China Intensifies Pressure as States Pass Laws to Counter Beijing’s Growing Influence

The CCP’s long game includes influencing state lawmakers who may go on to hold national office.

Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock

AUSTIN, Texas—Chuck DeVore remembers when the FBI visited him some 17 years ago to tell him that he was under surveillance by the Chinese regime.

DeVore, then a California state lawmaker who was backing a resolution on Tibet Awareness Day at the time, said the Chinese foreign ministry staff at the San Francisco and Los Angeles consulates launched a full-court press to stop the measure.