One person recently made it clear to the lawmakers that the people of this state have had enough bad treatment.
At a public meeting on Thursday, people from Michigan protested Democratic state lawmakers who used government money to help build a project backed by China.
Sarah Anthony, the head of the committee that passed the deal and a Democrat, played a big role in getting lawmakers to give Gotion, a subsidiary of Gotion High-Tech in Hefei, China, $175 million in public money to build an electric car battery factory in Big Rapids. All of the Republicans and three of the Democrats on the committee voted no, making the total score a close 10-9.
Before any money was given, there was a meeting so that people could say what they thought about the idea. Most of the people there didn’t want a Chinese company to set up shop in their state.
During the meeting, a local man named Russ Jennings spoke up to ask why the county, township, and state of Michigan would let a Chinese company build the facility when an American company is ready, willing, and able to do so right now.
Marjorie Steele, who lives in Big Rapids, Michigan, was not happy with how quickly the committee voted on the funding and how little notice they gave for the meeting.
I’m really angry about it. After the vote, Steele said, “I’m furious that this vote was sneaked onto today’s agenda with as little notice as possible so that people like me wouldn’t know it was happening.” I want to scream at our politicians, “I’m mad that you, our elected officials, have ignored the pleas of my community to put this vote on hold until at least a little bit of due diligence can be done!”
“I can promise you that we will not stop at the local level,” she said. We don’t want to be picked out anymore, and we know we’re not the only ones who feel this way. This is not just a problem in Mecosta County. Cities and towns all over the state are getting together and planning at the local level. Because of today’s Senate votes, there are now clear fault lines.
Cheryl Vitito, another neighbor, said that the project was a plan by the Chinese government to “overthrow the United States without firing a shot.”
“I think it’s a worry for everyone in Michigan if a Chinese communist plant buys up 700 acres of land there,” she said. Because the CPC runs this company, it has become a strong sign of communism, which is a threat to our way of life and our God-given rights. We don’t want the CCP to be able to get into our country through the Gotion plant because they have no values.
Shirley Schaefer, a local citizen, said that the company is a threat to national security because it supports the Chinese Communist Party.
As Democratic Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said in October, Gotion will spend $2.4 billion to build two 550,000-square-foot factories and other facilities on 260 acres in northern Michigan. She said that the project would make Michigan a “global hub of mobility and electrification.”
Because the company is owned by the Chinese government and has ties to the Chinese Communist Party, Republican lawmakers and local leaders have looked into Gotion’s method. The rules for Gotion High-Tech say that the business will “carry out Party activities in accordance with the Constitution of the Communist Party of China.” This California-based branch of Gotion High-Tech was the one that suggested opening a store in Michigan.
It makes me very sad that our politicians care more about what our governor wants than what the people they were chosen to represent want. I don’t think our town has ever been tighter than it is now. Hannah Saez, the county clerk of Big Rapids, Michigan, stressed, “They do not want this.”
“Thousands of Michiganders who will be watching today,” Saez said. It’s hard to believe how many phone calls and texts you must get. I know you’re having a hard time right now. It makes sense that you would feel like you had to make such a statement. Even though you might be tempted to do something bad, please do the right thing here.
The mayor of the nearby Barton Township, Kyle Luce, said that 85% of voters there didn’t like Gotion’s ideas.
Luce is right when he says that the American people worry about how quickly time is going by. We thought that everything was going at a very fast pace so that the deal could be done before any resistance could form. Every day, the great senators find more proof that the CCP did something wrong.
We are very worried because we live in a small town in the middle of Michigan. When asked about environmental worries, he said, “We’re mostly a farming community, and we care about the environment.” I just wanted to say hello and ask nicely if you could either say no or put this on hold while I do more research.