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).
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
MORE NEEDED: Recall drives against legislators in Miaoli’s two districts and Hsinchu’s second district were still a few thousand signatures short of the second-stage threshold Campaigners aiming to recall Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday said they expect success in 30 out of 35 districts where drives have passed the second-stage threshold, which would mark a record number of recall votes held at once. Hsinchu County recall campaigners yesterday announced that they reached the second-stage threshold in the recall effort against Legislator Lin Szu-ming (林思銘). A total of 26,414 signatures have been gathered over the past two months, surpassing the 10 percent threshold of 23,287 in Hsinchu County’s second electoral district, chief campaigner Hsieh Ting-ting (謝婷婷) said. “Our target is to gather an additional 1,500 signatures to reach