China was targeted as a bill that would ban any “agent” from the country from buying farmland or land near military installations in Georgia passed the state House on Thursday over the objections of Democrats. They said it would lead to discrimination against Asian Americans and not promote national security. The Georgia House of Representatives voted 97 to 67 in favor of SB420 — a bill that echoes measures already passed in numerous other Republican-leaning states — after a lengthy debate that included both testy remarks and personal stories.
Rep. Michelle Au, a Democrat who is Chinese American, said she has been accused during her time in the General Assembly of being an “agent of the Chinese Community Party, a spy, a plant, un-American and a foreign asset.” SB420 aims to weaponize that sort of racism, she said.
The bill would ban agents of China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Russia who are not U.S. citizens or legal residents from owning farmland in Georgia or any land in the state that is within 10 miles (16 kilometers) of a military installation unless they have spent at least 10 months of the previous year living in Georgia. Though the measure targets other countries, much of the discussion about it among lawmakers at the state Capitol has focused on China.
To be an agent, the person has to be acting on behalf of the country. The ban extends to businesses in those countries as well, but does not apply to residential property.
An earlier version of the bill that passed the state Senate would have expanded the ban to all foreign nationals from China and the four other countries who are not legal U.S. residents, not just agents of those countries. It also would have extended the ban on land sales around military installations to 25 miles (40 kilometers).
The version approved by the state House on Thursday now goes back to the state Senate for consideration.
Souce: AP
