John Moolenaar Header
Gotion Proposal is Wrong For Our State
Gotion Inc. is a subsidiary of China-based Gotion High Tech, and it wants to build a new battery factory in Mecosta County. Gotion High Tech has numerous references in its corporate bylaws requiring loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). For example, Article 9 of its articles of association requires Gotion to “set up a Party organization and carry out Party activities in accordance with the Constitution of the Communist Party of China. The Company shall ensure necessary conditions for carrying out Party activities.”
As the Congressman for Michigan’s Second Congressional District, I represent the area where the proposed facility would be built. In Congress, I have been working to stop the CCP from expanding its influence in America. I support legislation that would ban the CCP from buying American farmland and I have voted for a bill that bans CCP companies from buying oil from our country’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve. With regards to the possible project in Mecosta County, I have asked the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to investigate whether the factory is a security risk. However, this committee, which is made up of nine Biden administration officials, has not responded to that request. This is unacceptable, and the committee should act with greater urgency to provide information to Michigan residents.
In January, I was named by Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy to the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party to look at the challenges posed by the CCP. There is no doubt that the CCP has engaged in activities that hurt the American people, including the spy balloon, stealing inventions from American companies, and jeopardizing the health of every person in the world with its coverup of COVID-19.
In just a few short months, Republicans and Democrats on the Select Committee have put a spotlight on the CCP’s hostile activities right here in America. In February, the committee highlighted secret CCP police stations in the United States that are used for spying and surveillance, particularly focused on people who speak out against the CCP. Another major concern has been how the CCP is the largest supplier of the chemicals used by Mexican cartels to produce fentanyl, which then comes into Michigan communities and kills our loved ones.
On the Select Committee, I have also looked at the CCP’s threats to Taiwan. This is an increasingly perilous situation for America’s economy and national security. Taiwan is a vital national security partner for the United States. It also produces many of the chips used in cars, computers, phones, sensors, and so many other products the American people use every day.
Additionally, the Wall Street Journal has reported that the Michigan National Guard is training members of the Taiwan military at Camp Grayling. What sense does it make for Michigan to allow a CCP-affiliated company to build a massive factory in our state, while at the same time the Michigan National Guard is helping Taiwan prepare for a possible attack by the CCP? The proposed facility in Mecosta County would be just 100 miles from the Camp Grayling training site.
Gotion Inc.’s American and European partners should take a hard look at buying out their CCP-affiliated partners and moving their company forward independently without CCP influence. Electric vehicles and battery manufacturing have attracted billions of dollars in private investment in recent years and there could be no shortage of interested investors.
Michigan needs more manufacturing and more jobs, but it is crucial to have the right partners investing in our state. The CCP should not be that partner, and no company, or its subsidiaries, that is committed to “carrying out [Chinese Communist] Party activities” should be building facilities in our state. Mecosta County is an excellent location with open land, talented students at Ferris State, and hardworking people who know how to get the job done. Community leaders want to bring more investment and jobs to the area, and they should never have their lives threatened for their efforts. With the right partners and investments, Mecosta County is a community that can grow and thrive.
Sincerely,
John