Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order “to protect Texans from the coordinated harassment and coercion” by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), his office said in a Nov. 18 statement.
The order focuses on CCP influence operations such as “Operation Fox Hunt,” which are part of wider efforts by the Chinese communist regime to forcibly repatriate Chinese dissidents living abroad, according to the statement from Abbott’s office.
Texas is home to more than 250,000 individuals of Chinese descent, according to the executive order.
“The Chinese people, including the Chinese diaspora communities, across America and within Texas, are often primary victims of CCP intimidation efforts,” it states.
Under Abbott’s order, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) will target and arrest any criminals found to be engaging in CCP influence operations within the state.
Specifically, the order tasks the DPS with identifying and charging individuals suspected of crimes relating to exploiting dissidents on behalf of any foreign government and directs it to collaborate with local and federal law enforcement through the Texas Fusion Center to “assess the incidents where foreign governments extend their reach beyond their borders to intimidate Texans.”
DPS will “discover and document” individuals suspected of “planning, attempting, or carrying out acts of repression, and by January 15, 2025, provide policy recommendations on how to counter such threats,” the order states.
The department will also develop training programs that can be used to identify and report such activity to DPS, implement a new hotline, and update the iWatch Texas Community Reporting System to allow Texans to directly report suspected acts of oppression or coercion by CCP actors, or other foreign adversaries against Texans.
In a statement, Abbott said the CCP has engaged in a “worldwide harassment campaign against Chinese dissidents in attempts to forcibly return them to China.”
“Texas will not tolerate the harassment or coercion of the more than 250,000 individuals of Chinese descent who legally call Texas home by the Chinese Communist Party or its heinous proxies,” Abbott said. “Ensuring the safety, welfare, and well-being of Texans is a top priority.”
Abbott’s order notes that in 2023, the FBI shut down a secret CCP police station operating in New York City. The FBI arrested two people, Lu Jianwang, 61, and Chen Jinping, 59, on charges of operating the station on behalf of the CCP.
The order states that the operation was part of a broad effort by the CCP to forcibly return Chinese dissidents to China. Officials believe that multiple other stations exist throughout the United States, including in Houston, Texas, the order adds.
The Chinese dissidents “are often ‘guilty’ of nothing more than opposing the [Chinese communist regime] or CCP actions,” the order states.
The U.S. Department of Justice in 2020 charged eight people in relation to a campaign to “harass, stalk, and coerce” certain residents of the United States on behalf of the CCP and its extralegal repatriation effort.
According to the human rights nongovernmental organization Safeguard Defenders, as of 2022, the CCP has established at least 54 overseas “police service stations” across five continents.
In Monday’s statement, Abbot said, “We will continue to do everything we can to protect Texans from the unlawful and repressive actions of the Chinese Communist Party.”
The Epoch Times contacted China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment but received no reply by publication time.
From The Epoch Times