Ashish Valentine
@ashishval.bsky.social
Radio & print journalist covering Taiwan for NPR, The World from PRX, and several other outlets. Often writing about social issues, culture, and politics in Taiwan and Asia. DM for email and Signal.
https://www.npr.org/people/901980555/ashish-valentine
https://www.npr.org/people/901980555/ashish-valentine
I regularly offer advice to aspiring journalists from marginalized communities on navigating the industry. The Washington Post layoffs are just the latest in a series of events that have genuinely left me wondering what to say to these people today.
February 5, 2026 at 10:50 AM
I regularly offer advice to aspiring journalists from marginalized communities on navigating the industry. The Washington Post layoffs are just the latest in a series of events that have genuinely left me wondering what to say to these people today.
Reposted by Ashish Valentine
Incredible graphic from NYT showing the depth of Xi Jinping's purge of China's military leadership in recent years: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
February 3, 2026 at 5:22 AM
Incredible graphic from NYT showing the depth of Xi Jinping's purge of China's military leadership in recent years: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Taiwan is home to over 400 butterfly species, 55 of which are found nowhere else in the world. For National Geographic, I reported on the migratory purple crow butterflies, which gather in the tens of thousands in valleys like Maolin in southern Taiwan every winter.
Inside Taiwan's 'butterfly kingdom,' a rare natural wonder takes place every year
Every winter, a marvelous spectacle occurs as hundreds of thousands of butterflies travel south across Taiwan in one of the world’s most rare migrations.
www.nationalgeographic.com
February 2, 2026 at 4:12 PM
Taiwan is home to over 400 butterfly species, 55 of which are found nowhere else in the world. For National Geographic, I reported on the migratory purple crow butterflies, which gather in the tens of thousands in valleys like Maolin in southern Taiwan every winter.
My latest for @npr.org : Taiwan's president Lai Ching-te has promised billions in additional defense spending to counter escalating military threats from China. But his ambitions have stalled in the legislature, where opposition parties have blocked his special defense budget eight times so far.
The Taiwanese president's proposal to hike defense spending faces gridlock at home
Opposition parties are slamming the brakes on billions in defense funding as the China escalates military pressure.
www.npr.org
January 22, 2026 at 5:19 PM
My latest for @npr.org : Taiwan's president Lai Ching-te has promised billions in additional defense spending to counter escalating military threats from China. But his ambitions have stalled in the legislature, where opposition parties have blocked his special defense budget eight times so far.
Latest for @npr.org : Based on today's economic data "China hasn't just survived the trade war with the US, it has in fact thrived," says @eurasiagroup.net analyst Dan Wang. But that strength isn't reflected in Chinese consumer spending. www.npr.org/2026/01/19/n...
China's economy is rising, but many citizens are left behind, analysts say
China's National Bureau of Statistics released data on its 2025 GDP growth Monday. Analysts say it reveals strong economic growth for the country, but ordinary people still face deep challenges.
www.npr.org
January 19, 2026 at 3:10 PM
Latest for @npr.org : Based on today's economic data "China hasn't just survived the trade war with the US, it has in fact thrived," says @eurasiagroup.net analyst Dan Wang. But that strength isn't reflected in Chinese consumer spending. www.npr.org/2026/01/19/n...
Migrant workers marched to the Legislative Yuan in Taipei this afternoon, calling for an end to the 12-year time limit to how long they can live in Taiwan. They dressed up as expired meat and bombs with 12-year fuses, arguing that the time limit treats their bodies and labor as disposable.
December 7, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Migrant workers marched to the Legislative Yuan in Taipei this afternoon, calling for an end to the 12-year time limit to how long they can live in Taiwan. They dressed up as expired meat and bombs with 12-year fuses, arguing that the time limit treats their bodies and labor as disposable.
Weeks after deadly floods, many Amis Indigenous residents of Hualien held a rally outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei to protest disaster recovery measures currently being discussed by KMT lawmakers that they worry could force them to relocate from their homes.
