Unmarried partners from other countries would in principle be allowed to enter Taiwan before foreign tourists, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, but added that discussions about when and how to further ease border restrictions are ongoing.
At an afternoon news conference, Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), the CECC’s spokesman, reiterated that under current regulations, foreign spouses of Taiwanese are allowed to enter the country.
Those who can supply proof of their marriage overseas can apply to the Bureau of Consular Affairs for an entry permit, he said.
Photo: Screen grab from twitter accounts of Barbie Hsu and Koo Jun-yup.
Unmarried partners might be granted permission to enter under “humanitarian” conditions, such as visiting a sick relative, attending a funeral or other emergency, Chuang said.
Borders were opened to foreign business travelers on Monday, he said, adding that there are plans to gradually allow other visitors, including foreign tourists, subject to further developments.
It is hoped that foreign partners would be allowed entry before tourists, although interagency discussions are needed before the restriction can be lifted, Chuang said.
The topic received renewed interest after yesterday’s surprise announcement of Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu’s (徐熙媛) marriage to South Korean musician Koo Jun-yup.
Hsu and Koo — who is known by his stage name DJ Koo — announced they had married on their respective social media accounts.
Although the news took fans by surprise, as 45-year-old Hsu only announced her divorce from Chinese restaurateur Wang Xiaofei (汪小菲) on Nov. 22 last year, the couple’s whirlwind romance came after a brief relationship more than two decades earlier.
In 2010, Koo said in an interview that he and Hsu once dated for a year when he first came to Taiwan as half of the South Korean dance music duo Clon in 1998.
Due to Koo’s fame at the time, they kept their relationship a secret, often going on dates in disguise.
They separated after about a year, he added.
In a social media post, Hsu confirmed Koo’s announcement, saying: “Life is unpredictable, and I treasure my happiness at this moment. I am grateful that I now have what I have.”
Hsu’s agent also confirmed the marriage, saying that the couple registered their union in South Korea.
Hsu is perhaps best known for her breakout role as Shan Cai (杉菜) in the 2001 Taiwanese romance television series Meteor Garden (流星花園).
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56
FATALITIES: The storm claimed at least two lives — a female passenger in a truck that was struck by a falling tree and a man who was hit by a utility pole Workers cleared fallen trees and shop owners swept up debris yesterday after one of the biggest typhoons to hit the nation in decades claimed at least two lives. Typhoon Kong-rey was packing winds of 184kph when it slammed into eastern Taiwan on Thursday, uprooting trees, triggering floods and landslides, and knocking out power as it swept across the nation. A 56-year-old female foreign national died from her injuries after the small truck she was in was struck by a falling tree on Provincial Highway 14A early on Thursday. The second death was reported at 8pm in Taipei on Thursday after a 48-year-old man
RSS