OAN Roy Francis
UPDATED 1:47 PM – Saturday, March 18, 2023
Communities in Michigan are protesting against a decision which would allow a Chinese-owned firm to build a factory in the area.
According to The Midwesterner, footage of a recent Green Charter Township board meeting showed over 100 residents of the Mecosta County showing up to protest the decision made by the board.
The concerns were raised when lawmakers approved around $585 million from the state fund to go towards the building of the factory which would produce electric vehicle batteries. The plans for the factory were approved by a state economic development board, and it was meant to be built in both the Big Rapids and Green Charter Townships.
In February, the construction in Big Rapids was delayed after the town board unanimously voted to request a federal review for any national security risk. According to The Detroit News, the security concerns were raised due to the ownership of the company being Chinese.
Residents of the area voiced their concerns over the presence of the company in their community citing national security as the main issue due to the fact that tensions with China are at all time high.
“The thing that drives some the most crazy about this is that this is a Chinese-owned company. A Chinese-owned company is a communist company. Why would you bring a communist company to Big Rapids, Michigan, when we have troops mobilizing right now to fight China?” a resident who said he was an Iraq War veteran said at the meeting. “Why would we invite the enemy to come spy on us? All the things on here are bad, but the thing that drives me the most nuts is that it is our enemy, not the Chinese people. I have nothing against the Chinese people because they suffer under the same communism that you all are trying to bring here. It’s disgusting.”
Other resident voiced similar concerns, warning against giving China the ability to extend its reach further into the United States. Opponents of the plan argued that instead of building Chinese owned factories, there should be “American companies on American soil.”
Tudor Dixon, the former Republican gubernatorial candidate, has been leading the effort to keep the Chinese company from building their factory.
“The residents who spoke out against the Big Rapids communist Chinese battery plant were clear, focused, and on point. Township leaders would do well to listen to them and heed their concerns. National security over the promise of jobs!” she tweeted after the town meeting. “I stand with the residents fighting back against having a 700-acre Chinese battery plant in their backyard that could easily double as a base for spying on Americans. No Gotion in Michigan!”
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