How the Chinese Communist Party Helped Block a Data Center in Maryland

By Saara Khan

Maryland’s Prince George’s County is facing a budget deficit exceeding $130 million. Yet when developers proposed a $5 billion data center campus on nearly 90 acres of vacant land in Landover, county officials imposed a two-year moratorium that put the project on hold, and a pressure campaign funded by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is responsible for the anti-development victory. 

The former Landover Mall has sat largely vacant since 2002. The proposed development offered an opportunity to attract billions in private investment, create jobs, and strengthen the county’s tax base. Instead, political opposition helped derail an opportunity the county desperately needed.

The story gets particularly interesting with the emergence of Taylor Frazier McCollum, a local resident who became the face of the grassroots opposition. Her petition against the development grew from 180 signatures to more than 20,000 after the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), a Marxist-Leninist organization, began promoting it. The group produced videos featuring McCollum, organized rallies, and distributed protest signs bearing its branding.

An investigation by the Washington Free Beacon uncovered PSL’s connections to a broader political network associated with Neville Roy Singham, an American-born businessman now based in China who has been linked to pro-Beijing propaganda organizations.

“The PSL’s DC chapter posted a video of McCollum explaining the petition. That video garnered hundreds of thousands of views.”

The revelations raise an important question: How did a seemingly spontaneous neighborhood campaign become an organizing opportunity for a Marxist-Leninist organization connected to a China-based political influence network?

Artificial intelligence has become the 21st century’s arms race, particularly between the United States and China. Data centers are the physical infrastructure powering this competition, supporting artificial intelligence, cloud computing, government systems, and advanced technological research. China has invested heavily in its own computing capabilities and recognizes computing capacity as a strategic asset. Every obstacle to American infrastructure expansion makes it harder for the United States to maintain its technological leadership. Any effort to defeat data center construction, no matter how well-intentioned, advances interests contrary to American economic and national security.

The economic consequences are particularly troubling given the county’s circumstances. A $5 billion data center campus would have brought substantial construction activity, permanent technical and operational employment, and potential long-term tax revenue. Meanwhile, Prince George’s County is facing a budget deficit exceeding $130 million, the closure of Six Flags America, and the loss of major employers.

There is a particularly striking irony in NPR’s November 7 reporting on the story. McCollum appeared before the County Council advocating for public assistance to repair her grandfather’s roof. Council Member Wanika Fisher questioned how the county could fund such programs while simultaneously discouraging economic development.

“Our county has an economic future that we have to grapple with. I don’t see where the money is coming from.”

Public assistance and community services require revenue. Driving away businesses and investment undermines the very tax base that makes those programs possible. As National Review’s Charles C.W. Cooke wryly observed:

“My progressive friends are fond of telling me that taxes are the price we pay to live in a civilization. Okay. Well, businesses are the price we pay to generate those taxes.”

Opponents have raised concerns about electricity consumption, water usage, diesel generators, and environmental impacts. These deserve serious consideration, and communities should enjoy transparency about utility costs and reasonable environmental safeguards. But there is a difference between demanding responsible development and opposing an entire industry. Environmental concerns should lead to reasonable regulations and infrastructure planning, not blanket prohibitions. McCollum has reportedly advocated a permanent ban on data centers, rather than simply stronger environmental standards.

The Free Beacon’s investigation raises broader concerns about foreign-connected political networks influencing American grassroots campaigns. Legitimate community grievances can become opportunities for ideological organizations to organize protests, amplify messaging, and influence local political decisions. Americans deserve to know who is organizing their campaigns and shaping their political objectives. This is not to suggest that McCollum knowingly worked for the Chinese government, but PSL’s documented involvement and its connections to Singham’s network warrant serious scrutiny.

The proposed development offered a $5 billion opportunity to repurpose an abandoned property, attract investment, create jobs, and strengthen Prince George’s County’s economic future. Instead, a political campaign amplified by a Marxist-Leninist organization connected to a China-based influence network helped turn that opportunity into a political liability. 

America cannot win the technological competition with China if ideological opposition prevents us from building the infrastructure necessary to compete. Data centers are essential to the future of artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and the broader digital economy.

China does not necessarily need to send spies into Prince George’s County to benefit from America’s self-inflicted economic wounds. Sometimes, all it takes is a political movement that convinces Americans to stop building their own future.