By Max Fontaine | Beacon Business Beat

Pending final approval of the Bass Lake Town Council, construction on a new manufacturing facility could begin as early as the day after said final approval is granted.

China’s People’s Public Relations Force, Sister City Division announced in February its plan to build a 450,000 square-foot bottle cap gasket facility near the shores of Bass Lake.

The gleaming new plant, to be called Beijing Bottle Cap Gaskets and Beyond, will manufacture those little rubber things that help seal in the contents of beverage bottles.

The deal between Bass Lake and its sister city, Beijing, marks the third incursion of Chinese influence. The first exchange brought Chiou Yueh to town as the chief of the Bass Lake Authority Police. The second saw the arrival earlier this month of Beijing Bait & Tackle.

Despite the addition of jobs for the ballooning Chinese immigrant population, not everyone in Bass Lake is happy with the development.

A recent protest at the new fishing supply store expressed the “vague disillusionment” of area residents at the influx of foreigners from the Far East.

“Where’s it going to stop?” asked Bass Lake resident Jorge Valasquez. “I’m vaguely disillusioned.”

The town council is expected to approve the new manufacturing complex at a meeting sometime in the future, whenever that may be.