Fuyao Glass, a Chinese-owned glass company in Ohio now at the center of a federal fraud investigation, is working deep behind the scenes to oppose a state bill that would ban foreign enemies from buying land and operating businesses in Ohio.
The state legislature in Columbus is debating HB1 and SB88, each of which would ban citizens and companies in countries on the Department of Defense foreign adversaries list from buying land in the Buckeye State with the goal of protecting farmlands, military bases, key infrastructure, businesses, and jobs for Americans in Ohio.
Democrats have lined up to oppose the bills, calling them “racist” and even shrilly comparing them to the “Holocaust.” They also claim the bill is aimed at preventing “migrants” from buying private homes.
At least some of the opposition is being funded by Fuyao Glass, a Chinese-owned company in Montgomery County, Ohio, that has been at the center of a federal investigation into human trafficking and charges of illegally importing foreign employees from China and then holding them in near slave conditions.
The Fuyao factory goes back to 2014, when its Chinese owners moved in to purchase a General Motors glass facility after the carmaker closed the operation down. The owners signed a $200 million agreement to operate the factory in Moraine, near Dayton.
Not long after its opening, the plant became the subject of a documentary by Michelle and Barack Obama’s film production company. The documentary was immediately nominated for Best Documentary Oscars Award in 2019, and, probably unsurprisingly, won the award at the Oscars in 2020.
But now, as the legislature debates the two property protection acts, Fuyao is at the heart of opposition.
For instance, Caixia Jin, who has been touted as a H-1B visa expert, has testified before the various committees holding hearings on the bills. Jin is listed as a “Visa Specialist” for Fuyao Glass America Inc. and is a native of China who’s job is to prioritize foreign workers over Americans for jobs at Fuyao Glass.
Like the Democrats opposing the bill, Jin characterizes the bill as a tool for “racial profiling and housing discrimination” against migrants.
According to Guidarini, Fuyao also helped organize and support the Democrat press conference referenced above. And several Asian advocacy organizations are also lining up to oppose the bills.
While Democrats claim these bills target migrants to prevent them from buying private homes, the bills do not contain blanket bans on all foreign ownership of land. The bills contain rules specifying bans on locales around critical industry and a radius requirement that bans purchases around military bases and key infrastructure. The bills do not blanket the state in bans on property purchases by migrants or non-citizens.
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