Washington: U.S. Senator Ted Cruz on Monday reintroduced a bill that would allow Taiwanese diplomats and military personnel to display the Taiwan flag and wear uniforms while in the United States on official business.

According to Focus Taiwan, the draft bill, titled “The Taiwan Symbols of Sovereignty (Taiwan SOS) Act,” aims to permit Taiwan armed forces and government officials “to display symbols of Republic of China [Taiwan] sovereignty,” including the national flag and corresponding emblems or insignia of military units.

If the bill becomes law, it would reverse a decision made in 2015 by the administration of then U.S. President Barack Obama. The 2015 decision followed strong protests by the Chinese embassy in Washington and criticism by the American government of a flag-raising ceremony held on New Year’s Day at Twin Oaks Estate, the former residence of Republic of China (Taiwan) representatives to the U.S. before diplomatic ties were severed in 1979.

It was the first time in 36 years that the ROC had held a national flag-raising ceremony at Twin Oaks, a move deemed inconsistent with the U.S.’s One-China policy, which formally recognizes China over Taiwan, a diplomatic source told CNA. Consequently, the Obama administration revised the U.S. guidelines on exchanges with Taiwan, barring Taiwanese diplomats from entering U.S. Department of State facilities, prohibiting the raising of the Taiwan flag at Twin Oaks, and restricting any display of the flag on U.S. government property, the source said.

On Monday, Cruz expressed his disagreement with the previous stance and his ongoing efforts to change 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,” Cruz was quoted as saying in the National Review. He noted that the guidelines were revoked during the first administration of U.S. President Donald Trump but were reinstated after President Joe Biden took office, affecting the safety and security of Americans and allies.

Cruz emphasized the broad, bipartisan support for rescinding these prohibitions, highlighting that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has advanced this language before. He remains hopeful that the committee will do so again and called on his Senate colleagues to push for its passage. Cruz had proposed similar bills in 2020 and 2022, which were reviewed by the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee but were not passed.