you are absolutely right. the fire was definitely the trigger we are seeing today.

the zero covid policy was extremely successful in china in the beginning of the pandemic. but as more transmissive variants started to spread, we are seeing the death toll started to climb. and also the lockdown is lasting longer than china or anyone else has expected. the price that comes policy is l liberty and a general sense of frustration, a general sense that people want to return to normalcy. that definitely is what we are seeing as the price for the zero covid policy. kristen: they are seeing images of the world cup competitions in which you see fans in the stands not wearing a mask. in contrast, what they have in china is when they have a lockdown, it is not what we are use to when we say the same word lockdown. you can still go to the grocery store, they are just

discouraging you from taking too many trips. but they are, what does a lockdown look like there? we have video from disneyland shanghai, because they locked things down there a few weeks ago. prof. lo: right. it is pretty extreme. sometimes people will find that their doors are sealed from outside. at the very least, if they try to get downstairs, there will be policemen, guards that would block them. sometimes people need to show their covid test, pcr test, in order to get on public transportation. when they talk about lockdown there, it is not like what we are talking about. it is literally there will be physical barriers that block your way to get outside, get to the public transportation, and so forth. kristen: look at this, people could not get out of the park because there was a few cases so they made everybody take a test before they could exit the park.

i wonder if any other country in the world right now is still pursuing such a strategy. which by the way, as he said, does have its upside, which is that china has a total of 30,000 deaths. that is a country of 1.4 billion people. we have, what, one million deaths and we are a country of 330 million. is anyone else still doing that? prof. lo: not to my knowledge. most of the countries that have pursued the containment policies at the beginning of the pandemic are not doing that anymore. new zealand, australia, taiwan, south korea, japan, all of the societies have pursued a more aggressive containment policies compared to the united states, in the first and even second year of the pandemic. all of these countries, all of these societies, have at some point adopted a coexistence with policies.

once the rate caught up, people started to want to return to normal. china is an outlier in this regard. kristen: this seems to be, and tell me if you see it this way, the most visible challenge yet to xi jinping, the chinese president, and it does seem so surprising the timing. back in october, we saw the communist party congress in which he solidified his power, and it seemed like he almost had absolute power. how does this play into that? s ion, one hand i think presidt xi jinping has consolidated his power. probably the first person who was able to do this since mao dong. i think it is because of his aggressive power and consolidated control over not just chinese society but also

the party itself, his ability to contain the tensions and eliminate different alternative voices that xi was able to continue to aggressively pursue the zero covid policy. at the same time, the flipside of this, is that it is very difficult for you to back away from it now. it is difficult, if not impossible, for the chinese communist party to admit that the zero covid policy was pushed too far, that it was perhaps a mistake. we see sort of the ruling elites back in a corner at the moment. kristen: look, i want to ask you why should americans care about this? there is the more practical, are we going to be able to get our iphones or other products for christmas? there is more global security and world order issue. why should we care? prof. lo: right. you're are right.

we should care because china is the second-largest economy in the world, and our economic life is closely connected to what is happening in china. i think also in terms of the global stabilities, security and even democracy in the global scale, we can imagine a number of different outcomes of this. some of these potential outcomes can be very undesirable even for those of us who are living so far away on the others of the pacific ocean. if these protests and arrests continue to spread, and there is a crackdown like what happened in 1989, we could imagine that the social control, the crackdown, and the repression in china, will continue to intensify. and that would obviously not bode well for democracy or for

bilateral relationships with the united states. also, i think china has taken a hit in terms of its economic growth since covid. if that continues to deteriorate, that would also not be a good thing for the global economy. for these reasons, as well as the control of the pandemic, we do want to care about how this continues to unfold. kristen: officer ming-cheng lo -- professor ming-cheng lo, we don't know how it will end, but thank you for the insight. stay (vo) it's a fact! two out of three americans who qualify for medicare do not receive all the benefits they deserve. you could be missing out! now anthem blue cross introduces a free medicare plan checkup to make sure you receive all the benefits you qualify for in 2023. call 1-866-336-3448 today and receive extra benefits for a zero dollar monthly premium.

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kristen: welcome back. a beloved holiday performance has come back to san francisco.

