Flag-raising against historical tide

On Jan 1, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in the United States held a ceremony at Twin Oaks to "raise the flag". It was the first time it has done so since Washington severed its official relations with Taipei in 1979.

However, the significance of this event is being exaggerated. The US State Department on Tuesday denounced the flag-raising ceremony, saying it violated a long-standing pact on US-Taiwan ties.

Since the US normalized relationship with Beijing, Washington has not allowed the Taiwan flag to fly on any official occasions in the US, because the US does not regard Taiwan as having legal statehood. Therefore, TECRO at most is an "official organization" of a non-state entity. Obviously TECRO cannot raise flag in the US on formal occasions where the US officials would be present.