China

Gov. Abbott Issues Executive Order to Arrest Chinese Communist Party Operatives in Texas

Published

3 weeks ago

November 22, 2024

Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed an executive order Thursday aimed at protecting Texans from harassment and coercion by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) or its proxies. The directive instructs the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) to target and arrest individuals conducting CCP influence operations, such as the PRC’s “Operation Fox Hunt,” which aims to forcibly repatriate Chinese dissidents living abroad.

“The Chinese Communist Party has engaged in a worldwide harassment campaign against Chinese dissidents,” 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.”

The Center Square reports that the order comes ahead of the Texas legislature convening in January, where Abbott is expected to push for national security measures related to foreign adversaries. Last session, a proposed bill to ban land purchases by foreign nationals from countries posing security threats, including China, was blocked after CCP opposition.

Abbott’s order follows a recent FBI-Houston warning about PRC tactics, including cyberstalking, harassment, and intimidation of dissidents and their families in Texas. The FBI has urged victims of PRC transnational repression in the Houston area to report incidents.

The FBI previously charged individuals linked to Operation Fox Hunt for allegedly stalking and coercing U.S. residents to return to China. The agency has also uncovered CCP-linked “illegal police stations” in the U.S., including one in Houston, as part of broader global operations identified in 53 countries.

FBI Director Christopher Wray has described Operation Fox Hunt as a CCP campaign targeting political rivals, critics, and dissidents abroad, employing tactics ranging from threats to leveraging family members as coercion.

The executive order tasks DPS with several responsibilities, including:

– Partnering with local and federal law enforcement to investigate and charge individuals exploiting dissidents on behalf of foreign governments.

– Documenting and addressing acts of transnational repression.

– Developing training programs for law enforcement to identify and counter such threats.

– Providing policy recommendations by January 15, 2025, to enhance protections against foreign interference.

The state will also launch a hotline and update the iWatch Texas Community Reporting System to allow Texans to report suspicious activities linked to foreign adversaries, including the CCP.

China

Federal Appeals Court Upholds TikTok Ban Law, Setting Stage for Supreme Court Showdown

Published

5 days ago

December 6, 2024

Sara Carter Staff

In a major development on Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld a law requiring TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the popular app or face a ban in the United States. A panel of three judges unanimously ruled against TikTok’s petition for relief, solidifying a legal battle that now appears headed for the Supreme Court, reports National Review.

The appeals court ruled that the contested portions of the law withstand constitutional scrutiny, with Judge Douglas Ginsburg emphasizing the government’s national security rationale. “The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States,” Ginsburg wrote. “Here the Government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary’s ability to gather data on people in the United States.”

U.S. officials, including leaders at the Department of Justice, have consistently raised alarms about TikTok’s relationship with the Chinese Communist Party, calling the app a national security threat of “immense depth and scale.”

TikTok argued that the law infringes on its First Amendment rights and that divesting from ByteDance is “not possible technologically, commercially, or legally” by the January 19 deadline. However, the court dismissed these arguments, leaving the app’s fate in jeopardy as the deadline looms.

Both the U.S. government and TikTok had pushed for a decision by Friday to allow sufficient time for potential appeals or alternative measures before the ban takes effect.

With the appeals court’s ruling, TikTok’s next move is likely to petition the Supreme Court. The justices could temporarily block the law’s implementation while they consider the case or allow the lower court’s decision to stand.