美国国家公共电台 NPR--Texas considers a bill banning people from 4 countries from buying real estate

Texas considers a bill banning people from 4 countries from buying real estate

Transcript¹

A bill prohibiting citizens and entities² from China, Iran, North Korea and Russia from purchasing land is being debated in Texas. The proposal has triggered a backlash.

ASMA KHALID, HOST:

There's a bill in the Texas state Senate that would ban the sale of real estate to Chinese, Iranian, North Korean and Russian citizens - all real estate. If it passes, experts think it would be the first law of its kind since World War II with a blanket ban based on nationality. NPR's John Ruwitch reports.

JOHN RUWITCH, BYLINE³: The story starts here on the Devils River in remote Southwestern Texas. Its headwaters are on Alice Ball Strunk's ranch⁴.

ALICE BALL STRUNK: My great-grandfather purchased it in 1905. And so we just love it here.

RUWITCH: The land is rocky and beautiful, but there's not much grass.

BALL STRUNK: It's hard to make a living these days in the ranching⁵ business.

RUWITCH: So many landowners now rely on ecotourism. A few years ago, though, word got out that an investor⁶ wanted to build a huge wind farm nearby, raising concerns about the views and the environment. Then something else came to light. Randy Nunns, another ranch owner involved in efforts to preserve the area's wild aesthetic⁷, pulls out a map.

RANDY NUNNS: So everything in red is owned by Chinese, and they put these names on these ranches⁸.

RUWITCH: A Chinese billionaire owned the land, around 130,000 acres of it. Locals soon discovered that he'd been in the Chinese military, and that set off alarm bells, especially because the land was not far from Laughlin Air Force Base.

NUNNS: Which is the No. 1 pilot training base in the country.

RUWITCH: Politicians grabbed hold. And in June 2021, Texas Governor Greg Abbott ratified⁹ the Lone¹⁰ Star Infrastructure¹¹ Protection Act.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GREG ABBOTT: I am signing a law that protects our critical infrastructure from hostile nations.

RUWITCH: By hostile nations, he meant China, Russia, North Korea and Iran. But that wasn't the end of it. Last fall, Republican state Senator Lois Kolkhorst quietly filed Senate Bill 147. And in January, Abbott tweeted that he'd sign it.

GENE¹² WU: It would mean that every permanent resident - so everyone with a green card, everyone who's here on a visa, either invited to do business or invited here to study - would not be able to purchase property, would not be able to own property.

RUWITCH: That's state Representative Gene Wu, a Democrat¹³ from Houston. Experts say the bill would end up mostly impacting Chinese people, since there are far fewer citizens of Iran, North Korea and Russia in Texas.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

YUE ZHANG: Feel free to ask me any questions.

RUWITCH: Thirty-three-year-old Yue Zhang has been worrying about this new bill lately. He came to the U.S. from China in 2010 to get his Ph.D. at Harvard, and now he's an assistant professor on a tenure¹⁴ track at Texas A&M University.

ZHANG: For anyone who's an immigrant to U.S., they can always go back to their home country, right? But given that my life is here, I have all my friends here and my career is here, so the chance of going to China at this point I have not considered.

RUWITCH: Some of his colleagues, though, have said they would leave Texas if the bill passes. And that highlights a problem for policymakers, many of whom are keen to burnish¹⁵ tough-on-China credentials¹⁶ but risk scaring off foreign talent and investment. Lois Kolkhorst, the state senator who introduced the bill, did eventually promise to make adjustments. Here she is on Texas' KWHI radio.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

LOIS KOLKHORST: We'll make it very clear that those that are here legally, those that have become U.S. citizens or those that are in the pipeline¹⁷ to become U.S. citizens, are not affected¹⁸ by the bill.

RUWITCH: But that's not enough, says Gene Wu. He worries it'll still inflame¹⁹ anti-Asian hate, which has been on the rise in the U.S.

WU: Even if you trim it down, it will still say everyone is equal, but some people are less equal than others. That's a really dangerous public statement to make and a dangerous public policy to make.

RUWITCH: And Micah Brown with the National Agricultural Law Center at the University of Arkansas says Texas is not alone. There's a wave of new legislation building. In 2021 and 2022, he says eight states proposed new laws.

MICAH BROWN: And now going into 2023, we are up to 21 states.

LIU MING: Yeah, I grew up in Houston, probably like a mile from where we are right now.

RUWITCH: Thirty-nine-year-old Liu Ming moved to the Lone Star State from China when he was a kid, but he still holds a Chinese passport so he can easily go back and visit his relatives. The proposed law has prompted some soul searching.

MING: I'm really divided because if I leave and I have the ability to fight this law, I feel I'm giving up. Like, why should I leave? What did I do wrong to deserve to be chased out of my home?

RUWITCH: Texans, he says, are proud of their state, and so is he, which is why he's staying and fighting this legislation.

John Ruwitch, NPR News, Houston.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

5 ranching   

adj.放牧的

参考例句：

• They cleared large tracts of forest for farming, logging and ranching. 他们清除了大片的森林以经营农耕、采伐与畜牧。
• This is a trade center in a ranching and oil-producing region. 这是一个牧场与产油区的贸易中心。

6 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

7 aesthetic   

adj.美学的，审美的，有美感

参考例句：

• My aesthetic standards are quite different from his.我的审美标准与他的大不相同。
• The professor advanced a new aesthetic theory.那位教授提出了新的美学理论。

8 ranches   

大农场， （兼种果树，养鸡等的）大牧场( ranch的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They hauled feedlot manure from the ranches to fertilize their fields. 他们从牧场的饲养场拖走肥料去肥田。
• Many abandoned ranches are purchased or leased by other poultrymen. 许多被放弃的牧场会由其他家禽监主收买或租用。

9 ratified   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified. 条约没有得到批准，因此被宣布无效。
• The treaty was ratified by all the member states. 这个条约得到了所有成员国的批准。

10 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

11 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

12 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

13 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

14 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

15 burnish   

v.磨光；使光滑

参考例句：

• Many people,fearful for their jobs,are trying to burnish their contacts at other firms.许多人因为担心自己的工作，正在努力抹去和其他公司接触的痕迹。
• I burnish joyful sparks from my sorrows.我从伤痛里擦亮喜悦的火花。

16 credentials   

n.证明，资格，证明书，证件

参考例句：

• He has long credentials of diplomatic service.他的外交工作资历很深。
• Both candidates for the job have excellent credentials.此项工作的两个求职者都非常符合资格。

17 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

18 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

19 inflame   

v.使燃烧；使极度激动；使发炎

参考例句：

• Our lack of response seemed to inflame the colonel.由于我们没有反应,好象惹恼了那个上校。
• Chemical agents manufactured by our immune system inflame our cells and tissues,causing our nose to run and our throat to swell.我们的免疫系统产生的化学物质导致我们的细胞和组织发炎，导致我们流鼻水和我们的喉咙膨胀。