‘Overthrow The United States Without Firing A Shot’: Michiganders Rip Chinese-Owned EV Battery Plant | Eastern NC Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the The Daily Wire. The author of this post is Hank Berrien.

    In speeches before it was approved by the Democrat-controlled Michigan Senate Appropriations Committee, Michigan residents expressed their fury over a proposed electric vehicle battery plant owned by a Chinese company to be built in Big Rapids.

    The corporate bylaws of Gotion High-Tech, the parent company of Gotion, which owns the plant, mandate that Gotion carry out "Party activities in accordance with the Constitution of the Communist Party of China." Last October, Michigan Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer celebrated the proposal for the plant, asserting it would strengthen Michigan as the "global hub of mobility and electrification."

    But on Thursday, residents and local officials had a different perspective at the hearing.

    "I am gravely disappointed that our representatives are serving the demands of our governor over the request of our citizens. I can attest, however, that our community is now united in ways they would have never been before. They do not want this," Hannah Saez, the clerk of Big Rapids Township, stated. "Thousands of Michiganders will be watching today. I know you all receive daily emails and phone calls. I know you're under pressure. I know you've probably been coerced. I beg of you to do what is right here even if corruption is knocking at your door."

    Kyle Luce, the supervisor of Barton Township, said 85% of his constituents opposed the plant.

    "Our citizens are concerned with the timeframe that's going on here," he said. "The timing seems to be sped up exponentially to, in our opinion, try to seal the deal and get this done before people have a chance to speak out, residents have a chance to speak out. And individuals, the fine senators, are digging up information daily about the CCP involvement."

    "We're primarily a farm community and we're concerned about our environment," he added. 'I'm here just to speak and ask you to either turn this down or table it until further investigation could be done."

    "I'm angry," local resident Marjorie Steele snapped. "I'm angry that this vote was slipped into the agenda today with as little information as possible so that people like me wouldn't know it was happening. I'm angry that you, our elected officials, have ignored my community's pleas to table this vote until some small semblance of due diligence can be performed. I can promise you that we will not stop at the local level."

    "We are tired of being abused and we are not alone," she continued. "This is not just a Mecosta County issue. Townships and counties across the state are uniting, sharing resources, manpower and grassroots activism. Your votes today, senators, are lines drawn in the sand."

    One resident said the plant was part of China's intention to "overthrow the United States without firing a shot."

    "I think that any Chinese communist plant buying up 700 acres of Michigan land is a concern to all citizens throughout the state," Cheryl Vitito declared. "This CCP-controlled company represents communism and is a threat to our way of life and our God-given and constitutional freedoms. We don't want the CCP here by way of the Gotion plant as they have no regard for the value and dignity of human life."