(Miami) Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, tipped to run for president in 2024, signed into law on Monday a series of laws aimed at “countering the influence” of Beijing, in particular by prohibiting many Chinese from acquiring real estate in his state.
“We don’t want the Chinese Communist Party” in Florida, launched the elected conservative at a press conference, accusing “American elites” of having “ignored this problem for far too long”.
Elected to lead Florida in 2018, Ron DeSantis shone the spotlight on his state by turning it into a laboratory of conservative ideas.
These measures will allow Florida to counter the “economic, strategic and security” threats from China, assured the Republican, who could launch himself at any time in the race for the nomination of his party.
Concretely, one of the laws promulgated on Monday prohibits anyone domiciled in China and who does not have permanent resident status in the United States from buying properties in their state.
It also limits the acquisition of agricultural land or properties near military installations for Russian, North Korean, Iranian, Cuban, Venezuelan and Syrian citizens – considered “foreign countries at risk”.
On Monday, Ron DeSantis also tightened the TikTok ban on state officials’ phones and barred Florida universities from developing partnerships with Chinese institutions.
These measures have been criticized by the local Democratic opposition as being discriminatory.
Several other US states are also considering restricting land and real estate acquisitions by foreign nationals.