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MINSK, Belarus — In an age ofascendant strongman leaders,President Aleksandr G. Luka-shenko of Belarus is suddenlylooking surprisingly weak.

As protests against his rulehave grown and intensified overthe last week, the man known as

“Europe’s last dictator” turned indesperation on Monday to theonce reliably loyal workers at atractor factory. But instead of be-ing showered with their support,he was shouted down with chantsof “Go away! Go away!”

Until he claimed a landslide vic-tory on Aug. 9 in a fraud-taintedelection, few leaders appearedstronger and more secure thanMr. Lukashenko, a former state

farm director who has ruled Bela-rus for 26 years, backed by an ex-pansive, brutal and unwaveringlyloyal security apparatus.

Now, in scenes recalling thepopular uprising that came out of

nowhere to topple Romania’sseemingly invincible dictatorNicolae Ceausescu in 1989, the Be-larus capital of Minsk, long knownfor its cowed calm and order, hasshed decades of fear and raised itsvoice with a simple, insistent de-mand: The dictator must go.

“At the moment, the only issuethat matters to us is the presi-dent,” said Sergei Drilevsky, the

In Belarus, a Dictator Stumbles as His Country Demands Change

By IVAN NECHEPURENKOand ANDREW HIGGINS

Politicians, Media andWorkers Fuel Revolt

Continued on Page A11

WASHINGTON — China andthe United States once acted likeopposites when it came to govern-ing the internet.

Beijing imposed a heavy statehand. It blocked major foreignwebsites, sheltered Chinese techfirms as they developed alterna-tives to Western rivals and kept atight grip on what people said on-line. The United States stood for aglobal openness that helped a gen-eration of internet Goliaths domi-nate worldwide.

But when President Trump is-sued executive orders that couldlead to a U.S. ban next month ontwo of the world’s most popularChinese-made apps, TikTok andWeChat, the White House sig-naled a new willingness to adoptBeijing’s exclusionary tactics. Mr.Trump went further on Friday, or-dering ByteDance, the Chineseowner of TikTok, to give up itsAmerican assets and any datathat TikTok had gathered in theUnited States.

On Monday, the administrationalso clamped down further onHuawei by restricting the Chinesetech giant’s ability to buy comput-er chips produced abroad usingAmerican technology. That fol-lowed a White House initiativethis month to begin purging Chi-nese apps and telecom companiesfrom American networks, sayingthey posed a security threat.

U.S. Hard LineOn China TechMay Split Web

This article is by Ana Swanson,Paul Mozur and Raymond Zhong.

Continued on Page A13

Health experts in New YorkCity thought that coronaviruscases would be rising again bynow. Their models predicted it.They were wrong.

New York State has managednot only to control its outbreaksince the devastation of the earlyspring, but also to contain it for farlonger than even top officials ex-pected.

Now, as other places struggle tobeat back a resurgence and casesclimb in former success-storystates like California and RhodeIsland, New York’s leaders areconsumed by the likelihood that,

any day now, their numbers willbegin rising.

The current levels of infectionare so remarkable that they havesurprised state and city officials:Around 1 percent of the roughly30,000 tests each day in the cityare positive for the virus. In LosAngeles, it’s 7 percent, while it’s 13percent in Miami-Dade Countyand around 15 percent in Houston.

The virus is simply no longer as

present in New York as it oncewas, epidemiologists and publichealth officials said.

“New York is like our South Ko-rea now,” said Dr. Thomas Tsai ofthe Harvard Global Health Insti-tute.

But nothing is static about theviral outbreak, experts cautioned.The question now is whether thestate, where 32,000 people havedied of the virus, can keep frombeing overwhelmed by anotherwave, as threats loom from arriv-ing travelers, struggles with con-tact tracing and rising cases justover the Hudson River in NewJersey.

