North Indy News

U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.), alongside Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), has introduced the Taiwan Symbols of Sovereignty (Taiwan SOS) Act. The proposed legislation would allow Taiwanese diplomats and military personnel to display their flag and wear their uniforms while on official business in the United States.

Senator Young stated, “Taiwan’s government, military, and people deserve to be treated with the same respect and recognition we afford other countries. Our bill will strengthen U.S.-Taiwan relations and stand up to the Chinese Communist Party’s coercion.”

Senator Cruz commented on the background of these restrictions: “The Chinese Communist Party is committed to eroding Taiwan’s global status, and the United States should be just as committed to strengthening it. The Obama administration did enormous damage to American national security when it first implemented these prohibitions against our Taiwanese allies, and I have been battling this policy ever since. It was successfully overturned during the first Trump administration, before being reinstated under Biden, again to the detriment of the safety and security of Americans and our allies. There has been broad, explicit bipartisan support for rescinding these prohibitions, and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has advanced this language to do so. I am confident they will do so again, and I call on my colleagues in the Senate to advance it to passage.”

Senator Blackburn added, “Taiwan is a sovereign nation, and the U.S. should not support Communist China’s efforts to undermine its independence by restricting Taiwanese diplomats and service members from displaying their flag. The Taiwan SOS Act would make it clear the United States firmly stands with Taiwan.”

The bill aims to reverse guidelines from the Obama Administration, which were later reinstated by the Biden Administration, that prevent Taiwanese officials from displaying symbols representing Taiwan at official government events in the United States. Senator Young has previously supported similar legislation in both 2020 and 2022, with related language advancing through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 2021.

The full text of the legislation can be found here.