Crime NoDak, CCP Espionage, and Bill Gates (?) [State Bans Foreign Governments From Buying Ag Land]

[Deorum]

Grand Forks To Pause Construction On Fufeng Mill

GRAND FORKS — A federal committee reviewing the proposed Fufeng Group wet corn mill in Grand Forks, North Dakota says it needs more information before it can determine whether the Chinese-owned agribusiness poses a risk to national security. Grand Forks Mayor Brandon Bochenski said the city intends to pause construction work on Fufeng USA specific items until the federal review is complete.

City officials made public a one-page letter from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States on Thursday, Sept. 1, after the document was shared with Fufeng Group. In the memo, CFIUS Staff Chair Andrew Fair said the information provided by Fufeng is "insufficient." He gave the company five days to tell the federal panel whether it will comply with the request for more information.

Grand Forks City Administrator Todd Feland said the additional information provided to CFIUS by Fufeng and the property owners who sold the company land will allow the panel to determine whether it has the authority to evaluate the project for national security risks. The panel’s review is expected to take 45-90 days, according to a city news release.

 

[Mr Holmes]

 

[Deorum]

 

[Deorum]

US Congress members voice concerns over Chinese company Fufeng's project in North Dakota

51 U.S. House of Representatives members signed onto a letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack that voiced their concerns about how the proposed Fufeng wet corn milling project in Grand Forks, North Dakota, could negatively affect U.S. agriculture and the nation’s food security.

The project, which is proposed to be built on 370 acres immediately northwest of Grand Forks, has been controversial since the Grand Forks Region Economic Development Corporation and the Grand Forks City Council announced it 10 months ago. Concerns about the project include environmental, water and national security issues.

The House members who wrote the letter are the latest to weigh in on whether the project should be built in Grand Forks. The project has been criticized by other U.S. Senators and Representatives, including Sen. John Hoeven, R-ND, Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-ND and Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-SD.

“China is not our friend, and if a purchase such as the one near the Grand Forks Air Force Base is a strategic move by the Chinese Communist Party to intercept sensitive U.S. military communications, this would cause serious problems," Johnson told Agweek in a prepared statement.

 

[Deorum]

 

[Mr Holmes]

 

[Deorum]

I guess Biden's CFIUS is having trouble determining whether or not the Chinese Communist Party setting up shop down the road from a major US military installation and communication center that deals in advanced drone tech is a threat to national security. The interagency committee is actually independent, but seemed a lot more aggressive during DJT's presidency.

Don't Sell.

 

[Deorum]

It's pretty rare that "behind the scenes" political machinations make you beam. This is what these guys have been up to? Well, good on them for carrying out their patriotic duties. The CFIUS report drop is finally expected this month within the next week or two.

US Senators Hoeven, Cramer worked to oppose Fufeng project behind the scenes, emails show

BISMARCK — As scrutiny of the proposed Fufeng corn mill mounted, North Dakota’s two U.S. senators privately urged Grand Forks officials to abandon the project before a national security review yielded any results, according to records obtained by Forum News Service.

Senators John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer say their conversations with city and state officials were attempts to raise legitimate concerns about a Chinese-owned company operating near Grand Forks Air Force Base and a nearby aerospace business park.

City leaders expressed confusion and frustration over the Republican senators’ decision to oppose the project before the conclusion of a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which Hoeven and Cramer helped to initiate.

The Republican senators’ objection to the project, which is now fully public, has lent two influential voices to a fervent local opposition that continues to sound alarm bells over Fufeng’s Chinese ties. The proposed mill, first announced last year, has drawn backlash from across the U.S. as the country’s relationship with China grows increasingly strained. Among the concerns are the proposed plant’s proximity to the base, prompting some to worry that the plant could be a security concern.

 

[Deorum]

All Chinese 'investment' is dubious and undesirable. "BUt YoU DoN't WaNt THe JoBs?" As a matter of fact we don't and you can fuck off, cunt. Also: Any elected officials who it is revealed actually go so far as to work behind the scenes and not merely virtue signal their opposition to China in public arguably deserve lifetime appointments to their offices (by way of perpetual re-elections, of course).

