Texas Gov. Abbott Targets CCP Infiltration; North Korea Sends War Supplies to Russia| China in Focus

Welcome to China In Focus. I'm Don Ma. In for Tiffany Meyer, our top story. The governor of Texas says he's doubling down on efforts to protect his state from the Chinese Communist Party. He's issued four executive orders in as many days. So we have the Chinese going after people. We have the Chinese going after intellectual property. We have the largest power grid in the United States. The U.S. military is dispatching a special task force to help the Philippines and the South China Sea. Details on what the initiative means for the critical shipping route. China replacing the U.S. as the second largest donor to Pacific nations. More on why major powers are competing for influence in a cluster of islands. And Beijing cultivating relations with the largest country, South America. Under Washington's nose, that is, Chinese regime leader Xi Jinping signing almost 40 deals during a visit to Brazil. Texas is taking a series of actions to fortify protection against threats from China. Governor Greg Abbott Thursday directed state agencies to divest from China as soon as possible. This comes after he put out three other executive orders aiming to protect Texans from Beijing's harassment, espionage and infrastructure damage. Texas Governor Greg Abbott aims at protecting the state from hostile actions by the Chinese Communist Party within its borders. The orders highlight three areas, espionage, infrastructure attacks, and harassment and policing people from China who are legally residing in Texas. He said in a Fox News interview that many of the victims are dissidents of the We have the Chinese going after people. We have the Chinese going after intellectual property. We have the largest power grid in the United States in the state of Texas. They would potentially be able to attack our power grid and shut down Texas. If they do that, they would also shut down the largest energy sector in the United States. Abbott said the state is shutting down a station in Houston that is effectively acting as a police station for people from China who are in Texas legally. And there are many cases actually of dissidents of the CCP saying they've been harassed and even attacked in efforts to intimidate or silence them. One man was put in the hospital after protesting against the CCP at the Apex Summit in San Francisco last year. Him and his friends noticed a group of men following them. Some had red bandanas tied to their arms consistent with the pro-CCP supporters at the protests. They were going to attack us very soon. So I just remember one guy just put me down from behind and then my brain just went blank after that. I couldn't remember anything. And the other day at this year's G20 Summit in Brazil, some pro-CCP supporters harassed and covered up a banner held up by two Falun Gong practitioners near the summit. And actually I myself was attacked last year outside of the Apex Summit in San Francisco after a man saw me filming him when I saw him trying to tear down a banner held also by Falun Gong practitioners outside of the summit. Reporting in Washington DC, Jason Blair, NTD News. Abbott's latest executive order asks all state agencies to evaluate all investments in China. Texas investing aid entities are banned from pouring any new funding into China. The governor said in a press release that the decision is to protect the security of Texas state investments. The CCP is harassing Chinese dissidents on U.S. soil and the governor of Texas is taking executive action against it. Michael Lucci, founder of State Armor Joint Entities, Steve Lance to discuss what the Chinese regime aims to achieve. Michael Lucci, thank you so much for joining. Thank you for having me on. Of course, Michael. Tuesday, Governor Greg Abbott issuing an executive order to shield Texas from Chinese espionage, citing FBI reports of the Chinese communist regimes targeting state and local officials right here in the U.S. Abbott also highlighted harassment of Chinese dissidents residing in Texas who speak out against the CCP. How is this even possible on American soil? This is extraordinarily possible on the American soil. It's so possible that President Trump shut down the Chinese consulate in Houston for carrying out these activities. But it's not just President Trump that sent warnings. President Biden has also sent warnings about sub-national state influence campaigns that China runs. When they don't get what they want at the federal level from the federal government, they turn to state leaders and local leaders and try to align them with China's communist policies. What Governor Abbott is saying is that's not going to happen in Texas. You're not going to repress people in Texas. We're going to fight back against this heinous activity, and we're not going to allow communism to take root in the Lone Star State. Amazing. The