On Monday, November 18, Governor Greg Abbott of Texas issued an executive order aimed at protecting Texans from harassment and coercion by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The governor instructed the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) to target and arrest any individuals carrying out CCP-influenced actions (such as the “Operation Fox Hunt”) to forcibly repatriate dissenters back to China, who are usually lawful residents of Texas or even American citizens who have been persecuted for openly opposing the Chinese Communist Party.
In a press release, Abbott mentioned CCP’s “Operation Fox Hunt” and similar measures where the CCP’s operatives forcibly repatriate dissenters back to China, causing harm to Texas’s lawful residents, including over 250,000 Chinese Texans who call Texas their home. Abbott stated, “Texas will not tolerate CCP or its nefarious agents harassing or coercing Chinese Texans who call Texas home.”
He emphasized, “Ensuring the safety, welfare, and well-being of Texans is a top priority. I have directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to identify and prosecute individuals representing this hostile foreign foe, harassing Texans. We will continue to make every effort to protect Texans from the illegal repression by the Chinese Communist Party.”
According to the new executive order, the Texas DPS will take the following actions:
– Identify and prosecute individuals suspected of acting on behalf of any foreign government in criminal actions against dissenters.
– Collaborate with local and federal law enforcement agencies through the Texas Fusion Center to assess incidents where foreign governments extend their reach abroad to intimidate Texans.
– Discover and document individuals suspected of planning, intending, or carrying out repressive actions and provide policy recommendations on how to deal with such threats by January 15, 2025, while developing training programs for identifying and reporting such illegal activities to DPS.
– Establish a hotline and update the iWatch Texas community reporting system, allowing Texas residents to directly report any suspected agents acting on behalf of the People’s Republic of China (Communist CCP) or CCP, or other foreign adversaries, engaging in oppressive or coercive actions against Texas residents. Texas residents can report suspicious activities on iwatchtx.org, through the iWatchTexas mobile application, or by calling 844-643-2251 anonymously.
In the executive order, Abbott also referenced the U.S. Department of Justice’s cases against the CCP’s Operation Fox Hunt, citing the “Safeguard” report exposing insider information about CCP’s overseas police stations.
On October 28, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) held a joint press conference, disclosing the CCP’s “Operation Fox Hunt” in the U.S., charging 8 individuals with conspiring to represent the CCP government in the U.S. participating in an “international campaign of threat, harassment, surveillance, and intimidation of Chinese citizens to return to China”.
The New York Brooklyn Federal Court issued a complaint and arrest warrant on October 28, accusing 8 individuals of unlawfully acting as foreign agents for the CCP in the U.S., with 6 defendants facing charges of interstate and international tracking.
According to the Department of Justice’s press releases, the 8 defendants were directed by officials of the CCP government to carry out surveillance, harassment, tracking, and intimidation activities on victims under their control, demanding their return to China, actions referred to by the CCP as “Operation Fox Hunt,” part of the extrajudicial repatriation actions conducted by the CCP globally.
As per the report released by the human rights organization “Safeguard Defenders” in Madrid, Spain, CCP’s overseas secret police are scattered worldwide. “Safeguard Defenders” first exposed the existence of CCP’s overseas police stations in 2022, revealing that the CCP has established 102 overseas police stations across 53 countries worldwide.
The executive order mentions that FBI has shut down a CCP overseas police station in New York, but there are still 6 other CCP overseas police stations across the U.S., with one located in Houston.