Officials have also been watch-

New York’s Control of Virus Surprises ExpertsBy J. DAVID GOODMAN

People dine outdoors in Manhattan’s West Village, but what will happen when the weather turns?AMR ALFIKY/THE NEW YORK TIMES

Continued on Page A6

Leaders Watch Warilyand Worry About a

Second Wave

Poor regions where internet access isscarce are turning to an older technol-ogy to reach students. PAGE A8

TRACKING AN OUTBREAK A4-9

Lessons From TelevisionGrand slams, then silence. Dunks, thenshrugs. The pandemic shows the valueof fans, Kevin Draper writes. PAGE B5

SPORTSTUESDAY B5-8

Stars We Miss: The Spectators

President Trump prefers a robust rela-tionship with authoritarian China to onewith democratic Taiwan; other U.S.officials aim to bolster ties. PAGE A10

INTERNATIONAL A10-13

Raising Taiwan’s StatusPhysicians say they regularly treatpeople more inclined to believe whatthey read on Facebook than what amedical professional tells them. PAGE B1

BUSINESS B1-4

Doctors Battle MisinformationU.S. metrologists have long juggled twoconflicting measurements for the foot.One of them is getting the boot. PAGE D1

SCIENCE TIMES D1-8

They’re Pulling Our Foot

New York health clubs will be limited toa third of their total capacity and mustmeet state requirements. PAGE A4

Cuomo Will Reopen Gyms

A bittersweet family tradition has be-come an exercise in logistics and tryingto understand shifting rules. PAGE A20

NATIONAL A14-23

College Drop-Off Evolves

Critics discuss what “Chad Deity,” aplay about pro wrestling, says aboutstereotypes and storytelling. PAGE C1

A Body Slam of a ComedyHiring Jason Wright gives a franchisein the middle of an overhaul the N.F.L.’sfirst Black team president. PAGE B7

Washington’s New Leader

As temperatures continue to rise, soilsin the tropics could unlock greenhousegases previously stored. PAGE D3

More Global Warming Worries

Michelle Goldberg PAGE A24

EDITORIAL, OP-ED A24-25

The saxophonist Nubya Garcia, whoseimpact has been felt in London, is releas-ing her first full-length album. PAGE C1

ARTS C1-6

Jazz for a New Generation

MONEY TIES The postmastergeneral made millions from dealswith the Postal Service. PAGE A22

Trailing in the polls, the president ispushing all the normal boundaries ofpolitics at once. PAGE A19

Trump on the Attack

Democrats opened the most ex-traordinary presidential nominat-ing convention in recent historyon Monday night with a programthat spanned the gamut from so-cialists to Republicans, from therelatives of George Floyd to fam-ily members of those killed by co-ronavirus, in a two-hour eventthat was a striking departure fromthe traditional summer pageant ofAmerican democracy.

Truncated and conducted virtu-ally because of the coronaviruscrisis, the presentation offered avivid illustration of how wide-spread opposition to PresidentTrump and the still-raging pan-demic have upended the country’spolitics.

Capping the evening was an ur-gent plea from Michelle Obama,the former first lady, for voters tomobilize in overpowering force toturn Mr. Trump out of office andelect the Democratic nominee, Jo-seph R. Biden Jr.

Breaking through the stilted on-line format, Mrs. Obama providedthe emotional high point of thenight as she confronted the presi-dent directly. “Donald Trump is

the wrong president for our coun-try,” she said. “He has had morethan enough time to prove that hecan do the job, but he is clearly inover his head. He cannot meet thismoment.”

Senator Bernie Sanders of Ver-mont, speaking before Mrs.Obama, gave voice to what he de-scribed as the historic stakes thisNovember, arguing that “this elec-tion is about preserving our de-mocracy” and alluding to his ownfamily’s experience with NaziGermany.

“This is not normal,” he said,“and we must never treat it like itis.”

Kicking off a four-day conclaveduring which they hope to bothwin over moderates who are un-easy with Mr. Trump’s divisiveleadership and energize liberalswho are unenthusiastic abouttheir own nominee, Democratsreached for the recent past.

