Texas has enacted a law, California has passed a bill that awaits the governor’s signature, and several bills have been introduced at the federal level.
Pastor Bob Fu was in the middle of a national prayer rally in Washington when he got the call.
More than a hundred people had descended on Fu’s Midland, Texas, home, chanting slogans and waving flags.
They were there at the behest of a wealthy and vocal supporter of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The protests were part of a “kill traitors” campaign, with the goal of “purging” Fu, according to the influencer’s posts and videos.
He learned about the protest from his wife, who was home when busloads of people began arriving. He was soon being escorted back home by FBI agents.
Law enforcement agents believed there was a credible threat to his life.
“I was wanting to go out to talk to [the protesters] … but the FBI agent said, ‘Sir, they only need one chance,’” Fu told The Epoch Times.
He later learned from law enforcement that many of the protesters—who showed up seven days per week from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.—crossed state lines to protest against him, traveling from as far away as California, and were paid a daily fee.
That was in September 2020. Fu and his family spent a week sequestered at home, surrounded by a mob. Then law enforcement decided they couldn’t hold the protesters back indefinitely and moved the family into hiding.
Fu, his wife, and their children are U.S. citizens. His daughter spent the first months of her senior year of high school taking online courses while the family was in hiding.
They remained in an undisclosed location until one day before the presidential election in 2020, when the protests stopped—suddenly and completely.
Five years later, new legislation could prevent ordeals like the one Fu’s family endured, enabling victims to press charges and leading to investigations into CCP involvement.
This year, Texas became the first state to enact a law criminalizing transnational repression. The law, SB 1349, went into effect on Sept. 1.
