A high five to the small town that could!
While it is nearly impossible for ordinary Americans to do anything to slow the unchecked encroachments at our southern border, the situation is not so bleak when it comes to pushing back a foreign adversary buying American farmland.
Take the case of Green Charter Township, Michigan – a rural community of 3,200 residents about an hour north of Grand Rapids. Months ago, the previous Township Board voted (unanimously!) to bring Gotion, Inc., an electric vehicle battery parts factory, to Mecosta County, where Green Charter Township is located, by offering the company a tax abatement plan for construction of a three-under-one-roof installation. A million square foot manufacturing facility on prime agricultural land.
In addition, Lansing State Senators voted to elect Gotion, Inc. to provide as much as $175 million in tax breaks. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who fearlessly competes for unpopular EV business by leveraging the power of the public purse, was an enthusiastic booster of the mega-industrial project.
“Gotion’s $2.36 billion investment, which will create 2,350 good-paying jobs in Big Rapids, is the largest economic development project ever in Northern Michigan and will strengthen our status as a global hub of mobility and electrification,” said Whitmer.
However, the residents of the municipality were having none of that.
A major sticking point was the fact that Gotion, Inc. the American subsidiary – founded in California in 2014 – is of Gotion High-tech Co., based in Hefei, China. The latter’s corporate mandates include a requirement that the company “conduct party activities in accordance with the Constitution of the Communist Party of China.” (Wondering what party building entails? Is wearing red de rigueur?)
Chuck Thelen, Gotion’s vice president of North American operations, addressed concerns about political ideology in a panel discussion: “There is no communist plot within Gotion to make Big Rapids a center to spread communism.”
Well, Chuck, what about the Chinese-sponsored Confucius Institutes on college campuses that still exist but have dwindled in number due to ideological concerns? Thelen’s comments were exceptionally tone-deaf, given the proposed plant’s proximity to Ferris State University.
With patriots’ increased concerns about national security risks and the CCP’s possible surveillance collection, as well as environmental concerns about water pollution from the chemicals used to make EV batteries, a populist backlash ensued. The gatherings were packed with angry residents waving “No to Gotion” signs. U.S. Representative John Moolenaar requested a federal review of the plant’s plans. Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy gave a speech at a horse farm near the site and declared: “We will not allow our children to become Chinese serfs.” And so it went.
Ultimately, “we the people” took it upon ourselves to initiate the arduous signature-gathering process, in which the incumbent board of the six townships would be placed on a recall ballot and replacements would be ready as that would gain the upper hand.
And they conquered they did so with a loud voice.
The entire board was recalled during last week’s elections because of their belligerent support of the CHICOMS and the governor. They were replaced by patriots and independents eager to reevaluate the factory plan in a transparent and careful manner. Jason Kruse, who replaced Township Supervisor Jim Chapman, received more than 70% of the vote. Shortly after being elected, Kruse told WMKT radio’s Nick Rhudy that the previous supervisor “stated that 96% of the community wanted this Gotion project.” Um, LOL?
Kruse added: “Gotion does not have a site map. They have no permits. Nothing there.”
“The new board will examine these development agreements … and decide whether they are the best fit for the community.”
Obviously, many challenges await this new list of government officials. But they have offered the strategy of an Americanist and the philosophy of anyone to think locally and take a stand. A red, white and blue stand that has inspired millions, given the national and international media attention the recall story has received.
The residents of the Green Charter Townships have also shown when economic nationalism should prevail over foreign investment, and why championing ‘reasonable growth’ and ‘local zoning’ is the better farmland management philosophy for small communities than silly economic mantras grow.
“Global hub of mobility,” as Gretchen Whitmer put it, is a marker on the path to ruining the character of a rural community.
The final word goes to Rep. Moolenaar, who two days after the recall told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham, “We cannot subsidize companies with ties to the Chinese Communist Party.”
No, we can’t.
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