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There never was and never will be a plan to sell Nashua’s water company to a Chinese beverage company, Mayor Jim Donchess said Tuesday night.

“I think you’ve been told things that aren’t true,” Donchess said.

People from outside the city crowded into the Gate City’s Board of Aldermen meeting Tuesday, stirred up by politicians like GOP congressional candidate Lily Tang Williams and U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-NH02), who have been sounding alarms about Nongfu Spring.

Nongfu is China’s largest private beverage company and paid $67 million for a commercial property in the city earlier this year. Much has been made about the seemingly secretive nature of the purchase. But Donchess labeled those concerns fake news. Nongfu was openly invited into New Hampshire by Gov. Chris Sununu’s administration as part of an economic development initiative, the Democratic mayor said.

Packed Nashua Board of Aldermen meeting to discuss land purchase by major Chinese company on August 12, 2025

“If you have a problem with this, you’re in the wrong place. This was initiated and pursued by Concord. We are kind of just spectators to the whole thing,” Donchess told the crowd.

Nashua’s water utility, Pennichuck Water, is a company owned by the city. Pennichuck CEO John Boisvert said everyone in Nashua would know if there was ever a sale in the works, but there isn’t, he said.

“We are not for sale, and you all would know it if we were,” Boisvert said. 

Alderman Michael O’Brien, a retired city firefighter, called the Nongfu rumors a fire they didn’t start.

“An arson, if you will,” O’Brien said.

O’Brien was one of the city officials involved in the decade-long fight by the city to buy Pennichuck. At the time, Nashua wanted to prevent a foreign company from buying the local utility. Donchess said given the history, no one in the city government would approve any sale.

“The City of Nashua spent a lot of money, a lot of effort, and a long legal struggle to make sure a French company didn’t buy the water company,” Donchess said.

Nongfu was enticed to set up shop in Nashua by state officials, Donchess said. The company was already looking to expand into the United States and had narrowed its choices down to Nashua or a site in Maryland.

The company chose Nashua on the expectation that it would create hundreds of jobs in the city by opening a bottling plant. But rumors swirled for months that the city was selling Pennichuck, or selling water rights, or selling Pennichuck land to Nongfu. All are complete fabrications, Donchess said.

“Politicians are trying to get you upset … We understand that you may have concerns about this. We don’t really control any of this,” Donchess said. “You may be frustrated and angry, but (Nashua officials) are not the people you should be angry with.”

The state government is in control of nearly every aspect of Nongfu’s start-up. Under state law, Pennichuck is required to sell water to any customer, including foreign-owned companies. The Public Utilities Commission sets the price for the water. Additionally, the Public Utilities Commission would ultimately be able to veto the sale of any assets, like Pennichuck’s water rights or land.

Public comment for the meeting was scheduled to take place later in the meeting. Other Aldermen expressed frustration with the Nongfu misinformation coming from outside the city.

But some of the rumors may be coming from closer to home. Alderman Melbourne Moran blamed outside politicians for ginning up fear about the city selling the utility, while at the same time saying people should be afraid of large corporations poisoning the water supply.

“It’s reasonable to assume that a billionaire or a multinational corporation would poison the people of the city. The people are right to be concerned,” Moran said. 

Moran went on to say that the United States would not take the poisoning of Nashua by a Chinese beverage company lightly.

“We would crush them in a war like that,” Moran said.

The hottest question in Nashua is why Chinese beverage giant Nongfu Spring spent $67 million to buy an industrial building in the Gate City valued at a quarter of that amount. It’s going to be front and center at the Nashua Board of Aldermen meeting Tuesday night.

For months, speculation has swirled around the motivations behind Zhong Shanshan’s decision to purchase the property and buy up millions of gallons of water from the city’s supply. Zhong, the richest man in China with a net worth of around $60 billion, operates his business under the scrutiny of the Chinese Communist Party.

Concerns surround the building’s proximity to area military installations — the New Boston Space Force Station is just 20 minutes away — as well as defense contractors and vital infrastructure. It’s also in the flight path of the Nashua Airport.

