WITH TAIWAN CALL To Successor: CHINA …...2016/12/03  · Temer, the fledgling president of Brazil,...

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The confidential informant hadan explosive tip for the Universityof Kentucky’s campus newspa-per: An associate professor of en-tomology had been accused ofgroping students, and the college,after an investigation, had permit-ted him to leave quietly.

On the trail of a hot story, the pa-per, The Kentucky Kernel, re-quested files from the university.Officials turned over some docu-ments, but they contained few de-tails.

Months later, though, in August,a 122-page dossier about the accu-sations was leaked to the newspa-per, which reported the specifics,including one woman’s claim that

the professor had grabbed herbuttocks, crotch and breast duringan off-campus conference in 2013.

Now The Kernel is being suedby the university in a continuingbattle over whether records in thecase should be disclosed. And it isjust one of several disputes be-tween universities and studentnewspapers, which are pushingadministrations to become more

transparent about sexual assault,a defining issue on campusesaround the country.

With cuts at traditional news or-ganizations, student journalistssee their role as increasingly im-portant in shedding light on thesubject and are becoming moredogged in ferreting out informa-

Colleges and Campus Papers Square Off Over Sexual AssaultsBy STEPHANIE SAUL

Continued on Page A18

RIO DE JANEIRO — MichelTemer, the fledgling president ofBrazil, is furious.

One of his own cabinet min-isters secretly recorded their con-versation, accusing Mr. Temer ofpressuring him to help an ally in aproperty deal. Now Mr. Temer’senemies are seizing on the scan-dal to call for his impeachment —just months after he became pres-ident through the impeachment ofhis predecessor.

“A minister recording the presi-dent of the republic is appalling,” agrim-faced Mr. Temer, 75, said at anews conference this week. “Ab-solute indignation.”

Brazil’s leaders have been en-gaged in open political warfare formore than a year, culminating inthe impeachment of Brazil’s firstfemale president, Dilma Rousseff,and the triumph of Mr. Temer’s

party only a few months ago.But far from settling the matter,

the maelstrom of Brazilian politicsis entering yet another tumul-tuous phase: paranoia.

Much of the increasing ner-vousness in the capital, Brasília,stems from a sweeping corruptioninvestigation that, despite thechange in administrations, has re-fused to go away.

Politicians are so anxious thatonly hours after Mr. Temer de-clared three days of officialmourning for a shocking disaster— the crash of a plane carrying aBrazilian soccer team that was onits way to play in the final of an in-ternational tournament — Brazil-ian lawmakers held a marathonsession until 4 a.m. on Wednesday.Their focus: gutting the authorityof prosecutors and judges who are

Who’s Taping Whom? As GraftRoils Brazil, Paranoia Reigns

By SIMON ROMERO

Continued on Page A3

Today, clouds and sunshine, windy,seasonably chilly, high 47. Tonight,cloudy, seasonably cold, low 36. To-morrow, sunshine, then clouds, high46. Weather map is on Page A21.

VOL. CLXVI . . . No. 57,435 + © 2016 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2016

Late Edition

$2.50

TODD HEISLER/THE NEW YORK TIMES

A Japanese team practiced in Central Park on Thursday in preparation for the Double DutchHoliday Classic tournament this weekend at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. Page A19.

Schoolyard Game, Now With a Scorecard

HOLLAND, Mich. — Whilemuch of the American politicalclass has been consumed with re-criminations over the wrenchingloss of manufacturing jobs, ChuckReid has been quietly addingthem.

His company, First Class Seat-ing, makes recliner seats for mov-ie theaters here at a factory on theshores of Lake Michigan. Since hebought the business three yearsago, its work force has grown to 40from 15.

But those jobs will be in jeop-ardy if President-elect Donald J.Trump follows through on hiscombative promises to punishcountries he deems guilty of un-fair trade.

Mr. Trump secured the WhiteHouse in part by vowing to bringmanufacturing jobs back to Amer-ican shores. The president-electhas fixed on China as a symbol ofnefarious trade practices whilethreatening to slap 45 percent pu-nitive tariffs on Chinese imports.

But many existing Americanmanufacturing jobs depend heav-ily on access to a broad array ofgoods drawn from a global supplychain — fabrics, chemicals, elec-tronics and other parts. Many ofthem come from China. At Mr.Reid’s factory, imports account forroughly two-thirds of the cost ofmaking a recliner chair.