 

[Deorum]

Most of our upper eschelon elected officials don't really care. Here's a factor that I believe makes it easy for the US to get ripped off like this:
The sheer size of the US, the many government orgs. and diversity of political opinion leands itself to stuff like this passing under the radar. With a small country, anything like this would be known by everyone. It's a bit like how in large corporations it is easier to slack off or be incompetent or waste resources while it is much harder in a small business.

 

[Deorum]

*Puke*

Path opens for Fufeng project after federal agencies determine land deal was 'not covered' by CFIUS

GRAND FORKS — A federal panel tasked with reviewing a proposed wet corn milling plant at the heart of controversy in Grand Forks has determined the project's land deal does not fall under its jurisdiction, presumably clearing a path for the plant to move forward.

In a statement, Fufeng USA announced that after an “extensive two-phase review” the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States determined the land acquisition was “not a ‘covered transaction’” under the committee’s jurisdiction and CFIUS will not be taking any further action on the deal. The statement said the review took three months.

“Fufeng USA is pleased with the outcome of the CFIUS review and is looking forward to building its wet corn milling and biofermentation plant in Grand Forks, North Dakota,” the statement said.

The review was completed by CFIUS on Dec. 12. Grand Forks City Administrator Todd Feland said the lead federal agencies as part of the review were the departments of treasury, defense and agriculture. “Essentially the outcome is CFIUS is not taking action to suspend, lock or prohibit the transaction, and the CFIUS process has completed,” Feland said.

Grand Forks Mayor Brandon Bochenski said the CFIUS process was one hurdle for the project to clear, but more work is likely to be done on the project before anything becomes official. “At least we know CFIUS isn’t going to stop it,” Bochenski said.

 

[jefferz]

Grand Forks officially cancels Fufeng project

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (Valley News Live) - Grand Forks city council voted unanimously to cancel the proposed Chinese-owned corn milling plant project, over national security concerns.

Many have said they don’t want a Chinese entity operating so close to them or near a U.S. Air Force base.

The decision comes less than a week after the Air Force sent Sen. John Hoeven a letter, expressing their own concerns about the $700M project (https://www.hoeven.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/USAIRFORCE-FUFENG-LETTER-HOEVEN.pdf).

However, questions remain about what to do with the annexed land.

 

[Deorum]

Burgum Signs Bill Banning Foreign Governments from Buying North Dakota Ag Land

Gov. Doug Burgum has signed a bill to ban foreign governments and businesses they control from buying agricultural land in North Dakota. House Bill 1135 will go into effect later this year.

Some amendments made to the bill since it was originally drafted include that the prohibition on foreign ownership of agricultural land won't apply to land that is used for “agriculture research and development or experimental purposes, including testing, developing or producing crop production inputs, including seed, fertilizer, pesticides, soil amendments, plants or biologicals.”

Another amendment makes an exception for the number of acres that can be used for research purposes. The Senate limited it to 160 acres. The bill, introduced by Rep. Lawrence Klemin, R-Bismarck, was brought forward following concerns over the Fufeng wet corn mill project in Grand Forks.

 

[The Catch-Wrestler]

Great thread @Deorum - thank you for your ongoing contributions. The information you've provided has been clear, concise, and transparent. I learned quite a bit and am pleasantly surprised at this recent development. This fight will be ongoing, but it's safe to declare a minor victory on behalf of North Dakota. Congratulations, Sherbro.

P.S. - interesting how all this was before the Chinese balloon stuff, but not too far before. Coincidence?

 

[Deorum]

I absolutely love the prioritization of family and community over corporate and foreign interests. Warms my heart.

Mine Too. <3

This was a tremendous double-dip W.

 

[CyberRubberDuck]

TL;DR: Ain't One. Look At Images?

