Hsu was 48 when she died of pneumonia after contracting influenza while on a trip with her family to Japan. Rumours of her death first spread online on Sunday and was eventually confirmed by her younger sister, Taiwanese entertainer Dee Hsu, on Monday morning, via the latter's manager. Her body was later cremated in Tokyo.

Barbie Hsu, a Taiwanese actress who starred in the popular TV drama “Meteor Garden” that once swept across Asia, has died after contracting pneumonia triggered by the flu

Barbie Hsu's death from flu complications has led to a surge in flu vaccinations in Taiwan. With government-funded vaccine stocks rapidly decreasing,