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

AUSTIN, Texas—Chuck DeVore remembers when the FBI visited him some 17 years ago as a California lawmaker to tell him that he was under surveillance by the Chinese regime. DeVore, who was backing the Tibet Awareness Day resolution 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. The Chinese began visiting California legislators, pressuring them to vote against the resolution. DeVore said he never received a formal visit from the ministry staff, likely because he cowrote the book “China Attacks,” a novel that explores China’s pursuit of annexing Taiwan....