All of that has added to the angst of Granite Staters concerned about growing Chinese influence in the U.S. It’s also sparked a flurry of national media attention. One of the people who’s been waving the red flag is former Chinese citizen Lily Tang Williams, who is running to represent Nashua in the U.S. Congress and plans to attend Tuesday’s Board of Aldermen meeting.

“I lived under the regime for 24 years,” Williams told radio host Jack Heath Monday. “I’m very aware of the ambitions of China’s leader, Xi Jinping. He has a dream for China, which is to overtake the United States by 2049 and become the dominant power. This is his long-term goal and China is our biggest adversary country.”

That is why Williams asks, “Why do we even sell our natural resources like water to our biggest adversary?”

Nongfu purchased the 330,000-square-foot property at 80 Northwest Boulevard in February. The property had last been used by an educational supply company. At the time of the sale, the name of the buyer was not disclosed.

Nongfu sells bottled water, tea, juices, and other drinks. It was one of the first private beverage companies to emerge in China in the 1990s and helped make Zhong China’s richest man.

When Williams, who is challenging incumbent U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D),  first began talking about the Nongfu Spring purchase, she was largely ignored. But in a sign of the political potency of the issue, last week Goodlander sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in his capacity as Chairperson of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) calling for a retroactive review of the $67 million purchase.

“Anytime we see a major acquisition of important real estate by a foreign adversary or competitor near sensitive American facilities, whether it be farm land, water infrastructure, or land near our military installations, we must investigate that thoroughly to understand if there is a threat posed to our communities, our economy, or our military,” Goodlander said in a statement.

What has some local residents worried is the fact that the Northwest Boulevard property is adjacent to Pennichuck Pond, one of many ponds in the Pennichuck water system that serves as the main source of water for Nashua.

Nashua’s water supply is managed by the Pennichuck Corporation, a semi-private water company controlled by the city. Nashua purchased Pennichuck in 2012 in a unique $200 million deal that left the corporate structure in place but positioned the city as the sole shareholder.

While some have expressed concerns that Nongfu planned to buy out Pennichuck and take over the water company, that won’t happen. Pennichuck Board Chair C. George Bower told NHJournal that Nongfu isn’t getting anything but water from Pennichuck, and it will be treated like any other commercial water customer.

“There is zero plan to sell the company, there is zero plan to sell any land. We have no land to sell,” Bower said.

Zhong’s relationship with the CCP, his company’s less-than-stellar environmental history, and the apparent secrecy surrounding the Nashua plant prompted Gov. Kelly Ayotte to say she would be watching the deal to make sure Nongfu remains a Pennichuck customer and not an owner.

“It’s critical that we safeguard New Hampshire from foreign adversaries like China. We need to ensure we aren’t allowing any national security threat to take root in our state,” Ayotte said in June.

The purchase was also part of the motivation behind legislation passed this summer to ban people from hostile foreign nations like China, Iran, and Russia from buying property in New Hampshire.

“I’m very concerned, especially when you look at what’s happening to our agricultural land and agricultural land near military bases,” said Sen. Regina Birdsell (R-Hampstead), the lead sponsor of the new law.

Pennichuck has the capacity to produce up to 35 million gallons per day, Bower said, and has plenty of capacity for Nongfu’s planned operations. Any costs associated with hooking Nongfu up to Pennichuck’s water system, like adding new water lines, will be borne by Nongfu. Pennichuck already supplies water for the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Merrimack, which Belgian beverage conglomerate InBev owns.

Republican state Sen. Kevin Avard, who represents Nashua, recently wrote in NHJournal that he’s not going to let the issue fade away.

“The fight is far from over. Nashua’s water and land belong to the people of New Hampshire — not to a foreign regime with a track record of espionage and exploitation. We must stay vigilant. No more backroom deals. No more foreign land grabs. No more gambling with our water supply and national security.”

Nashua has taken its flag-ban fight inside.

For years, the city has attempted to block citizens from flying flags it disapproves of on public flagpoles outside City Hall. Now, officials are considering a ban on signs, banners, and flags inside the aldermanic chambers as well. Some aldermen are unhappy about what members of the public are saying with their signs.

Like calling them “asshats.”

Alderman Rick Dowd is leading the push for an ordinance that would prohibit any display items in the chambers during public meetings.