In short, Mr. Trump’s signaturetrade promise, one ostensiblyaimed at protecting Americanjobs, may well deliver the reverse:It risks making successful Ameri-can manufacturers more vulnera-ble by raising their costs. It wouldunleash havoc on the global sup-ply chain, prompting some multi-nationals to leave the UnitedStates and shift manufacturing tocountries where they can be as-sured of buying components atthe lowest prices.

“If you do this tomorrow, youwould have a lot of disruption,”

said Susan Helper, an economistat the Weatherhead School ofManagement at Case Western Re-serve University in Cleveland.“The stuff that China now makesand the way they make it, it’s nottrivial to replicate that.”

Mr. Reid takes pride in usingAmerican products. His designershere in Michigan dreamed up hissleek recliner. Local hands con-struct the frames using American-made steel, then affix moldedfoam from a factory in nearbyGrand Rapids. They staple uphol-stery to hunks of wood harvestedby timber operations in Wiscon-sin. They do all this inside a for-mer heating and cooling equip-ment factory that shut down adecade ago when the work shiftedto Mexico.

But the fabric for Mr. Reid’s

Tough Talk on Global Trade Hits Close to HomeThis article is by Peter S. Good-

man, Neil Gough, Sui-Lee Wee andJack Ewing.

In Cu Chi, Vietnam, Woodworth Wooden Industries builds sofas, recliners and other furniture, mostly for sale in the United States.CHRISTIAN BERG FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

China Has a Role inFactories in the U.S.

and Worldwide

Continued on Page A12

WASHINGTON — Republicansin Congress plan to move almostimmediately next month to repealthe Affordable Care Act, as Presi-dent-elect Donald J. Trump prom-ised. But they also are likely to de-lay the effective date so that theyhave several years to phase outPresident Obama’s signatureachievement.

This emerging “repeal and de-lay” strategy, which Speaker PaulD. Ryan discussed this week withVice President-elect Mike Pence,underscores a growing recogni-tion that replacing the health carelaw will be technically compli-cated and could be politically ex-plosive.

Since the law was signed by Mr.Obama in March 2010, 20 millionuninsured people have gainedcoverage, and the law has becomedeeply embedded in the nation’shealth care system, accepted withvarying degrees of enthusiasm byconsumers, doctors, hospitals, in-surance companies and state andlocal governments.

Unwinding it could be as diffi-cult for Republicans as it was forDemocrats to pass it in the first

A G.O.P. Plan On Health Act:Rescind Slowly

This article is by Robert Pear, Jen-nifer Steinhauer and Thomas Kap-lan.

Continued on Page A15

Departing occupants of theWhite House rarely hand off animproving economy to a succes-sor from the opposing party.

When Barack Obama was wait-ing in the wings after the 2008presidential election, for example,the economy was in a severedownward spiral: Employers re-ported cutting 533,000 jobs thatNovember, the biggest monthlyloss in a generation.

But according to the govern-ment’s report on Friday, Donald J.Trump can expect to inherit aneconomy that is still on the up-swing. An additional 178,000 peo-ple were added to payrolls lastmonth, bringing the total increasein private sector jobs to 15.6 mil-lion since early 2010. The unem-ployment rate fell to 4.6 percentfrom 4.9 percent the previousmonth. Wage growth, thoughslower, is still running ahead of in-flation, and while the loss of manu-facturing jobs clouds the outlookfor some, consumers are express-ing the highest levels of confi-dence in nearly a decade.

The Federal Reserve is opti-mistic enough about the econo-my’s underlying strength that it isnow set to raise the benchmark in-terest rate when it meets later thismonth.

The jobless rate for November,the lowest since August 2007, “is atestimony to how strong employ-ment growth has been,” said JimO’Sullivan, chief United Stateseconomist at High FrequencyEconomics.

Jason Furman, now chairmanof President Obama’s Council ofEconomic Advisers, remembersthe transition eight years ago,when he was crammed into his of-fice with a circle of top officials asthe latest jobs numbers from theLabor Department landed.

“It was an utterly terrifyingtime, the likes of which none of us

Obama’s GiftTo Successor:The Economy

Jobless Rate Falls, butMany Feel Passed By

By PATRICIA COHEN

Continued on Page A16

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald J. Trump spoke bytelephone with Taiwan’s presidenton Friday, a striking break withnearly four decades of diplomaticpractice that could precipitate amajor rift with China even beforeMr. Trump takes office.

