China

CCP congratulates Assad on winning recent election by 95%

Published

2 years ago

May 28, 2021

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said China was happy to see Syrian President Bashar al-Assad reelected in a press briefing Friday. Assad reportedly won the vote by 95.1%.

A reporter from Russian RIA Novosti news organization asked Lijian: “Has China sent a congratulatory message to President Assad?”

“China congratulates President Bashar on his re-election,” Lijian replied. “This year marks the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Syria featured by longstanding friendship. China firmly supports Syria’s efforts in safeguarding its national sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and stands ready to work with Syria to take the 65th anniversary as an opportunity to achieve new progress in our friendly cooperation.”

Back when President Biden won the election, China was hesitant to congratulate him. The country eventually did, ten days later. Former President Trump received his congratulatory message the very next day after the election.

While China did not question the overwhelming majority that reportedly voted for Assad, people on Twitter sounded off. Editor of Syria in Context news site Emma Beals tweeted that there was “no attempt to even pretend it’s legit.”

Assad's government says he got 95.1% of the 14.2M votes in yesterday's presidential election. More votes than there are people in the government controlled areas of the country (to include children, who couldn't vote anyway). No attempt to even pretend it's legit.
— Emma Beals (@ejbeals) May 27, 2021

Others on Twitter even suggested that his true opponents weren’t permitted to vote.

Assad now needs to find the 4.9% rebels from his suppprters permitted to vote…
— Arijit Datta Ray🇮🇳 (@Shonkho) May 28, 2021

Many videos circulated on the platform to demonstrate the corruption of counting the ballots. Al-Monitor journalist Asaad Hanna shared one such video.

Take a look at how the Syrian Presidential elections being held 👀 pic.twitter.com/MzUdXZaUkc
— Asaad Sam Hanna (@AsaadHannaa) May 27, 2021

You can follow Jenny Goldsberry on Twitter @jennyjournalism.

Related Topics:Bashar al-Assad presidential election Zhao Lijian

China

Electric Vehicle company with Chinese ties awarded $500 million of taxpayer money for 2nd U.S. plant

Published

1 week ago

September 18, 2023

Sara Carter Staff

With a little help from their Democrat friends, a Chinese electric vehicle (EV) battery company with ties to the Chinese Communist Party just announced the opening of its second plant in the United States.

Fox News reports Gotion Inc., whose parent company Gotion High-Tech is based in Hefei, China, unveiled plans to build a $2 billion lithium battery plant in Manteno, Illinois, alongside Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who cheered the project.

The announcement comes amid growing opposition to the company’s plans to build a billion-dollar factory in Mecosta County, Michigan.

In order to make the expansion happen, lobbyists for the Chinese Communist Party-tied electric vehicle company funneled cash to Democrats. “Individuals at a law firm registered as foreign agents to lobby on behalf of Gotion, a Chinese electric vehicle battery company developing a controversial project in Michigan, and wired campaign contributions to several top Democrats” reports Fox News.

“According to state and federal filings, Monique Field-Foster, an attorney at the Lansing office of the Warner Norcross + Judd law firm who is acting as a foreign agent on behalf of Gotion, donated to the campaigns of Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Whitmer’s sister Liz Gereghty and Michigan Democratic Senate hopeful Rep. Elissa Slotkin” the Fox News report continued.

“With the right incentives, nation-leading infrastructure, world-class workforce and booming clean energy production, we have transformed ourselves into an attractive location for global manufacturers. Today, we take another leap forward. It’s my pleasure to welcome Gotion to Illinois and to show the world yet again that Illinois is ready to be a player on the world stage.”

Pritzker delivered remarks late last week thanking Gotion for choosing Illinois to call “home” in a ceremony with leaders from Gotion High-Tech, including Li Zhen, the company’s chairman and president, who said he expected the factory to open in less than 12 months.

“All that we see here [in Illinois] are of enormous value to us: an enabling business environment, a supportive state government for the new energy industry and their highly efficient work, as well as the prospects of the State of Illinois in the coming years,” the Gotion president added. “We believe that Gotion’s battery technology will help to boost e-mobility in North America and the economic and trade exchanges between China and the U.S.”