(The Center Square) – Ahead of the state legislature convening in January, Gov. Greg Abbott issued four executive orders to safeguard Texas from espionage threats posed by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

The first order directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to target and arrest anyone implementing CCP influence operations like “Operation Fox Hunt,” an initiative of the PRC to forcibly return people to China that it’s identified as so-called dissidents living in the U.S., The Center Square reported.