Chinese-Americans politically activated by Florida’s ‘alien land laws’

New laws prohibiting foreign-born Americans from buying property drive Chinese-Americans away from Trump and towards the Democrats

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A woman holds a sign during a rally in opposition to a 2023 Texas Senate bill that would outlaw real estate property ownership by people from China, Iran, North Korea and Russia. Photo: TNS

Published: 5:28pm, 27 Oct 2024Updated: 5:29pm, 27 Oct 2024

Diana Xue has always followed the politics of her husband, friends and neighbours in Orlando, Florida, and voted Republican.

This Election Day, she will break that pattern.

When Florida’s Republican Party-dominated legislature and Republican governor enacted a law last year banning Chinese nationals without permanent US residency from buying property or land, Xue, who became a US citizen about a decade after coming from China for college, had an “awakening.” She felt then that the Sunshine State had, more or less, legalised discrimination against Chinese people.

Florida has proved reliably Republican in recent years, but Xue said, “Because of this law, I will start to help out, flip every seat I can.”

At least two dozen states have passed or proposed “alien land laws” targeting Chinese nationals and companies from purchasing property or land because of China’s status as a foreign adversary. Other countries are mentioned, but experts say China is the constant focus in political discussions.

Mostly Republican legislators have pushed the land laws amid growing fears of intelligence and economic threats from China. At the time of the Florida law’s signing, Gov. Ron DeSantis called China the “greatest geopolitical threat” to the US and said the law was taking a stand against the Communist Party.