Imagine quietly invading a foreign country without making the first threat, firing a single bullet, or raising any alarm.
Instead of taking hostile action, you simply purchase the nation you are invading one acre at a time.
That is exactly what China is doing in the United States today.
It is becoming increasingly obvious that Chinese Communists will stop at nothing to exert control in the United States. They already steal our intellectual property, undercut our markets, hack our computers with cyber espionage, and brainwash Americans, especially our children, through social media propaganda.
Now, they are targeting our most valuable resource — our land.
As of 2022, the Chinese and other foreign entities and individuals owned 43.4 million acres of our nation’s agricultural land, which represents roughly 2% of all land in the U.S.
Rather than a simple coincidence, this is a methodical, full-scale strategy to weaken America from within, as evidenced by the fact that in the last year alone, the Chinese Communist Party acquired more than 349,000 acres across 27 states, about 82% more than the year prior.
Before the leftists and progressives among us attribute my warning to some kind of Chicken Little conspiracy theory, I will note that my own family is no stranger to the threats of Communist China.
My great-grandparents fought against the Chinese Communists in Chiang Kai-shek’s army and later fled to Taiwan to escape the stranglehold of tyranny and totalitarianism.
Scared that Communist China might invade Taiwan at any time, they still waited years to immigrate to the U.S. the correct and legal way because they respected the rule of law and believed in the promise of this country.
They passed that same desire for freedom and liberty and deep respect for the law down through our family to me.
The threat posed by land acquisitions by our enemies is the reason why, in 2023, our Legislature approved House Majority Leader Scott Stadthagen’s “Alabama Property Protection Act” prohibiting communist countries and hostile nations like China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea from purchasing farmland in Alabama.
The statute also prohibits those same countries and entities from purchasing land in our state that is located within a 10-mile radius of military installations or adjoining critical infrastructure like power grids, dams, nuclear plants, and others.
Just last year, China acquired land strategically located near 19 military bases across the United States — Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, N.C.; Fort Cavazos, also known as Fort Hood, in Killeen, Texas; Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in San Diego, California; MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, and others — but Alabama and its facilities remain protected because we anticipated the threat and passed proactive legislation.
The rest of the nation would be wise to quickly follow Alabama’s example.
President Trump was the first leader to treat China like the threat it is — and he is 100% right.
We learned during the economic turmoil of the COVID pandemic that relying on China to provide medical supplies and personal protective equipment, computer chips, semiconductors, and other critical needs threatens our national security, which is why Donald Trump is working so hard to bring manufacturing jobs back to America.
His efforts to force transparency on foreign investment and protect our supply chains must continue, and it is something I plan to bring to our sweet home Alabama.
We must have leadership on all levels that will stand up to China — not roll over.
As Alabama’s next State Auditor, I will assume the task of protecting state property and continue sounding the message that Alabama and its resources are not for sale to the Chinese Communists or other foreign adversaries.
Derek Chen, a Vestavia Hills businessman and lawyer, is a Republican candidate for Alabama State Auditor. Born in the United States to legal immigrants from Taiwan, Chen is a long-time GOP activist and Donald Trump supporter.