governor's new order there requires companies to cut ties with foreign adversary governments. It also mandates stronger background checks and prohibits foreign recruitment programs run by adversary nations. Do you think that these measures will be effective? I think they'll be extraordinarily effective. I think they're also the first steps of Governor Abbott in what's becoming a whole-of-Texas response to the Chinese Communist Party. What China's strategy is with respect to the talent programs that you mentioned is to infiltrate our universities and research centers and pull that research and expertise out and bring it back to China. The FBI has estimated as much as $600 billion of intellectual property theft every year from the United States to China. So Governor Abbott's cutting that off. He's saying we need to know if you have military ties, Communist Party ties, if you're going to be doing research here. These are all critical measures. Really, they're measures that every governor should copy across the country. Michael Lucci, thank you for sharing your perspective. Washington is extending a hand to its treaty ally in the face of rising Chinese aggression. A U.S. embassy official said Thursday that the military is supporting Philippine operations in the South China Sea via a special task force. Manila explained that the initiative involves intelligence and surveillance. Here's more. A U.S. embassy spokesperson said the operation allows U.S. forces to support the Philippines in the South China Sea. There, Chinese Coast Guard vessels have been spraying water cannons at Filipino crews and ramming into their boats, all with the goal of keeping them away from disputed territories. Both the Philippines and China claim sovereignty over the South China Sea, though Beijing claims almost all of it. An international court ruled China's claim invalid. More than 60 percent of global maritime trade passes through the South China Sea. China is retaking the title of second largest donor to a dozen Pacific island nations and surpassing the U.S. in the process. That's according to data from Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank. Beijing, Washington and Australia have been competing for influence in the region. Some of these islands were bloody battlegrounds during World War II. Alex Gray is the former chief of staff for the White House National Security Council. He explains why these islands matter. Strategically, they're so important because if you're thinking about the United States military needing access to East Asia, whether the scenario is a hypothetical scenario involving Taiwan, a scenario involving Japan, a scenario involving the Korean Peninsula, we have to have the ability to supply our forces in the region from the West Coast and from Hawaii primarily by ship. And in order to do that, we have to pass through the islands that comprise that second island chain you mentioned. China invested over 250 million dollars in the region in 2022, while the U.S. spent over 240 million dollars. Australia provided the largest amount of funding, amounting to about 1.5 billion dollars. China is bolstering trade ties with Brazil, the largest country in South America. That's as it competes with the U.S. presence there. Chinese leader Xi Jinping signed almost 40 deals with his Brazilian counterpart Wednesday. The agreements range from trade to technology to agriculture. She visited Lula in Brazil's capital after meeting with leaders of 20 largest economies. Brazilian President Lula said partnership with China would pave the way for a new phase of bilateral relations. Beijing has been competing for clout with Washington in South America. China now is Brazil's largest trading partner. Two-way trade between them stood at over 160 billion dollars in 2023. Also during Xi's state visit to Brazil, a Chinese company signed a deal to enter the Brazilian market called SpaceSail. This Chinese company seeks to challenge Elon Musk's Starlink, a system that allows people to access high-speed internet even in the most remote areas of the world. The Chinese company signed a deal with Brazilian state-owned telecommunications provider. Under it, SpaceSail would provide satellite communications and broadband internet services to Brazil. This comes after Brazil froze Starlink's bank account. The move was to force Elon Musk to pay fines in a dispute. Coming up, a slow economy is fueling more protests in China. A report found that nearly a thousand protests erupted within just three months this year. How could Donald Trump's pick for Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick impact the economy, consumer prices, and trade relations with China? We bring you Analysis. And a Persian artist blends ancient cultural designs with gold leaf art. Discover how his move to America and spiritual practice shaped his work. More on that after the break here on China In Focus. Welcome