Gotion Vice President Chuck Thelen dodged during an interview this week about his company’s links to the Chinese Communist Party.
Thelen is defending the company’s intentions to build a massive plant in rural Michigan as opposition grows among residents.
He appeared on a Q & A on WBZX this week and was asked about the company’s bylaws, which require allegiance to the Chinese Communist Party.
During a Q&A on WBZX this week, a Gotion VP was asked about his company's links to the Chinese Communist Party.
"I'm not the political science major", Chuck Thelen responded. pic.twitter.com/KIJCsLt1qL
— The Midwesterner (@Th_Midwesterner) March 30, 2023
“It must follow the Constitution of the Communist Party of China,” Dr. Ormand Hook observed during the radio appearance.
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“I have an undergrad (degree) in electrical engineering and a graduate degree in operations management. I’ve never studied political science,” Thelen said, “so I don’t understand how other countries run their company organizations.”
At issue is the depth of detail Gotion included in its bylaws, which requires the company to “Ensure and supervise the implementation of the Party’s guidelines, principles and policies in the Company, and implement major strategic decisions of the CPC (Communist Party of China) Central Committee and the State Council as well as relevant important work arrangements of the Party organization at the higher level”.
The Gotion corporate document also states that the company’s Party Committee shall “Strengthen the construction of Party organization and Party members at the grass-roots level of the Company” and oversee growing the “Communist Youth League and other mass work of the Company”.
“As far as how they mandate that filing, I’m not smart enough to answer that question. I’ll leave that to the policy makers,” he said, acknowledging the authenticity of the documents available on the Gotion comapny website.
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“I’ve rumor as to why they’re worded in such fashion, but I’m the political science major to really go into depth on that,” Thelen said.