Texas Governor Greg Abbott set the stage on Monday for a fight between the state police and foreign secret agents with an executive order that takes aim at Chinese communists' attempts to track down political dissidents who they want returned to the homeland they fled.
Abbott instructed the Department of Public Safety to develop a plan and system to combat the "coordinated harassment and coercion" of people in Texas by the government in China or the Communist Party that controls it there.
The Republican state leader cited the decade-long Chinese espionage initiative called "Operation Fox Hunt" as an example of efforts he wants the DPS to defuse. Abbott suggested that a quarter-million Texas residents are vulnerable.
The governor's decree takes a page from President Joe Biden's administration, which has overseen the Department of Justice's prosecution of dozens of defendants who were charged in recent years with performing covert activities on China's behalf as secret police in the United States.
“The Chinese Communist Party has engaged in a worldwide harassment campaign against Chinese dissidents in attempts to forcibly return them to China,” Abbott said. “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. Ensuring the safety, welfare, and well-being of Texans is a top priority. I directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to identify and bring criminal charges against individuals who harass Texans on behalf of this hostile foreign adversary. We will continue to do everything we can to protect Texans from the unlawful and repressive actions of the Chinese Communist Party.”
But Abbott declined to say whether he was prompted to issue the edict by a specific event, development or other possible motive.
Abbott did not acknowledge the federal intervention in the official edict or in a statement that accompanied it. But the governor's action today are following the DOJ lead with the state police agency in pursuit of foreign agents who are bullying expatriates who are living here now.
Abbott announced the establishment of an iWatch Texas Community Reporting System for the reporting of oppressive acts by "actors" for the People's Republic of China or the Communist Party there. Abbott said people can report suspicions by calling 844-643-2251 or online at iwatchtx.org. Abbott said the state had set up an iWatchTexas app for cellphones.
The DOJ efforts were on display in September when a former aide to a pair of New York governors was arrested amid accusations that she'd worked as a secret agent for the government of China. The target of the probe - Linda Sun - worked for Democrat Andrew Cuomo in the governor's office in New York before a stint as the deputy chief of staff for Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul.
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