A Phil Hall Op-Ed: Earlier today, I was scrolling through X and stumbled upon a video posted by Rep. Pat Harrigan (R-NC), a freshman member of Congress, that was taken at Fort Bragg, the military base in North Carolina.
“We found out that GNC is wholly owned by the Chinese Communist Party,” Harrigan declared in the video, noting there were four GNC locations at Fort Bragg, which he described as “the heart of our Special Operations Forces.”
Yes, the GNC in question is the popular retail chain that sells vitamins, supplements and wellness products. But the Chinese connection to the company is no secret, nor has it been for the last seven years. Harbin Pharmaceutical Group, a Chinese state-owned enterprise, acquired a 40% stake in the retailer in 2018 for $300 million after GNC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Two years later, it wholly acquired the company for $770 million.
Harrigan has introduced the Military Installation Retail Security Act that would prevent companies owned or controlled by China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea from having retail storefronts on US military installations. For the record, the quantity of US-based retail chains owned by Russia, Iran and North Korea is zero while Chinese government ownership of nationwide retail chains is limited to GNC.
“Right now, a company owned by the Chinese Communist Party is operating over 80 stores on American military bases,” said Harrigan in a separate statement. “These stores are in a position to collect personal data from our troops, operate with almost no oversight, and answer directly to a hostile foreign government. That’s not just reckless, it’s a national security threat. My bill closes the loopholes and kicks these companies off our bases for good.”
Of course, the Chinese government has made its presence known in the US through the purchase of large chunks of agricultural property – with many parcels conveniently close to US military bases. According to the US Department of Agriculture, China owned roughly 350,000 acres of farmland across 27 states last year.
We are also aware of digital threats from China-based hackers, secret Chinese police stations on American soil, Chinese infiltration of colleges and universities via the controversial Confucious Institute program, and the data that flows back to China through TikTok. Plus, who can forget that jolly spy balloon that the Biden administration allowed to float across the country?
But is GNC selling out America to Xi Jinping? The company has been a retail presence on US military bases since 2002, long before the Chinese had anything to do with the company, and a spokesperson pushed back at the insinuation of traitor behavior, telling Fox News Digital, “Our systems are independently monitored and meet strict federal standards, partaking in multiple audits throughout the year.”
Neither President Trump nor Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have raised concerns over having GNC stores on military bases – and Harrigan offered no evidence of Chinese threats to national security through this highly unlikely outlet. Harrington’s legislation was introduced on April 1, but as of this writing it has no co-sponsors, nor is there a companion piece of legislation in the Senate.
It is difficult to say why Harrigan fixated on GNC as a potential security threat, unless the outrageous nature of his accusation was a quick and easy way for this new congressman to call attention to himself. And if that’s the case, this first impression was a flop.
Phil Hall is editor of Weekly Real Estate News. He can be reached at phil@wrenews.com.
Photo by Mike Mozart / Flickr Creative Commons