“There’s no need for debate. This ordinance is going to make it a rule we can enforce,” Dowd said Monday night during a meeting of the Personnel/Administrative Affairs Committee.

According to Dowd, the signs, banners, and flags displayed at public meetings have gotten out of hand. He claims some attendees are blocking cameras and obstructing others’ views with large signs, and that the displays could potentially block emergency exits. While Nashua previously operated under an unwritten “gentlemen’s agreement” against such displays, Dowd said too many members of the public now ignore that tradition and bring their signs anyway.

“We need to embrace this ordinance to be fair to everyone who comes to our meetings,” Dowd said.

But before the meeting, the New England First Amendment Coalition (NEFAC) raised concerns. NEFAC President Gregory Sullivan and Executive Director Justin Silverman sent aldermen a letter warning that the ordinance, as written, may violate the First Amendment.

“While there may be circumstances that would allow reasonable restrictions on these types of expression, a general prohibition based on a ‘security concern’ without any additional guidance as to what would constitute such a concern is ripe for impermissible viewpoint discrimination. The current language of O-25-060 does not include such guidance. It also allows for these forms of expression to be prohibited without any explanation provided by the Board,” Sullivan and Silverman wrote.

“Worse, the analysis accompanying the ordinance provides that the rule on banners, flags, and signs can be waived at any time, which encourages viewpoint discrimination and favoritism—both prohibited by the New Hampshire state constitution and the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.”

Aldermen Ben Clemons and Tim Sennott expressed concern that Dowd’s ordinance goes too far to address a problem they say has already been resolved. Aldermen already have the authority to ban vulgar or disruptive displays and speech during meetings. They can also remove individuals who attempt to electioneer during public sessions.

“That’s one of the shortcomings of the First Amendment—someone’s always going to push the envelope,” Sennott said.

Clemons argued that any new ordinance should make room for legitimate visual aids or other valid forms of political speech during public comment.

“There has to be a middle ground somewhere,” Clemons said.

Committee Chair Alderman Shoshanna Kelly demonstrated that middle ground at the start of Monday’s meeting. Resident Paula Johnson brought a pasteboard to illustrate the types of displays the public has used in the past to make points about city government policy. The next speaker, resident Laurie Ortolano, brought pieces of paper with slogans like “Derek T. is an Asshat” printed on them. Kelly cut her off and took away the remainder of Ortolano’s speaking time.

“We have the authority to make rules about what we allow or don’t allow. This is our meeting, and we need to make sure it is expedient and that we can get done what we need to get done,” Kelly said later.

Ortolano’s sign appeared to refer to Alderman Derek Thibeault, one of several board members she has publicly sparred with in recent years.

The Israeli flag, the white and blue banner with the Star of David, is the official symbol of the state of Israel, one of America’s closest allies. And yet the City of Nashua told a federal judge Israel’s flag is too controversial to fly at City Hall Plaza.

The Pride flag, on the other hand, is more than welcome on Nashua city property, despite being an entirely political symbol of the LGBT movement.

Nashua’s Assistant Corporation Counsel Jonathan Barnes said flying Israel’s flag would spark a flood of angry phone calls and threats, while “reasonable citizens” wouldn’t be bothered by the Pride flag.

Those revelations came last month in federal court as part of the city’s legal defense against a lawsuit filed by resident Beth Scaer. The city rejected her requests to fly the Pine Tree Riot flag and a banner promoting girls-only sports on Nashua’s public flagpole. Scaer claims she’s the victim of viewpoint discrimination by the Democrat-controlled city. She is represented by the Institute for Free Speech and local counsel Roy McCandless.

In the wake of the lawsuit, Nashua Mayor Jim Donchess quietly ended the city’s community flag pole tradition.

During the Nov. 5 hearing before Judge Talesha Saint-Marc, Nashua’s Assistant Corporation Counsel Jonathan Barnes compared the Pine Tree Riot flag to a Nazi flag and a flag for the Soviet Union.

Barnes also brought up the city’s decision to reject a request by Nashua resident Nick Scalera to fly the Palestinian flag on a day set to remember the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa. He says that proves the city was not discriminating based on a particular viewpoint.