"a christmas carol" returns on thursday. this year, for the first time ever, there will be a sensory friendly performance that is designed to be inclusive for all audiences. joining us live to show us what that means is lauren kilobits, the founder of inclusive arts, a nonprofit working with act to make this special performance a reality. thank you for your time and thank you for joining us. lauren: thank you for having me. kristen: how did this come together? did act reach out to you? lauren: i have been a teaching artist for act for five years now, specifically teaching and residencies for students with disabilities. they know that this is a big passion of mine and that i founded inclusive arts to create more opportunities for folks with disabilities to enjoy and participate in the arts. they approached me a few months back and said, we really want to

get something going for this production of "a christmas carol." kristen: how does the website which you founded. you are a performer yourself, right? lauren: yes. i grew up a theater kit. i grew up going to a.c.t. because i am a san francisco local. . it is really exciting for me to be involved with them in this capacity. kristen: ok. it's fabulous. "a christmas carol is beloved. i have seen a.c.t.'s ve rsion many a time. what did a.c.t. want to do with this particular performance? lauren: essentially, we want to make sure that this specific performance, our expectations for audience etiquette or the way that audiences traditionally are supposed to engage with theater, that those expectations are relaxed. one audience members to feel like they can come and be themselves and have a meaningful and enriching experience in the

theater. that does not judge or stigmatize whatever way they prefer to engage. we are changing a few elements of this performance to be mindful of some of the supports that certain audience members might benefit from. we are allowing talking or vocalizing during the performance. there is going to be movement spaces in the theater, if anybody feels like they don't want to stay sitting still in a seat for two hours. . there is a sensory space that will be available outside of the theater that still has a monitor showing a feed of the show. . if anybody needs to take a break. we are shifting a few technical elements around to avoid potential sensory triggers. no bright flashing lights, the sound will be capped at a certain decibel, no stage smoke, in the house lights will be on a little bit. we are also going to offer sensor supports for audience members. i have a few examples here. just some fidgets and sensory

tools that might help audience members stay calm or focused. i love this one. we will have noise reducing headphones available and earplugs. and audience members are also encouraged to bring their own comfort items, whatever will make this a pleasurable and exciting and meaningful experience for them. kristen: wow, that is fantastic. i know right now it is one show only. december 18 at 6:00 p.m. is this a general tickets sales or are you inviting certain groups? lauren: it is general ticket sales. this performance is geared for anybody. i think one of the beauties of stepping back and thinking through the lens of making something sensory friendly, we recognized the supports we have in place can benefit everybody. you don't have to be somebody who has a sensory sensitivity or disability. it is general ticket sales.

we are specifically reaching out to community partners and networks that i work with and that folks have spread the word to. for audience members who would specifically may be benefit from the supports we have in place. kristen: lauren kivowitz, the founder of inclusive arts, this looks fantastic. i can't wait to see this "a christmas carol" "a christmas carol" rendition of the show,. abc7news anchor karina nova explains how it works. >> crime and safety is a concern for all of us here in the bay area. you can get a closer look at what is happening in your neighborhood with the abc 7 neighborhood safety tracker. from property theft to violent

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- life is uncertain. with calhope's free and secure mental health resources, it's easy to get the help you and your loved ones need when you need it the most. call our warm line at (833) 317-4673 or live chat at calhope.org today. kristen: hawaii's mauna loa volcano woke up this morning after a 38 year slumber. it is a magnificent sight to behold. is there danger in the beauty to people or property? joining us live is wendy stovall, a volcano scientist with the usgs to talk more about it. take you for your time, wendy.

wendy: of course. kristen: when did mauna loa start erupting? wendy: it started erupting at 11:30 p.m. last night in hawaii. we knew for about one hour before that that it was headed toward direction. kristen: obviously it is starting at the summit called era. where it -- where is it flowing and can people on the island see it? wendy: yes, you can see it. it is visible from the waikoloa area, and the saddle road, the area that goes between the east side and west side of the island. as you said, the summit was the location of the onset of the russian. since then, it has moved to the northeast down the northeast rib zone. -- rift zone. three fissures have erected in the northeast rib zone. those are sending lava flows to the north northeast, and another one that is starting to send a

