How are the Chinese standing up against the states of Montana and Florida?

The tensions between China and USA they remain firm in the commercial, geopolitical and technological fields. Recently, a new chapter of the dispute has been opened with legal battles between TikTok, from the Chinese company ByteDance, and Chinese citizens with the states of Montana and Florida, who will have completely opposite climates, but share a critical and challenging position towards Beijing.

LOOK: $10,000 a day fine: what’s behind the strictest TikTok ban in the US?

In recent months, in addition to high-flying diplomatic and security clashes, such as the status of Taiwan or the Asian giant’s position on the war in Ukraine, Washington and Beijing have had more tangible clashes.

First there were the spy balloons that flew over the United States for several days. Despite Beijing’s apologies, US President Joe Biden issued a forceful warning to Beijing. “Yeah China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country.”said the democrat last February.

More recently, in mid-April, the powers added a new disagreement when it was learned that the New York authorities carried out an operation with arrests aimed at clandestine police stations run from China in the heart of New York.

These days, the new sources of tension between Washington and Beijing are the TikTok video application and a law that affects Chinese citizens in the United States.

Montana and the toughest law against TikTok

In the cold state of Montana, Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte last week signed the toughest law against TikTok that has been adopted so far in the United States.

Basically, the state decided to completely ban the popular video application and announced fines of $10,000 per day for each day that the measure is not complied with. The rule goes far beyond the restrictions in force in other states, where the use of TikTok to public officials.

The United States fears that the Chinese government could use data from the TikTok social network (Photo: AFP)

Gianforte said on Twitter that he supported the ban to “protect the personal and private data of Montanans from the Chinese Communist Party.”

The rule, which takes effect next year, will serve as a legal test for a nationwide ban on the Chinese-owned platform, something lawmakers in Washington are increasingly calling for. TikTok is facing an ultimatum from the White House to part ways with its Chinese owners or stop operating in the United States.

Meanwhile, the move has already sparked several court battles. Five TikTok content creators from Montana have already filed a lawsuit in federal court arguing that the ban is illegal and violates free speech rights.

To protect Montanans’ personal and private data from the Chinese Communist Party, I have banned TikTok in Montana.

— Governor Greg Gianforte (@GovGianforte) May 17, 2023

And not only that. TikTok filed a lawsuit in US federal court on Monday to prevent Montana from implementing a full ban on the social video network in that state.

“We are confident that we will win (…) We believe that the law recently passed in Montana is simply unconstitutional”Shou Zi Chew, general director of the social network, declared this Tuesday 23 during the Qatar Economic Forum.

The app is already banned on government devices in the United States, Canada, and several countries in Europe.

Prohibition to buy property

the tension with China it has also gained strength in Florida. On Monday, a group of Chinese citizens who live and work there filed a lawsuit against the state over a new law that prohibits people from China and other countries from buying property in large portions of the state.

The law, which is scheduled to take effect on July 1, makes it a felony for Chinese citizens, and citizens of Cuba, Venezuela, Syria, Iran, Russia, and North Korea, to purchase property within a 10-mile radius of military installations and other “critical infrastructure”.

Thus, the aforementioned citizens will not be able to buy properties in restricted areas, which also include farmland.

What is striking about this case is that, although the rule applies to various nationalities, Chinese citizens and those who sell them property face the highest penalties. The measure hides behind an alleged risk to national security.

BREAKING: We’re suing Florida over a discriminatory property law that blocks most immigrants from China, Cuba, Venezuela, Syria, Iran, Russia, and North Korea from buying homes in much of the state.

The law singles out Chinese people for the harshest restrictions and penalties.

— ACLU (@ACLU) May 22, 2023

The DeSantis Administration is looking into banning China from buying any land, not just farmland in Floridahttps://t.co/a7TPokBxWb

— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) January 7, 2023

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) says the law unfairly equates people from China with their government’s actions and will expand “housing discrimination against people of Asian descent.”

Like Montana, Florida is led by a Republican, in this case a high-profile one. Gov. Ron DeSantis, who signed the bill on May 8, is scheduled to announce his presidential campaign on Wednesday.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Republican, speaks during a gala held on the evening of May 21, 2023, in Orlando, Florida, United States. (Photo by Giorgio Viera / EFE) (Giorgio Viera /)

Source: Elcomercio