A small town in Michigan ousted its entire local government after it approved a Chinese Communist Party-linked green energy project.
The issue arose when the town of Green Charter Township revealed plans for Gotion High-tech Co.— a Chinese battery company— to build a multibillion-dollar electric vehicle battery manufacturing plant in the area.
The Chinese company researches, develops, produces, and sells lithium-ion batteries and related products, making it one of the key contenders in the market.
The town's community pushed out its governing board after its members ignored resident's concerns and approved the $2.36 billion project.
Cheerleaders for the project included Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-Mich.) and other state Democrats, touting the 2,300 jobs the plant would create.
Republicans, including Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), called on the Treasury Department's Committee on Foreign Investment to investigate the Chinese company, despite Gotion denying any involvement with the CCP.
However, GOP lawmakers pointed out that Gotion High-Tech's founder, Li Zhen, and his son were members of CCP organizations and that the parent company's bylaws vow to "carry out Party activities."
Newly elected supervisor of Green Charter Township, Jason Kruse, led a grassroots campaign to recall the entire seven-person board after pushing to move forward with the plans. He said there were suspicions regarding the board's motivation to approve the project.
"There was a lot of questions," Kruse told Fox News. "We wondered, 'Well, are they bought and paid for by this company? Were they promised incentives somehow?' We'll never know that."
Kruse said he will fight tooth and nail to keep foreign business out of his government, suggesting D.C. should do the same.
"What we realized through all this is that whether it's Democrat or Republican, it's a national security issue," Kruse continued. "It's like — we have balloons flying over our country. We have the Chinese trying to start their own police forces around the country, and we want to do business with these people. That's how we view this."
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