Texts between Gotion Vice President Chuck Thelen and former Green Charter Township Jim Chapman reveal Chapman intended to wear red in an apparent attempt to please a company executive with ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

Chapman and Thelen were coordinating a July 2023 visit to Mecosta County for the Chinese executives of Gotion, including Chairman Zhen Li.

“I want to do the best at the visit,” Chapman wrote to Thelen on July 4. “Need some advise (sic). I caught the wear red comment so will dig out a red tie or find a shirt.”

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“A tie is not needed for site review we will be business casual,” Thelen responded 11 minutes later. “Maybe mix the two things and give him a red ferris state tie.”

Ferris State University’s colors are crimson and gold. The school is in neighboring Big Rapids.

Zhen Li was identified as chairman and CEO of Gotion in a 2021 presentation:

Zhen Li is founder of Gotion High-Tech and Gotion Inc. is the wholly owned U.S. subsidiary. He is a former government employee and participant in the local communist government leadership.

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According to Moomoo Technologies, he was “a researcher at the Economic Research Center of the Hefei Municipal Government,” and a “delegate to the 13th, 14th, and 15th sessions of the Hefei Municipal People’s Congress.”

A 1986 Central Intelligence Agency briefing on “Provincial Organizations” made public in 2011 “identifies individuals who hold positions on the provincial level in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), legislatures, government, and selected mass organizations.” It contained the names of that era’s leaders of the Hefei Municipal People’s Congress.

A video posted in 2015 by Gotion shed more light on Zhen Li’s access and influence in the CCP.

The Gotion founder says, “I used to work in the government and also have experience in government agencies.”

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He recounted an interaction with communist dictator Xi Jinping while Li show ed off the company’s electric bus technology, “When President Xi visited Hefei last time, I introduced to him about the battery we provided for JAC’s electric vehicle”, and touted the growth in battery capacity.

Chapman was later recalled over his stubborn support for the Gotion battery plant project. He had run as a Republican for decades. During the recall election, he ran as an independent.