Florida governor signs bills banning Chinese citizens from buying land in US state

WASHINGTON (AA) - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a series of bills banning Chinese citizens from buying land in the US state.

SB 246 restricts Chinese nationals from buying land unless they are also American citizens or permanent residents.

Another bill, SB 846, referred to as Agreements of Educational Entities with Foreign Entities, will prohibit state colleges and universities and their employees and representatives from accepting any gift "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.”

DeSantis's office said in a recent statement that "Florida has once again taken the lead in protecting American interests from foreign threats and has provided a blueprint for other states to do the same."

“I’m proud to sign this legislation to stop the purchase of our farmland and land near our military bases and critical infrastructure by Chinese agents, to stop sensitive digital data from being stored in China, and to stop CCP (Chinese Communist Party) influence in our education system from grade school to grad school," said DeSantis.

"We are following through on our commitment to crack down on Communist China," he added.