Taiwan Media Claimed S’pore is Reportedly Actively Seeking Discussions on Travel Bubble with Taiwan

In case you’ve missed it, the Singapore and Hong Kong air travel bubble’s going to kick off on 22 Nov 2020, a short 9 days later.

After months of enforced no-travelling, people in Singapore can finally fly overseas for a vacation again.

And judging by the reactions, people here love that. A lot.

What if I were to tell you that right now, Singapore could be working on a similar arrangement with a second country?

And it’s not just any country, but Taiwan, the land of cheese potato and XXXL chicken cutlets?

Here’s what you need to know.

Taiwan Media Claimed S’pore is Reportedly Actively Seeking Discussions on Travel Bubble with Taiwan

On 11 Nov 2020, the Broadcasting Corporation of China (BCC) reported that officials from Singapore are actively seeking discussions with Taiwan on an air travel bubble arrangement.

At a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, Lin Chia-lung, Taiwan’s Minister of Transportation and Communications, was asked if there is a possibility of air travel bubble arrangements given the light of Pfizer’s progress in creating a Covid-19 vaccine.

Lin reportedly said that officials from Singapore have been “very active” in seeking a discussion about a possible travel bubble with Taiwan government agencies.

He added that Singapore’s trade representative also wanted to meet with him in the near future.

Singapore doesn’t have an embassy in Taiwan but has a trade office in Taipei instead.

If Taiwan Maintains Low Risk Of Infections, It Might Happen

BCC went on to add that if Taiwan was to maintain a low risk of infections, the travel bubble might become a reality.

Which is true since Singapore has a “risk-factor” criteria in place when it comes to arranging special travel arrangements.

Taiwan held an exemplary record when it comes to stomping out Covid-19 transmissions and on 29 Oct 2020, recorded 200 continuous days of zero cases.

Taiwan had taken decisive actions earlier during the pandemic, even when Covid-19 wasn’t acknowledged as one.

It also practices world-class contact tracing measures and imposes fines of up to NT$1 million (S$47,700) on those who break quarantine rules.

Based on the Google tracker, Taiwan recorded 589 Covid-19 cases and 7 deaths.

It’s Not Just Singapore

Apparently, Singapore isn’t the only country Taiwan is interested in and they’re also talking with Japan and Vietnam, according to Lin.

Who knows, if there’s a series of travel bubbles set up in the future, those who are rich (or hungry for travel enough) can set up an itinerary where they go on a one month tour through the tunnels created by these bubbles.

Now, before you wonder if anyone would want to travel during these Covid-19 times, just know that tickets to Hong Kong for the first week has been almost sold out completely for ATB flights.

Yes, even with prices ballooning to over S$1,000.

Featured Image: Richie Chan / Shutterstock.com