In a decisive action, Governor Greg Abbott of Texas has issued an executive order to shield the state from what he describes as "espionage threats" originating from the People’s Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party. The directive focuses on reinforcing the security protocols across state agencies and public institutions of higher learning to prevent access to sensitive state assets by "hostile foreign nations," as per an announcement on the official Texas governor's website.
The rationale behind this move, as Governor Abbott puts it, is to uphold the safety of Texans, a priority that has gained urgency with the FBI's reports concerning the Chinese government's tactics that target local and state officials as a part of a comprehensive scheme to compromise the United States' national security. Abbott claimed that this initiative is pivotal in safeguarding the critical infrastructure, intellectual property and personal information within Texas, this in a manner tailored to oppose any disruptive actions from foreign entities considered hostile.
As stated in the governor's mandate, Texas state agencies along with public universities must now introduce several protective measures: these measures include requiring companies seeking state contracts to declare that they are not under the ownership of a foreign adversary government, the implementation of thorough background checks for staff and contractors linked to the state's critical infrastructure, and the ban on state employees accepting any gifts or engaging in work-related travels to nations flagged as foreign adversaries.
The executive order also sets its sights on academia, where faculty and employees within higher education are now barred from any involvement in recruitment initiatives sponsored by nations declared hostile, Furthermore, the move comes closely on the heels of another executive action from the day before, where Governor Abbott mandated protections for Texans from "coordinated harassment and coercion" by the Chinese Communist Party, a fact emphasized by the recent alert from the FBI's Houston office warning that individuals of Chinese descent in Texas may find themselves the targets of the PRC should they criticize the CCP, according to the Texas Governor's press release.
