It seems like common sense to disallow a nuclear-armed foreign adversary from buying land, huge tracts of land, on American soil that could be used as a base of operations for espionage, at the very least.
And yet, for some reason, we don’t have laws that protect Americans from that eventuality, apparently.
In recent months, and unbeknownst to 99.999 percent of the public, a former Chinese general-turned-billionaire was allowed to buy something close to 130,000 acres of land in, of all states, Texas. The property comes with an airstrip that is reportedly going to be lengthened and is ostensibly slated to host wind farms that will allow the owner to tap into the state’s power grid.
Now, that may seem innocuous enough, but understand that in recent months, you recall, Texas underwent a major power outage when unseasonably cold weather froze more than a quarter of existing wind turbines, causing parts of the state’s power grid (Texas has its own) to collapse. In well-below-freezing temperatures.
Also, understand that tapping into the Texas grid gives electronic access to the same grid; what a great place for a cyberattack.
But beyond these very real national security concerns, there are no billionaires in China unless the ruling Communist party allows it; there is certainly nothing that goes on in China unless the government allows it, and that includes allowing a former People’s Liberation Army commander to buy land in Texas.
So China, not a Chinese billionaire, now has a major foothold in the United States. And it should never have happened.
If Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, gets his way, it won’t happen again; he is introducing legislation to stop it from happening again.
The Daily Caller reports:
According to a copy of the legislation obtained by the Daily Caller, the bill directs President Joe Biden to take the actions necessary to “prohibit the purchase of public or private real estate located in the U.S. by members of the CCP.”
The proposed ban extends to Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and any territory the U.S. possesses — in addition to the lower 48, Alaska, and Hawaii.
“All across the globe, China is buying up land and infrastructure to strengthen their quest for global power and dominance,” Roy said in a press release. “The [U.S.] needs to recognize the threat of direct Chinese investment in the U.S. economy and take serious action to prohibit the [CCP] from ever gaining this type of domestic control over us.”
In all, according to U.S. government figures, foreigners have interests in more than 32 million acres throughout the United States.
“This is a huge national security threat. We shouldn’t allow U.S. land to be under the control of U.S. adversaries,” Roy said in what certainly seems obvious, especially given that the Chinese government would never allow, say, the Koch Brothers, to buy 130,000 acres in a rural Chinese province that contained an airstrip and access to the country’s vital infrastructure.
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Oh, and here’s the kicker: That Chinese-owned land is near Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio, according to information from WTXF-TV, which is only one of our major military installations.
How this was allowed to happen in the first place is the real scandal; is Greg Abbott home?