back to China In Focus. I'm Don Ma. And for Tiffany Meyer, China saw a significant surge in protests in the third quarter. An approximately 30 percent rise compared to last year. And human rights watchdog Freedom House says the country's slow economy is the main driver. Workers, teachers, and even civil servants across China have endured long-overdue wages or salary cuts. As a result, workers, homeowners, and rural residents are leading many of the protests. Groups of homeowners have pushed back against housing management companies using slogans like, we don't want autonomy, we want democracy. That's after the Chinese Communist Party ordered those firms to tighten control on resident housing. Zooming out, investors, religious groups, and ethnic minorities have also launched their own protests. From July to September, the number of protests in China surpassed 900 within just three months, averaging 10 protests per day across the country. The data is based on cases recorded by Freedom House, but the real number could be larger. Howard Lutnick, the billionaire CEO of Cantor Fritzgerald, has been tapped by a president like Trump for Commerce Secretary. In both the national and international environment, the seat has become increasingly important. And the news is shedding on Lutnick's potential ties to China. NTD's Fiona Ji spoke with Zach Model, chairman of the Coalition for a Prosperous America, and president of Atlas Toolworks Inc. to discuss. I think that's a great question. And I think Mr. Lutnick, his track record, like many people on Wall Street, has been to engage with China and to practice free trade, and really a different stance from what Mr. Trump has promised. But recently, Mr. Lutnick has really been shifting his position on that. And he's been speaking very strongly about bringing China under control, about tariffs, and about dealing with the threat that they pose both economically and in other ways. So, you know, I think that he's not different from a lot of other people in Wall Street or in business. But those things are going to need to be looked at and vetted, and I'm sure they'll be taken care of and addressed appropriately. What I'm most concerned about is how he's going to behave going forward. Now, unlike the president-elect, Lutnick hasn't put all of his focus on China in terms of global trade grievances. But he has blamed China for being responsible for the fentanyl crisis in the United States. And then, of course, we've heard Trump propose that 60 to 100 percent levy on Chinese imports. Do you see any sort of potential disagreements in terms of trade and tariff policies between the two, specifically related to China? Yeah, I don't see that. I think that Mr. Trump has also recognized the problem that it's not just China, right? And he's talking about tariffs for a couple of reasons. I think he will need to have a 10 to probably 20 percent universal baseline tariffs on all imports, regardless of where they're coming from. And that's to fulfill his revenue promises. If he wants no tax on tips, he wants to lower the income tax, and if he wants to fulfill some of the spending promises, that's the way to get the revenue to do that. Then I think China, 60, 100 percent, or maybe even higher tariffs on certain products are going to be necessary. And that's because of their IP theft. That's because of their bad actor behavior in the world, in the South China Sea, the militarization. That's because of their use of slave labor. And that's because of their desire simply to take over the world and dominate everything. And we just can't allow that. Well, Zach Model, great insight today. Thank you for joining us. Fiona, always nice to be with you. Trump's win has triggered a plunge across the Chinese stock market. A major China index saw record high outflow last week, worth roughly a billion dollars. This trend has lasted for at least five weeks. Another index, representing some of China's tech giants, saw an outflow of over 700 million dollars during the same period. Mainland China's benchmark index, MSCI, has fell 16 percent in recent weeks. The downturn comes as President-elect Trump announces more China hawks will join his cabinet, sparking deeper concerns in China over his promised 60 percent tariff plan on Chinese goods. Even before the U.S. election, investors' sentiment in China had already cooled after Beijing's failure to introduce stronger stimulus policies. Shifting gears, two undersea cables operated by four NATO countries have been ruptured in recent days, and China is suspect number one. The Danish military confirmed Thursday that it spotted a Chinese bulk carrier sailing around the rupture spot when the incident occurred. The cables are shared by Germany, Sweden, Finland, and Lithuania. Following Denmark's confirmation, China responded that it's willing to maintain communications with all parties. It added that the Chinese ship's right to sail