And, Barnes added, “If someone applied to fly the Israel flag, I would say you would probably reject that, too, because it’s just — you don’t want to wade into those waters. You want to be able to conduct your city business without getting inundated with angry phones, e-mails, and people threatening you on Twitter, or X, whatever it’s called now.”

Saint-Marc noted that “at one point the city accepted the Pride flag. That’s still a controversial position.”

Barnes responded by invoking American Freedom Defense Initiative v. King County (2016) In that case, ads featuring the images of Islamist terrorists were rejected by the transit system, which argued they weren’t suitable. AFDI sued, lost in the lower courts and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up the case. The district court ruled the space was a “limited public forum” and that the system’s restrictions were “reasonable and viewpoint neutral.” 

“In American Freedom Defense Initiative the ban on less controversial advertising was upheld. It wasn’t all controversial advertising,” Barnes argued.

“So, in the grand scheme of things, you know, there are Pride flags flown all over the country. The White House lights up with the colors in June. There are parades all over the country. There might be some people that are upset by that, but there are some people that are upset by the American flag. They would sooner (fly) the Soviet flag fly. Most reasonable citizens don’t find that subject matter to be controversial,” Barnes said.

“The Pride flag?” the judge asked.

“Correct,” Barnes replied.

“I think some reasonable citizens may disagree,” Saint-Marc said, to which Barnes replied, “Some might, but it’s less controversial than, say, a swastika.”

The city’s argument that the official flag of the nation of Israel is too controversial to fly, and suggesting that “reasonable citizens” would object, raised eyebrows.

“The City of Nashua’s terrifying argument demonstrates why free speech is so important,” said Institute for Free Speech attorney Nathan Ristuccia. “We cannot trust the government to decide whose views are too controversial to be permitted.”

Steve Bolton, Nashua’s long-time lead corporation counsel, tried to clean up the city’s position. He told NHJournal Barnes’ comments about Israel were part of a speculative argument that does not reflect the views of Mayor Jim Donchess or the Board of Aldermen.

“It was hypothetical, but that’s certainly not the position of the City of Nashua,” Bolton said.

Barnes was not in the office Wednesday and did not respond to requests for comment.

Israel is a United States ally and the only democracy in the Middle East. It’s also fighting a war against antisemitic terrorist organizations backed by Iran following the brutal Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack in which 1,300 people were murdered. 

For his part, Scalera does not understand how Nashua is deciding which flag to fly. He said he was told the city would not fly the Palestinian flag due to the ongoing war.

“The City of Nashua has not shied away from flying the flags of foreign nations, especially foreign nations involved in active conflict. For example, in the wake of Russia’s illegal and brutal invasion of Ukraine, the City proudly raised the Ukrainian flag in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, as well as the Ukrainian population here in Nashua,” Scalera told NHJournal.

Scalera was also told by members of the Board of Alderman that Nashua would not allow a flag from a territory, like Palestine, that is not officially recognized as a nation.

“However, Nashua has also raised the flag of Kurdistan, which is at this point in time an autonomous region, and hopefully one day a nation-state, but nevertheless was not one at the time of the flag raising,” Scalera said.

Documents filed in the case show the city recently approved a day celebrating the Dominican Republic, which is currently accused of ethnic cleansing for its handling of Haitian refugees. The city also flew a Pride flag last year on orders from Donchess. However, a request for a pro-life flag to celebrate the overturning of the Roe vs. Wade decision was rejected.  

“Censorship,” said state Sen. Kevin Avard (R-Nashua) when asked about the case.

“It all boils down to whom the mayor and alderman of Nashua are comfortable offending and who they would rather not. The Pine Tree ‘Appeal to Heaven’ folks, or the Rainbow Flag-LBTQ community. It doesn’t sound like they want to hear from people of faith.”

And Rep. Judy Aron (R-Acworth), a Jewish member of the New Hampshire House and an outspoken defender of Israel, called the city’s actions “sad.”

“If the leaders of the City of Nashua can’t handle free speech, then perhaps the decision to end the traditional program is sad and disappointing but probably a good decision.”

Aron offered her own solution. “They should just fly a white flag of surrender.”