TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — US Senator Ted Cruz on Thursday urged the State Department to lift its restrictions on the display of symbols of Taiwan's sovereignty, including its flag.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing to consider the nominations of Christopher Pratt, as assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs, and Michael George DeSombre, as assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs. Both positions are relevant to Taiwan, with Pratt overseeing arms transfers and DeSombre playing a key role in US policy toward Taiwan, per CNA.
Cruz said, “The Chinese Communist Party is working every day to erode Taiwan's status globally.” Cruz said he has long expressed concerns over the State Department’s policy dating to the Obama administration's acquiescence to the Chinese embassy, which bars “our Taiwan allies” from displaying symbols of sovereignty, including their flag, on US soil.
“I fought against that policy. I pushed legislation reversing that policy, language that has been repeatedly advanced and received bipartisan support in this committee." He added, "It is the repeated explicit policy coming out of this committee to reverse that policy."
Cruz said that while the Trump administration loosened the restrictions during its first term, the Biden administration reinstated them. He asked DeSombre to explain the importance of bolstering ties with Washington's Taiwanese allies.
DeSombre replied that Taiwan was the first foreign country he lived in after graduating from Stanford University, and he has engaged in business there for the past 28 years. He described Taiwan as a "great partner of ours” and said the US should strengthen the partnership and encourage support for Taiwan.
Cruz urged DeSombre to return to the previous Trump administration's policies that allowed Taiwan to display sovereign symbols. “The Obama, Biden caving to Communist China policy is not a good one and not one that the Trump administration should be following,” he said.
In 2019, Cruz introduced the Taiwan Symbols of Sovereignty Act (Taiwan SOS Act), which would allow Taiwan’s diplomatic and military personnel to display the national flag and wear uniforms while on duty in the US. Then-Senator and current Secretary of State Marco Rubio supported the bill in 2020, saying that as Beijing intensifies efforts to isolate Taiwan internationally, the legislation would help strengthen US-Taiwan ties.
When asked by Senator Pete Ricketts how to clear the backlog of weapons shipments to Taiwan, Pratt said Taiwan is one of the US’s most important regional partners and “perhaps it faces the most asymmetric threat in the history of the world in its northern neighbor.” If confirmed, he pledged to review how best to support Taiwan and increase US assistance.
Ricketts pointed out that on May 13, he introduced the PORCUPINE Act, which aims to expedite arms sales to Taiwan by granting it the same weapons deal treatment as NATO Plus countries. Pratt expressed support for reviewing the bill.
