How to go to Taiwan via a third country?

This question is a bit outdated now. Taiwan opened the second category of mainland Chinese people to Taiwan for sightseeing in 2002. The so-called second category of mainland Chinese refers to those who have settled in three places outside mainland China, studied abroad, or went to Taiwan for business via a third place. Persons may travel to Taiwan via a third place.

In the six years from 2002 to 2008, about 300,000 people from mainland China (unofficial figures) used this method to travel to Taiwan. Of course, during this period, there were also more than 100 mainlanders staying in Taiwan. It should be what you call illegal workers. Most of them are from Fujian and Hebei. Therefore, in the later period, Taiwan restricted people with registered residence in these two provinces from coming to Taiwan. Generally, those who stay illegally are caught and deported within half a year, and few successfully stay for a long time.

On July 4, 2008, Taiwan opened the door for mainland residents to travel to Taiwan. It can be said that this actually complicated the procedures for mainland residents to travel to Taiwan. It even only allowed people from 13 provinces to travel to Taiwan. On July 18, traveling to Taiwan via a third country was officially terminated. The method of traveling to Taiwan that you mentioned has been stopped.

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Also a clear friendly reminder: You said your friend’s passport is visa-on-arrival or visa-free in Taiwan, but that’s not true. Possible, unless your friend is not Chinese and holds a passport from another country. Maybe your friend didn't know the situation at the time. Taiwan issues entry permits to mainlanders coming from third countries. It's a green piece of paper and they were picked up when they arrived at the Taiwan airport.