They showcased Mr. Sanders,the leader of the left and theirreigning presidential runner-up;a handful of Republican defectors,including former Gov. John R. Ka-

VARIETY OF VOICES HELPS DEMOCRATS OPEN CONVENTION

Bolstering Biden and Denouncing Trumpin an Unusual Virtual Showcase

By JONATHAN MARTIN and ALEXANDER BURNS

Continued on Page A16

MILWAUKEE — The Demo-cratic primary race began as aclash of ideas. But when theDemocratic National Conventionconvened on Monday, the partyassembled with a singular aim:defeating President Trump.

From the progressive left tothe moderate wing, Mr. Trumphas served for months as theglue keeping the party fromfracturing. And never has thisdétente been more obvious thanin the wide-ranging lineup for thefirst night of the convention,when, in the name of unity, thevirtual stage was open not just toDemocrats of various persua-sions but to Republicans as well.

The festivities conveyed onemessage from the Democrats.Whatever their ideological differ-ences with one another or theDemocratic nominee Joseph R.Biden Jr., ousting Mr. Trump was

the primary concern.“We have got to vote for Joe

Biden like our lives depend on it,”said Michelle Obama, the formerfirst lady.

The appeal came from otherpolitical leaders including JohnKasich, a onetime Republicancandidate for president; SenatorBernie Sanders, the progressivestandard-bearer; and also Demo-cratic moderates including Sena-tor Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota,Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of NewYork and Gov. Gretchen Whitmerof Michigan.

From the opening moments,which featured a dramatic recita-tion of the preamble to the Con-stitution and a mosaic of youngpeople from across all the statesand territories singing the na-tional anthem, the conventionwas a surreal projection of Amer-

Party Puts Disputes AsideIn Pursuit of Singular Aim

NEWS ANALYSIS

By ASTEAD W. HERNDON and SYDNEY EMBER

Continued on Page A17

Postal slowdowns and warn-ings of delayed mail-in ballots arecausing election officials to re-think vote-by-mail strategies,with some states seeking to by-pass the post office with ballotdrop boxes, drive-through drop-offs or expanded in-person votingoptions, despite the coronaviruspandemic.

The 2020 election was supposedto be the largest-ever experimentin voting by mail, but the Trumpadministration’s late cost-cuttingpush at the Postal Service hasshaken the confidence of votersand Democratic officials alike.The images of sorting machinesbeing removed from postal facili-ties, mailboxes uprooted or boltedshut on city streets, and packagespiling up at mail facilities have

sparked anger and deep worry.Even if, as the Postal Service

says, it has plenty of capacity toprocess mail-in ballots, the fear isthat the psychological damage isalready done. So as Democrats inWashington fight to restore PostalService funding, election officialsaround the country are looking fora Plan B.

“The office has been floodedwith calls for the past few days,”said Katie Hobbs, the secretary ofstate of Arizona and a Democrat.“The concern I have is that, likeany campaign of misinformation,it attempts to undermine voters’confidence in our process.”

Planning in the states pro-

Postal Crisis Has States PressingFor Alternatives to Mail-In Votes

This article is by Nick Corasaniti,Michael D. Shear and Trip Gabriel.

Continued on Page A22

VOL. CLXIX . . . No. 58,789 © 2020 The New York Times Company TUESDAY, AUGUST 18, 2020

PHOTOGRAPHS BY DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION

‘Nero fiddled while Rome burned. Trump golfs.’

BERNIE SANDERS, Vermont senator

‘We know that what’s going on in this countryis just not right. This is not who we want to be.’

MICHELLE OBAMA, only African-American first lady

‘Yes, there are areas that Joe and I absolutelydisagree. But that’s OK. That’s America.’

JOHN R. KASICH, former Republican governor of Ohio

‘I want to be clear, unity isn’t about settling.It’s about striving for something more.’

AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota senator

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Sunshine and patchy clouds. Lowhumidity. Highs in the 70s to near80. Clear tonight. Lows from 50s tolower 60s. Mostly sunny tomorrow.Weather map appears on Page B6.

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