By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter

            Levy County Commissioner John Meeks on Tuesday said a state law prohibiting foreign countries hostile to the United States from buying land in Florida is slated for consideration in the spring session of the Florida Legislature, but on a related subject, he said it is also his understanding state agencies won’t be issuing any permits for importation of primates to the monkey lab property in Gulf Hammock.

            The subject of the upcoming state legislation barring foreign countries hostile to US interests from buying land in Florida was raised in the Levy County Commission meeting by resident Sally Collins, a longtime observer of commission politics, but the question of how the state would specifically deal with the Gulf Hammock property was asked by Spotlight.

            Commission Chairman Matt Brooks said he hadn’t heard of anything that would retroactively deal with the Gulf Hammock property and added that “It’s kind of difficult to legislate something that has already happened.” But Meeks said he has a different understanding of how the state would protect the Gulf Hammock property from importation of monkeys.

            Meeks, who prides himself on staying in touch with state issues and state lawmakers, said that while it was true that the state can’t walk back what has happened in the past with pieces of property already purchased by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the state hasn’t discarded the Gulf Hammock property as a priority.

            “According to State Rep. Chuck Clemons and State Sen. Keith Perry, they do intend to do something to make sure state agencies don’t provide any type of permits or any sort of allowances, to allow those type of entities to operate,” Meeks said. “In essence, they won’t be getting a permit from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to bring in any monkeys. We can prevent them through our zoning from building a lab but we (the county) can’t technically prevent them from bringing in monkeys.”

            “FWC has the regulatory authority to prevent that. State agencies won’t be permitted to give any permits or approval to anything that has to do with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The parcels that have been purchased hopefully become unusable and will be sold back to entities who are not hostile to America. That’s my understanding of how they will address the property that’s already been sold.”

            The subject of the so-called monkey lab property and its future as well as the legislation prohibiting foreign countries, business entities, or organizations with direct ties to those governments from purchasing land in Florida is expected to be brought up at Friday’s Legislative Delegation Hearing in Bronson. The hearing will start at 11 a.m. in the Levy County Government Complex auditorium which also serves as the county commission meeting room.

            JOINN Laboratories purchased the 1,400 acres of vacant land in Gulf Hammock for $5.5 million. JOINN Laboratories is a subsidiary of the Chinese government agency by the same name in China. Its two principal owners were trained as medical doctors by the Chinese communist military and reportedly have direct ties to the Chinese Community Party.

            The subject of the monkey lab property has become a sensitive issue.

            In some national news stories, Levy County residents have been painted as being xenophobic for their opposition to a Chinese government-run company proposing to build a facility to house monkeys for medical research on the Gulf Hammock property. Xenophobic means hatred of people in a foreign country. While it’s probably true Levy Countians can’t stomach the Chinese Communist Party or the Chinese communist government (who can?), it doesn’t mean they hate the Chinese people. They don’t hate the Chinese people. They aren’t xenophobic.

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Board of County Commission Regular Meeting January 17, 2023; Posted January 19, 2023