As tempting as it would be to use this thread to continue gushing over my beloved (North Dakota, to be clear), that can already be found elsewhere and throughout the Meme threads. There is actually a much larger conversation and skeptical speculation to be had in regards to geopolitics, espionage and national security with this. However, I do think some background on the state's politics is necessary for additional context if not for just simply being informative.

To call it a red state would be quite the understatement: it is one of the five least populous (770k) and most rural in the country; it has a 2A constitutional carry policy; it has a straight up abortion ban now save for extreme exceptions (incest, rape, etc.) post-Roe; it has the most churches per capita and highest percentage of church attendance of any state in the country (majority Lutheran protestant); it has been America's 2nd biggest shale oil and natural gas producer behind only Texas for the better part of the last dozen years and is/was instrumental in achieving energy independence; it has swung blue in a POTUS election 1 time (1964 LBJ landside) since 1936. It is a powerhouse of agriculture production.

It not only wields significant impact on NoDak's economy but is practically a way of life with deep ties to culture and heritage. The state government moves to protect it aggressively at the behest of the people, and when they don't they are overruled thanks to a constitutional amendment that allows the public to hold a referendum on any legislation passed by the state assembly. As an aside, it's also the only US state with a publicly owned bank and has a sovereign wealth fund tied to the revenues of oil and gas production similar to our Norwegian kin back in the ancestral lands. This was an event that took place during the Trump era (2016-2018).

So it begs the question on how the hell this could happen.

And while the law is very effective in its restrictions on banning corporations, limited liability companies (LLC) and foreign non-US citizens from buying up farmland, there are some exceptions and loopholes. Gates was able to purchase 2,000+ acres because it was done through a trust, which is allowed so long as the land is leased back to farmers. China was able to do so because the company's purchase didn't exceed 640 acres (mere 300) and it won't be utilizing the land for farming but rather investing in a $700 million corn-milling facility which also qualifies as a business-use exception.

Of course, that is the front. There really isn't any doubt that it'll co-function as a facility for intelligence gathering and military espionage given they picked a location right down the road from the US Air Force base in Grand Forks. This base also just so happens to be the de facto HQ of US drone development and technology in addition to serving as a center of its military communications around the world.

To see the ND governor (a former Microsoft exec fwiw, lol) so apparently giddy about it is annoying. So what the fuck does Gates have to do with any of this, if anything? I don't know, maybe nothing. He could hypothetically buy up millions of acres as a full-on private citizen and he already has the largest portfolio of privately owned farmland in the US (albeit still minuscule the grand scheme).

It's a question I'm interested in Surebro speculation on though.

This has drawn attention and potential action.

Oh look , yet another 'conspiracy theory' coming true.
Time for the bleating sheep to justify or just ignore it....

 

[Rholk]

Oh look , yet another 'conspiracy theory' coming true.
Time for the bleating sheep to justify or just ignore it....

Wait, what was the conspiracy theory regarding this, that China was trying to buy up US farmland?

 

[Deorum]

Great thread @Deorum - thank you for your ongoing contributions. The information you've provided has been clear, concise, and transparent. I learned quite a bit and am pleasantly surprised at this recent development. This fight will be ongoing, but it's safe to declare a minor victory on behalf of North Dakota. Congratulations, Sherbro.

P.S. - interesting how all this was before the Chinese balloon stuff, but not too far before. Coincidence?

Thanks. I'd call it a borderline major victory in large part because it came from the ground up with an immediate community uproar and then persistent pressure on local politicians who initially refused to budge. The Feds didn't swoop in to save the day, and CFIUS was going to allow the project to move forward. The state stepped up and handled its own business, as it should be.

 

[CyberRubberDuck]

Wait, what was the conspiracy theory regarding this, that China was trying to buy up US farmland?

Yep.

 

[Rholk]

Yep.

That wasn't really much of a classical conspiracy theory tho was it?
Basicly everyone but the guilty/involved parties said that was what was happening
And now the state intervened, that's pretty much how it should be imo.

Not that we can rest assured that they'll do the right thing, it probably involved alot of public pressure.