love for flow to the southeast. again, just on the northeast side of the volcano. kristen: look at that, it is turning the sky read. . what is the history and significance of mauna loa? it is massive. wendy: mauna loa is the largest active volcano on the planet. it is also the largest mountain on the planet, if you count from below the sea level, which is where the volcano begins come up to its summit. . it is taller than mount everest. it has not erupted since 1980 four the first eruption in 38 years. that is the longest pause in historic times. but it could have -- that could be a short time for a pause of eruptions if you look at the geologic scale of the volcano itself. kristen: looking at the lifespan of the volcano, it is just a blip. you guys were not surprised,

because there were a lot of earthquakes in the fall, right? wendy: that's right. a couple of months ago, we were seeing many more earthquakes occurring at the volcano than our normal. additionally, there was the ground that began swelling outward, indicating magma was moving into the system. at that time, we at the usgs started working with our partners on the island, emergency management agencies, to go around and talk to people about safety. and really, fortunately, this eruption has commenced in a way that produces the least potential harm to communities because it is on the northeast side of the volcano rather than the southwest side. kristen: it is kind of away from the population. we remember in 2018, the other volcano, kilauea, erected. that was devastating to a whole subdivision. dozens of homes destroyed, 1700

people had to evacuate. do you think there is close to anything like that in terms of the danger risk this time? wendy: certainly not right now. mauna loa, the eruptions occurring at mauna loa are very high in elevation. it would take weeks if not more for lava to enter into communities, as long as things stay in a sustained way as they are proceeding now. these lava flows are not threatening anything at the moment. kristen: that's good. noah tweeted a satellite picture, it captured the sulfur dioxide. i am wondering if the sulfur dioxide or the ash falling might prevent -- might present a different danger? wendy: sulfur dioxide does create volcanic smog. people who have pre-existing health conditions such as asthma experience uncomfortable effects from vog.

there are super small amounts of volcanic ash in the air. we have had a few reports of that. kristen: i'm wondering if there is anyway you can tell, i guess not, mother nature does not work like that, of how long this might last? wendy: we can't do any forecasting on the duration of the event. we know erected and from mauna loa, in the historic time that we have had, have lasted about two weeks. we can go off of that. we can't really at this point predict about how long things will continue. kristen: i think this is a live picture from the kilauea cald era. wendy: yes. that is the kilauea summit. kristen: that still continues to go? wendy: yes, we have two volcanoes erupting on hawaii. kristen: how might this affect tourists coming for the holidays next month? do you think there might be an

impact on closures? i imagine going up to the mauna loa summit or flights, what do you think? wendy: flights should not be a problem. the type of eruption that is occurring will not have any impact on airplanes landing. it is a small area at an extremely high elevation, and it would be hard to get up to see exactly where the russian is occurring. the only possibility is that the saddle road, that road that goes between the east side and west side of the island, could get cut if lava flows continue at a pretty significant pace over the next month or so. we don't see that happening anytime within the next few days. kristen: this is new earth being created. . by the time it ends, what will be different about the island? wendy: mauna loa will have some new shiny lava flows. and the island will have gone through yet another eruption.

this is just another one for the books for mauna loa. kristen: amazing. thank you very much. folks can learn more at usgs's website. good stuff. thank you so much. wendy: yes, thank you for having me. have a great day. kristen: you can get our live newscast, breaking news, weather and more with our'-- car abc 7 app. it is available on google tv, and

great gifts at this price? is this for real? not exactly that's bargain bliss setting in you're basking in the glow of great gifts at deep discount prices. and is that... mmhmm ♪grocery outlet jingle♪ i want a doll house, a pony bike kristen: thank you for joining us for "getting answers" today. we will be here every weekday at 3:00 answering questions with

experts around the area. world news tonight with david muir's next, and i will tonight, tracking a new coast to coast storm. snow, heavy winds a possible severe tornado outbreak across several states. the system from the west all the way to the northeast. high winds.n alert for snow and- moving across the country, bringing with it a dangerous tornado threat. rob marciano standing by to time this out. tonight, the new images just coming in, for the first time in 38 years, the world's largest active volcano erupting on the big island of hawaii. lava beginning to flow. the sky glowing red tonight. what residents there are being warned at this hour. and matt gutman with the pictures coming in now. in buffalo, new york, tonight, the gunman accused of killing ten people at that top's super market, because they were black, pleading guilty to murder, attempted murder, and domestic terrorism miv