Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a series of three executive orders over November 18 and 19 that he said were aimed at protecting Texans and the state's infrastructure from "potential threats by the Chinese Communist Party."
On Monday, Abbott signed Executive Order No. GA-47 "relating to the prevention of harassment or coercion of Texans by foreign adversaries." This was followed on Tuesday by Executive Orders GA-48 and GA-49, which relate to the "hardening of state government" and the "protection of critical infrastructure," respectively. According to the accompanying statements all three orders were designed to counter the threat from the Chinese Communist Party, the ruling power in Beijing.
The move comes during a period of rising tension between China and the U.S., with the rival superpowers clashing over trade, human rights, the sovereignty of Taiwan and the South China Sea. During his campaign President-elect Donald Trump said he would impose tariffs of up to 60 percent on Chinese goods if returned to the White House.
According to an accompanying press release, Executive Order No. GA-47 instructs the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) to "identify and charge individuals suspected of crimes relating to exploiting dissidents on behalf of any foreign government."
"The Chinese Communist Party has engaged in a worldwide harassment campaign against Chinese dissidents in attempts to forcibly return them to China," the governor said in the statement. "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."
Under Executive Order No. GA-48 any company that submits a bid to a Texas state agency or public institutions of higher education will be required to "certify that none of its holding companies or subsidiaries is owned by a foreign adversary government."
State employees and contractors with access to critical infrastructure will face more stringent background checks, while state agencies will be banned from contracting companies "owned or controlled by a foreign adversary government."
The order also bans those working in higher education from "participating in any foreign recruitment program by a foreign adversary nation" and prohibits state employees from accepting gifts from adversary countries.
The U.S. Department of Commerce identifies American "foreign adversaries" as China, North Korea, Iran, Cuba, Russia and "Venezuelan politician Nicolas Maduro."
The final executive order, No. GA-49, instructs the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) and Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) to create a taskforce "to survey potential vulnerabilities of state and local governments and other critical infrastructure."
They are also instructed to "simulate responses to cyberattacks" on the Texan economy and to "convene a committee of state agencies to simulate a restart of Texas' electricity grid in the event of a foreign attack."
"China has made it clear that they can—and will—target and attack America's critical infrastructure," Abbott said. "Just this past year, a hostile Chinese government actor targeted America's communications, energy, transportation, water and wastewater systems, threatening our national security. Today, I directed Texas state agencies to identify potential vulnerabilities to prevent cyberattacks on local, state, and other critical infrastructure."
Newsweek contacted Abbott and the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., for comment via email.
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