In another sign of the Biden administration’s blithe disregard for U.S. national security, a shocking report in the Washington Post last week revealed that Chinese companies have been purchasing land around 19 military bases across the country.
The danger is clear: Beijing could easily use drones, tracking devices and other surveillance technology as part of its espionage operations, including monitoring traffic entering and leaving the base.
And it is clear intention: Sun Guangxin, a former People’s Liberation Army general with close ties to the Chinese Communist Party, owns approximately 40 percent of Chinese-owned land in the United States and, notably, purchased $110 million worth of land adjacent to Laughlin Air Force Base in Val Verde County, Texas, over the course of several years starting in 2016.
His plans to operate “wind farms” in the state were blocked by the Lone Star Infrastructure Act, which would prevent companies with ties to “adversary nations” from accessing the state’s power grid.
Texas isn’t the only state fighting back: Fifteen states have passed laws restricting foreign ownership of U.S. land in 2023, and 20 more are set to enact similar laws this year.
But why isn’t the Biden administration doing more?
Yes, President Biden signed an executive order last month to force a Chinese-owned bitcoin mining company to sell land near the F.E. Warren Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming, which hosts intercontinental ballistic missiles.
He may do the same to oust an owner with ties to the Chinese Communist Party. all Farmland near military installations.
Several lawmakers have sought to address the issue at the national level.
Last year, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) reintroduced legislation that would require the president to ban entities with ties to the Chinese government from buying U.S. farmland. (Which is nearly all of the land in question.) Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Mike Rounds (R-SD) have introduced legislation to block purchases by China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
However, all of these bills have died in committee.
Congress should act quickly. In the meantime, Biden needs to begin thwarting the Chinese Communist Party’s slow and measured invasion of our country.