Mr. Trump’s office said he hadspoken with the Taiwanese presi-dent, Tsai Ing-wen, “who offeredher congratulations.” He is be-lieved to be the first president orpresident-elect who has spoken toa Taiwanese leader since at least1979, when the United States sev-ered diplomatic ties with Taiwanas part of its recognition of thePeople’s Republic of China.

In the statement, Mr. Trump’soffice said the two leaders hadnoted “the close economic, poli-tical, and security ties” betweenTaiwan and the United States. Mr.Trump, it said, “also congratu-lated President Tsai on becomingPresident of Taiwan earlier thisyear.”

Mr. Trump’s motives in takingthe call, which lasted more than 10minutes, were not clear. In a Twit-ter message late Friday, he saidMs. Tsai “CALLED ME.”

But diplomats with ties to Tai-wan said it was highly unlikelythat the Taiwanese leader wouldhave made the call without ar-ranging it in advance. Taiwan’sCentral News Agency hailed it as“historic.”

On Saturday, China’s foreignminister, Wang Yi, in his govern-ment’s first official reaction,played down the call.

Stressing the good relationshipbetween the United States andChina, Mr. Wang said, “I also be-lieve this will not change the OneChina policy upheld by the Ameri-can government for many years.”

Mr. Wang, speaking to report-ers in Beijing, reiterated that Tai-wan was part of China. “Uphold-ing the One China policy is thebase rock and an important poli-tical foundation for a healthy de-velopment of China-U.S. relations.Of course, we hope this will not beinterrupted in any way.”

Mr. Wang characterized the callas initiated by the Taiwanese gov-ernment. “We believe it’s a pettyaction by the Taiwan side.”

The president-elect has shownlittle heed for the nuances of inter-national diplomacy, holding a se-ries of unscripted phone calls toforeign leaders that have roiledsensitive relationships with Brit-ain, India and Pakistan. On Thurs-day, the White House urged Mr.Trump to use experts from the

TRUMP MUDDIESCHINA RELATIONSWITH TAIWAN CALL

A BREACH OF PROTOCOL

Beijing Scoffs at ‘PettyAction’ — Diplomats

Raise Concerns

By MARK LANDLERand DAVID E. SANGER

Continued on Page A17

LEGAL CHALLENGES Trump back-ers are trying to stop recountefforts in three states. PAGE A16

Gambia’s eccentric president, in powerfor 22 years, conceded to Adama Barrow,above, setting off celebrations. PAGE A4

INTERNATIONAL A4-9

Gambian Vote’s Stunning Turn

Egypt and Turkey, once vocal oppo-nents of Bashar al-Assad’s government,have softened their positions. PAGE A6

Backing Down on Syria

When holiday lights go up in DykerHeights, tourists roll in. To clear space,residents face a parking ban. PAGE A20

NEW YORK A19-21

Making Room for Tour Buses

Peng Chang-kuei, a Taiwanese chef whoinvented the famed dish, was 98. PAGE B8

OBITUARIES B7-8

Creator of Gen. Tso’s Chicken

Five days after winning the FormulaOne title, Nico Rosberg announced hewas retiring from auto racing. PAGE D3

SPORTSSATURDAY D1-6

Champion Leaves on Top

Major League Baseball, often deridedas passé, is actually a thriving $10 bil-lion-a-year business. PAGE D1

Baseball’s Not Dead Yet

CABINET The nomination of Gen.James N. Mattis signals a tougherMiddle East stance. PAGE A15

A controversy over a building namedfor an architect of Southern secessionhas resulted in a university policy thatseparates history and honor. PAGE C1

ARTS C1-6

Yale Looks Back, Differently

Gail Collins PAGE A23

EDITORIAL, OP-ED A22-23

THIS WEEKEND

The Ms. Senior America pageant andothers like it celebrate women of acertain age — “between 60 and death,”as one contestant put it. PAGE B1

BUSINESS DAY B1-7

Beauty and ExperienceA Charleston jury wavered over a dead-lock in the case of an ex-police officerwho killed an unarmed man. PAGE A10

NATIONAL A10-18

Confusion in the Court