Restrictive legislations spark protests

United States Representative Judy Chu of California, Gene Wu, who is a member of the Texas House of Representatives, and 2020 presidential candidate Andrew Yang of New York joined hundreds of protesters in the pouring rain in Miami over the weekend to protest two Florida laws that target Chinese nationals and entities.

The three, all Democrats, were joined on Saturday by leaders of civil rights organizations including the League of United Latin American Citizens, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and United Chinese Americans in protesting Florida Senate Bills 264 and 846, both of which took effect on July 1.

SB 264, which some critics refer to as "Florida's New Alien Land Law", prohibits entities and citizens of seven "countries of concern" — China, Cuba, Iran, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Russia, Syria and Venezuela — from acquiring agricultural land in the state.

In addition, Chinese nationals are singled out for further restrictions. Those with nontourist visas are allowed to acquire only one property smaller than 0.8 hectare that is at least 8 kilometers from military installations or 16 kilometers from critical infrastructure. Sellers and buyers alike could face charges for any violations.

SB 846 prohibits Florida's public colleges and universities from taking money from or partnering with entities in the same seven countries of concern.

It also prohibits institutions from offering anyone living in one of those countries a contract to conduct research. The law aims to prevent the governments of those countries from "influencing" state colleges and universities and their students and staff.

Jiangeng Xue, professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Florida, told China Daily that high-quality graduate students working as research assistants are vital to many laboratory projects.

More than 280 faculty members at the University of Florida, which has the state's largest research portfolio, have signed a petition urging the university to actively support a call for an open-door hiring policy.

"We urgently request a timely decision that allows us to recruit top international graduate students with an assistantship, irrespective of their nationality," said a petition sent on Dec 6 to University of Florida President Ben Sasse and the university's senior leadership.

"Failure to act swiftly may result in the loss of exceptional students to other universities, and the damage will be irreversible," the petition said.

The law defines a "foreign researcher" as not just people currently living in another country, but also anyone with one year or more of training or employment outside the US — even if they hold US citizenship. Those turned away due to something in their background must be reported to the FBI or another law enforcement agency designated by Florida's governor.

Lengthy review process

The Florida law allows exceptions only when the state's Board of Governors, which oversees higher education, decides that the interaction is not "detrimental to the safety or security of the US or its residents" through a case-by-case vetting process. It would be the last step in a lengthy review process for anyone seeking a position as a graduate assistant or postdoctoral researcher.

Xue said vetting is "not practical", because the submission times required by the Board of Governors make it impossible to meet general academic application deadlines — either the decisions will not be made in time, or students will be informed too late.

The uncertainty created by the law has put a freeze on making offers to research students in China for the fall of 2024, which normally happens in December and early January, according to the journal Science.

"We have missed that window," said Zhong-Ren Peng, a UF professor of urban planning who leads a center for adaptation planning and design.

"And the best students cannot wait. Instead, they will go somewhere else," he told science.org.

Xue said the new law is "political". "There have already been laws discriminating against Chinese," said Xue. "It just amplifies it."

Many others agree.

"You'd go to jail if you sell a house to Chinese. Chinese are not allowed to come over to schools. Once those ideas are deeply planted in people's minds, the average Chinese Americans will be discriminated (against)," Steven Pei, an engineering professor at the University of Houston, said in a group chat when encouraging people to go to the rally.

Ai Heping and Mingmei Li in New York contributed to this story.