BIG RAPIDS, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – An audit commissioned by Volkswagen has found no evidence of forced labor at its plant in the Xinjiang region in China, despite concerns regarding human rights violations of the Uyghur ethnic minority. 

Volkswagen, a shareholder of Gotion Inc., which is building an Electric Vehicle battery plant in development in Big Rapids, is facing criticism after an audit results. The Gotion EV Battery plant has the support of several Michigan officials including Governor Gretchen Whitmer. However, many Michiganders have expressed concerns regarding the national and statewide security concerns of Gotion Inc.’s China linked ownership. 

MORE NEWS: Will Kamala’s Hustle for Michigan’s Black Vote Be Enough to Close the Deal?

U.S. lawmakers called for a review of Gotion Inc. in September, which despite having Volkswagen as the largest single shareholder, were concerned regarding the founder Li Zhen and his son whom they said were members of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) organizations. 

Though Volkswagen (VW) had the audit conducted at the Xinjiang site, the auditor, Löning – Human Rights & Responsible Business (a human rights management consultant) made a statement defending its findings via Linkedin. 

“Multiple news reports announced Löning – Human Rights & Responsible Business GmbH’s role as the ESG auditor of the SAIC Volkswagen (Xin Jiang) Automotive Co. Ltd facility in Urumqi,” the statement read. “The human rights situation in China and Xinjiang and the challenges in collecting meaningful data for audits are well known and are also present in this project.”

Löning further clarified the method of the audit which had several members involved. 

“The project was overseen and facilitated by Markus Löning and Christian Ewert,” the statement said. “The technical audit at the facility has been conducted by two Chinese lawyers and overseen on location by Christian Ewert. No other team member from Löning participated in, supported or backed this project.”

The auditor further expressed its methods, “Our team has diligently worked to establish ourselves as reputable and knowledgeable experts in business and human rights. We remain committed to being guided by international human rights standards in our work.”

MORE NEWS: Detroit Settles with Police and Fire Pension Board on 30-Year Plan for Deferred Payments

Former Ambassadors Joseph Cella and Pete Hoekstra shared their strong opposition to the audit results. 

“The audit by Volkswagen (VW) is inaccurate and it cannot be taken seriously, and it certainly does not clear them of the allegations of forced labor in Xinjiang,” they said in a statement.   “An independent real audit by objective observers must be conducted.”

The pair, who lead the Michigan – China Economic and Security Review Group, also took issue with those involved in the audit, expressing concerns about bias. 

“With two PRC (People’s Republic of China) attorneys playing the lead technical role of assessing its facility, there are grave concerns it was manipulated to conceal VW’s ties to the deteriorating human rights situation there,” they said in a statement. “Unconscionably, transparency, integrity, and accountability were not built into VW’s audit.  VW has a lot to lose considering 50% of their global business is in the PRC where they have a 16% market share.  It seems VW is protecting its profits, disregarding the allegations of human rights violations, and giving moral cover to Beijing’s repression of Uyghurs.” 

Jim Wormington, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch also acknowledged that the summary of the audit provided by Volkswagen made it “difficult to assess its methodology and findings.” The automaker did not release the full report according to the Associated Press. 

Michiganders have also expressed their aversion to the project, including Green Township residents who voted to remove all  Gotion supporting members from the township board.