Red State Lawmakers Pass Bill Banning Chinese Land Purchases Near Military Sites After DCNF Investigation

The Kansas House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday preventing foreign adversaries from buying up land near sensitive military sites following a Daily Caller News Foundation investigation. In an 84-39 vote, the Kansas House passed SB172, which prevents firms and entities linked to China and other countries identified as foreign adversaries from owning or purchasing agricultural land within 150 miles of a military installation. The bill's passage follows on the heels of a DCNF investigation that discovered the parent company of a firm that planned to buy land in Kansas is extensively tied to the Chinese Communist Party. "The Chinese Communist Party is the greatest national security threat facing Kansas. President Xi will stop at nothing to infiltrate our supply chains and gain access to our military bases," Republican Kansas Rep. Jake LaTurner told the DCNF on Wednesday. LaTruner previously urged the Kansas Legislature to take such action, citing DCNF reporting. If it becomes law, the bill could prevent Cnano USA, a subsidiary of Chinese-based firm Cnano Jiangsu Technology Co., Ltd., from carrying out its plan to build a 333,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Johnson County, Kansas. Following the DCNF's investigation, Kansas officials and lawmakers raised concerns about Cnano Jiangsu's presence, with Attorney General Kris Kobach seeking to block its plant construction.