should be protected. A similar incident occurred around the same time last year. At the time, a Chinese vessel was accused of damaging Finland's undersea natural gas pipeline and telecom cables. Japanese officials sent out a message Wednesday. They're watching closely to see if China keeps its promise to prevent further violations of Japanese airspace. This comes after an incursion by a Chinese military aircraft nearly three months ago. Beijing said it was unintentional and caused by turbulence. Tokyo protested and sought an explanation from Beijing after the Chinese reconnaissance plane briefly entered Japanese airspace. This prompted Japan's military to scramble fighter jets and warned the Chinese plane to stay away. Japan's chief cabinet secretary said China acknowledged the airspace violation and assured Japan that it would make efforts to prevent it from happening again. Japanese defense officials said they're still finding the airspace violation unacceptable because it was a serious breach of territorial sovereignty. A South Korean lawmaker says North Korea sent war supplies to Russia in addition to troops. The lawmaker referenced a report by South Intelligence. He added that the weapons sent by the North are not the type used by Russia and will require personnel for training and maintenance. The assessment follows President Biden's move to allow Ukraine to strike targets in Russia with U.S.-supplied missiles. Russia criticized the decision, saying it adds fuel to the fire of the war. U.S. officials said Biden's decision was almost entirely triggered by North Korea's entry into the war. A showcase of unique art form. A Persian artist blends ancient patterns and modern techniques, transforming gold leaf into stunning works of art. NTD's Daniel Monahan spoke with him about his journey and creative inspiration. Artist Ren Seroj grew up in Iran, where he studied fine arts, focusing on painting and calligraphy for more than 25 years. As a Persian carpet designer, he explored patterns from various cultures. From the Native American, from India, from China, everywhere. I encountered with the Celtic design, and I found a lot of common sense between all the cultures, and Celtic also. It started from the ancient Greek, and in China, Iran, everywhere they have, because the base is a swastika. His specialty is creating art using gold leaf, which involves a process called gold beading, where gold is hammered into thin sheets. Gold leaf is very thin. It's like a paper. You know, it's just attached. After they apply the glue, it gets tacky, and attach the gold, and remove the excess. You know, that's a line between there. You know, the piece is make it like a mosaic, but it's not a mosaic. It's a design. Before applying the gold leaf, Seroj carefully drafts the desired image with precision. When I do the portrait, I need the exact outline, because many times I want to, you know, it's a custom design. I want to make it exact same as that person. I need the outline. After the outline, we apply the glue. The glue, after a few hours, it gets tacky, and attach the gold leaf, and remove the excess. And for each color, we have to separately glue, and a few hours wait. The artist's life took a significant turn when he moved to the U.S. in 2006. My environment changed, my language changed, you know, and many, many things changed. And also, when I encountered with the cultures, Asian culture like the Native American or Asian China, you know, and also it was like a Mayan art, Aztec art, you know, all of these being put together, that's really influenced my art. But the biggest transformation for him came in 2010, when he began practicing the meditation discipline Falun Gong. Because to me, art is like a tangible expression of your inner self. When you have everything you have in your mind, you know, you express it. Before I had anger, selfishness, you know, and why is this, why is that, everything is unfair. But now it's something like truth, compassion, tolerance. It's totally different, point of view, technique, you know, all of this. Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, is a spiritual practice that millions around the world have made a part of their lives. Rooted in Buddhist tradition, it consists of two main components, self-improvement through the study of teachings, and gentle exercises and meditation. Since 1999, the Chinese Communist Party has engaged in a systematic and brutal persecution in an attempt to eradicate the practice. For more on Soroush's work, you can find him on Instagram at ren.soroush. Daniel Monahan, NTD News. That's all for today's China In Focus. I'm Don Ma. If you have any feedback on the show or you have something you would like to see us cover, send us an email at chinainfocus at ntd.com. We'd love to hear from you. For around-the-clock original news coverage, visit us at ntd.com or download our NTD app. Thanks for watching. See you soon.