The Nebraska Legislature has passed LB644, a sweeping new law aimed at exposing and curbing covert influence operations conducted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The
measure, which passed on May 30 in a 37–11 vote with one abstention, closes longstanding loopholes that allowed foreign adversaries, such as the CCP, to operate cultural and business fronts in the state of Nebraska without registering as foreign agents. The bill creates two new acts in state law—the Foreign Adversary and Terrorist Agent Registration Act and the Crush Transnational Repression in Nebraska Act.
Central to the legislation is a crackdown on entities tied to the CCP’s powerful United Front Work Department—a sprawling influence and intelligence
apparatus described by Chinese leader Xi Jinping as a “magic weapon.” Operating globally, the United Front seeks to shape foreign perceptions of China, suppress dissent, and control overseas Chinese communities. Its methods include funding Confucius Institutes, recruiting political allies, and pressuring Chinese nationals abroad.
Under LB644, any agent of a foreign adversary or terrorist organization must register with Nebraska’s attorney general, disclosing activities, financial ties, and foreign affiliations. Disseminated materials must be filed within 48 hours, and detailed records must be maintained for three years. Violations can trigger fines of up to $50,000 per year.
Public officials must declare they are not foreign agents in financial disclosures, and businesses and nonprofits must certify compliance with the law in filings with the state. Postsecondary institutions may expel individuals found to be in violation.
The bill also enhances criminal penalties for offenses like stalking or assault if done on behalf of foreign principals to suppress or retaliate against protected conduct, such as speech or practice of religion. The measure also empowers the Nebraska State Patrol to track and report on transnational repression and train law enforcement to recognize such threats.
Lobbyists or consultants working for Chinese military-linked companies must register as foreign agents, with civil penalties of $100,000 per violation. Whistleblowers whose tips lead to enforcement actions are eligible for $50,000 rewards.
The law also bans the use of genetic sequencing technology tied to foreign adversaries and requires public contractors to certify they are not affiliated with “scrutinized companies,” with limited exceptions.
LB644 reflects growing national concerns about CCP-linked groups operating inside the United States. In 2023, Republican senators
called for investigations into Overseas Chinese Service Centers—community outposts in cities such as Omaha, Houston, and San Francisco—run by groups affiliated with the United Front. Lawmakers raised concerns that the centers were coordinating with China’s Ministry of Public Security to monitor and intimidate Chinese Americans critical of the regime.
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“The CCP’s intent is clear with its operation of these [Overseas Chinese Service Centers]: to intimidate and surveil Chinese Americans with dissenting opinions,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and seven GOP senators said in a July 2023
letter to then-FBI Director Christopher Wray and then-Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division Matthew Olsen.
A separate
letter to then-Attorney General Merrick Garland—led by Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.)—warned that the United Front’s operations, under the guise of diplomacy and cultural exchange, amounted to a coordinated foreign influence campaign.
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A 2018
report from the U.S.–China Economic and Security Review Commission outlined how the United Front directs “overseas Chinese work,” aiming to co-opt diaspora communities and manipulate local politics abroad. The State Department
has noted that the United Front “has penetrated deeply into state, local, and municipal governments” through seemingly benign platforms like sister-city programs and friendship associations.
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Public awareness of such operations grew after the FBI
shut down a clandestine CCP-run police station in New York City in April 2023, arresting two individuals accused of operating on behalf of the CCP to harass dissidents.
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According to the nonprofit Safeguard Defenders, the station was
part of a broader global network of more than 100 such facilities across 53 countries.
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