Exclusive: ‘Anti-China moves’ pay off BIGLY — Governor Sanders and Arkansas earn A+ for crushing CCP land-grabs
Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
Whereas subsequent scorecards will reflect annual reviews of legislative activity, State Shield indicated its inaugural scorecard reflects an evaluation of work completed from 2021 to 2025. During that period, Arkansas passed numerous laws aimed at curbing foreign influence.
Last year, for instance, the Natural State, enacted legislation:
- withholding funding for a state-supported institution of higher education that has a Confucius Institute or similar institute related to China, prohibiting state-sponsored investment in China, and banning sister cities with China;
- barring Chinese Communist Party-controlled businesses from leasing any interest in Arkansas land or holding any interest in agricultural land located within a 10-mile radius of critical infrastructure; and
- prohibiting colleges and universities from engaging in the creation of agricultural products, conducting classified research, or conducting agricultural research under a contract with a prohibited foreign party.
In addition to ratifying these and other pieces of legislation on-theme, Gov. Sanders moved the needle on countering Chinese influence with numerous actions and executive orders.
‘It is indeed necessary to be vigilant against Arkansas’ anti-China moves.’
Among the gubernatorial actions highlighted by State Shield was Sanders’ January 2023 executive order aimed at protecting Arkansas information and communications technology from the influence of adversarial foreign regimes, and her EO banning CCP-linked TikTok on state networks and state-issued devices.
Arkansas’ efforts to curb Chinese influence have infuriated the communists in Beijing.
When, for instance, Arkansas ordered the subsidiary of a China-owned agricultural firm ChemChina to sell off land in the Natural State pursuant to Arkansas Act 636 — legislation ratified in 2023 by Sanders — the CCP propaganda publication Global Times viciously attacked the governor.
The publication accused Sanders both of advancing “undignified” rhetoric and proving that “American politicians are incapable of driving local development, but are good at orchestrating political farces.”
It further warned that “it is indeed necessary to be vigilant against Arkansas’ anti-China moves, as they could potentially lead to imitation and similar actions by other conservative U.S. states.”
State Shield’s scorecard indicates that while Arkansas leads the pack, other red states — especially Nebraska — aren’t far behind.
Sanders, whose efforts have in some cases dovetailed with the Trump administration’s, said early last year, “President Trump is the first president in my lifetime to take a hard line against communist China, and we are proud to support that work in Arkansas by getting communist China off our land and out of our state.”
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