What happened
A controversial bill banning Chinese nationals from purchasing property in the state of Florida will come into effect on July 1.
Under Florida governor Ron DeSantis, a series of bills were signed in May. One bill bars Chinese nationals without American citizenship or permanent residency from buying land in the state; another restricts Chinese citizens with non-tourist visas from buying land less than 5 miles away from military facilities.
The same bill also restricts immigrants from North Korea, Cuba, Russia, Iran, Syria and Venezuela from purchasing property within 10 miles of military bases. Other related bills signed by DeSantis prohibit government employees from downloading TikTok and other apps owned by Chinese companies.
“Florida is taking action to stand against the United States’ greatest geopolitical threat — the Chinese Communist party,” DeSantis stated at a press conference on May 8.
The Jing Take
Amid rising tensions between China and the US, Florida’s new ban on Chinese property buying has been met with outcry and concern by Asian-American activists and legal rights groups. The highly-contested ban comes into effect shortly after a similar bill was introduced and then dismissed in Texas.
Civil rights activists argue that Florida’s recently passed Senate Bill 264 (SB 264) is unconstitutional if not outright racist against Chinese immigrants, as well as immigrants of other nationalities. Some have even banded together to sue the state over the controversial new law.
“With geopolitical tensions between the United States and Chinese government rising, we’re once again seeing politicians like DeSantis lean into racism, hate, and fear for their own political gain. Florida’s pernicious new law weaponizes false claims of ‘national security’ against Asian immigrants and others," writes Patrick Toomey and Clay Zhu, who represent the group of Chinese citizens taking legal action against the ban.
The Chinese foreign ministry also weighed in on the matter back in February, when notions of such a bill were first discussed for Florida, Texas, Arkansas and other states. Representative Mao Ning stressed the collaborative and “mutually beneficial” nature of China and the US’ trade ties, but warned that such a ban would be a violation of market rules.
"Generalizing the concept of national security and politicizing economic, trade and investment issues violate the rules of market economy and international trade rules," Mao said.
The ban has also been contested on a national level. In May, Chinese-American congresswoman Judy Chu also spoke out on the matter: “The government’s scapegoating and stripping of the land ownership rights of Asian American communities are stains on our nation’s history,” Chu shared in a statement. “SB 264 repeats this shameful discrimination and further stokes current anti-Asian sentiment by equating Chinese people with certain immigration statuses as agents of the Chinese Communist Party.”
“SB 264 repeats this shameful discrimination and further stokes current anti-Asian sentiment by equating Chinese people with certain immigration statuses as agents of the Chinese Communist Party.”
According to US real estate market analysis, Florida remains the most popular state among foreign property buyers — with 22 percent of buyers having chosen to purchase property there in 2021. Foreign property buyers brought in 12.3 billion to the state in 2020.
The Jing Take reports on a piece of the leading news and presents our editorial team’s analysis of the key implications for the luxury industry. In the recurring column, we analyze everything from product drops and mergers to heated debate sprouting on Chinese social media.