Young, Cruz Introduce Taiwan Symbols and Sovereignty Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today introduced the Taiwan Symbols of Sovereignty (Taiwan SOS) Act, which would allow diplomats and service members in the Taiwanese military to display their flag and wear their uniforms while in the United States on official businesses.

“At every turn, China is attempting to coerce countries around the globe to accept their worldview and sadly, this even applies to the U.S government. It is time to stand up to the Chinese Communist Party and recognize our friends and allies regardless of how China may respond. This begins with Taiwan,” Senator Young said. “Taiwan and members of the Taiwanese military and government should be treated the same as every other sovereign nation.”

“America should not do the bidding of the Chinese Communist Party in forcing service members and diplomats of free, democratic governments to hide their flag or discard their uniforms,” Senator Cruz said. “As China grows more hostile toward Taiwan and our friends in the region, it’s critically important for the United States and the rest of the world to stand unshakably with Taiwan. Allowing Taiwanese officials to proudly display their flag while in the United States is a step in the right direction.”

This reverses the Obama administration policy, formalized in a 2015 confidential memo, prohibiting the display of the Taiwanese flag at the request of the Chinese Communist Party. These guidelines have restricted U.S. support for Taiwan, by prohibiting both the Department of State and Department of Defense from even posting such symbols on social media. Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) are original cosponsors.