(FreedomBeacon.com)- Republican South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem said she is pushing legislation prohibiting the Chinese Communist Party and any of its affiliates from purchasing agricultural land in the state, despite resistance from a few special interest groups.
According to reports, “agricultural organizations” wrote the governor’s staff saying they had studied an amended version of the law and were “very worried about the legality and constitutionality of the plan.” One of the organizations that voiced opposition to Noem’s idea was the South Dakota Association of Cooperatives.
Under Noem’s legislation, a commission would be created to examine proposed agricultural land purchases by foreign interests and recommend either approval or denial to the governor.
“We can all agree that China shouldn’t be buying up land here as Americans. They are an enemy,” claimed Noem, who issued an executive order banning the use of the Chinese firm ByteDance’s video-sharing software TikTok on equipment held by the government in late November.
Noem appeared with “Breitbart News Saturday” on SiriusXM radio last weekend and asserted that the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party is too great.
They are a corrupt government that stifles freedom and was established on communist principles. Noem said we shouldn’t let such exist in our lovely country.
Noem claims China has focused on acquiring land near American Air Force installations. The recently revealed B-21 bomber will be stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base in Rapid City, South Dakota, and Noem said that she is resisting any efforts by the Chinese to acquire land in her state.
This issue first came to light months ago, Noem said. She saw a land purchase in North Dakota, her neighbors to the north, where a Chinese entity bought up land next to their Air Force Base, saying they would build a corn plant. However, there wasn’t enough corn grown in that area to sustain a facility, and it came under question. For national security reasons, “we shouldn’t allow our adversaries to be present, especially close to our infrastructure. I think we can all agree on that,” Noem said.
Noem encouraged legislators to support state and municipal measures to sell off assets or prohibit the purchase of Chinese acquisitions in a letter to Congress issued last month.
