DeSantis signs bills that bans Chinese citizens from buying land in Florida
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed multiple bills on Monday (May 8, 2023) that prohibit Chinese citizens from purchasing land in the state. DeSantis signed bills SB 264, SB 846, and SB 258 into law, noting how he called on his state legislature last year to build upon its efforts to combat corporate espionage and higher education subterfuge carried out by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its agents.
SB 264 will prohibit “governmental entities from contracting with foreign countries and entities of concern and restricts conveyances of agricultural lands and other interests in real property to foreign principals,” which include the People’s Republic of China and other entities and individuals affiliated with the country. SB 864, referred to as Agreements of Educational Entities with Foreign Entities, will bar state colleges and universities and their employees and representatives from accepting any gifts “in their official capacities from a college or university based in a foreign country of concern.” SB 258 will require the state’s Department of Management Services “to create a list of prohibited applications owned by a foreign principal or foreign countries of concern, including China, which present a cybersecurity and data privacy risk.”
Haipei Shue, President of UCA (United Chinese Americans) says that it is a Dark Day in America. On its home page UCA compares it to the Chinese Exclusion Act signed by President Chester A. Arthur almost on the same date 141 years ago on May 6, 1882. It prohibited all immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years. The Chinese Exclusion Act was the first and only major U.S. law ever implemented to prevent all members of a specific national group from immigrating to the United States.
Passage of the law was preceded by growing anti-Chinese sentiment and anti-Chinese violence, as well as various policies targeting Chinese migrants. The act was initially intended to last for 10 years, but was renewed and strengthened in 1892 with the Geary Act and made permanent in 1902. The law remained in force until the passage of the Magnuson Act in 1943, which repealed the exclusion and allowed 105 Chinese immigrants to enter the United States each year. Chinese immigration later increased with the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, which abolished direct racial barriers, and later by the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which abolished the National Origins Formula.
The deteriorating relationships between the US and China, has led many politicians from both sides of the aisle to bash China and by inference, Chinese and Asian Americans. One-third of Asian Americans fear threats, physical attacks and most say violence against them is rising.
This is not the America that claims to be the citadel of democracy, freedom, liberty, equality, justice, and opportunity.
This is not the America that claims to be the citadel of democracy, freedom, liberty, equality, justice, and opportunity.