October 30, 2025 at 8:12 AM
Weeks after deadly floods, many Amis Indigenous residents of Hualien held a rally outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei to protest disaster recovery measures currently being discussed by KMT lawmakers that they worry could force them to relocate from their homes.
My latest for @npr.org : Doxxing, death threats, and detentions are becoming routine threats for journalists across Asia. Here's a look at how reporters from the Philippines, Indonesia and other places adjust to the new realities - and even start to fight back. www.npr.org/2025/09/30/n...
'Like ice melting': Journalists warn press freedom is in decline across Asia
China's jailing of citizen journalist Zhang Zhan highlights a deeper press freedom crisis across Asia.
www.npr.org
October 1, 2025 at 9:20 AM
My latest for @npr.org : Doxxing, death threats, and detentions are becoming routine threats for journalists across Asia. Here's a look at how reporters from the Philippines, Indonesia and other places adjust to the new realities - and even start to fight back. www.npr.org/2025/09/30/n...
Nepal's prime minister KP Sharma Oli is now the second South Asian leader to be driven out of office by youth-led protests in just over a year. He joins neighboring Bangladesh's Sheikh Hasina, who fled the country on a helicopter amid mass protests last August.
Nepal PM Oli resigns after violent anti-corruption protests, his aide says reut.rs/4gzoNqN
Nepal PM Oli resigns after violent anti-corruption protests, his aide says
Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli resigned on Tuesday, his aide Prakash Silwal said.
reut.rs
September 9, 2025 at 10:15 AM
Nepal's prime minister KP Sharma Oli is now the second South Asian leader to be driven out of office by youth-led protests in just over a year. He joins neighboring Bangladesh's Sheikh Hasina, who fled the country on a helicopter amid mass protests last August.
Taiwan’s opposition KMT scored big today: early results show that all remaining 7 lawmakers who faced recall challenges have kept their seats. President Lai Ching-te faces an uphill battle on pledges to raise defense spending to 3.32% of GDP next year and 5% by 2030.
focustaiwan.tw/politics/202...
focustaiwan.tw/politics/202...
KMT lawmakers claim victory as recall vote count continues - Focus Taiwan
Opposition Kuomintang (KMT) lawmakers have declared they survived recall votes to remove them from office Saturday, although official results are still pending as the vote counting continues.
focustaiwan.tw
August 23, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Taiwan’s opposition KMT scored big today: early results show that all remaining 7 lawmakers who faced recall challenges have kept their seats. President Lai Ching-te faces an uphill battle on pledges to raise defense spending to 3.32% of GDP next year and 5% by 2030.
focustaiwan.tw/politics/202...
focustaiwan.tw/politics/202...
My latest for @npr.org : With hours left on the clock, the US and China extended a truce that limits tariffs between the world's two largest economies by a further 90 days. Analysts expect further talks and a face-to-face meeting between Trump and Xi later this year. www.npr.org/2025/08/12/n...
U.S. and China extend tariff truce deadline for another 3 months
President Trump's executive order extends a reprieve from the threat of rising tariffs between the world's two largest economies.
www.npr.org
August 12, 2025 at 10:11 AM
My latest for @npr.org : With hours left on the clock, the US and China extended a truce that limits tariffs between the world's two largest economies by a further 90 days. Analysts expect further talks and a face-to-face meeting between Trump and Xi later this year. www.npr.org/2025/08/12/n...
Heavy rains that caused dozens of injuries, power outages and 5 deaths in southern Taiwan have led to an unexpected result: a surge of wild mushrooms. Authorities are removing them from roadsides and warning that toxic mushrooms are hard to tell apart from edible ones. taiwannews.com.tw/news/6172548
Taiwan warns of toxic wild mushrooms | Taiwan News | Aug. 6, 2025 09:53
Food and Drug Administration says 33 poisoned over 5 years as rain spurs new mushroom growth | Aug. 6, 2025 09:53
taiwannews.com.tw
August 6, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Heavy rains that caused dozens of injuries, power outages and 5 deaths in southern Taiwan have led to an unexpected result: a surge of wild mushrooms. Authorities are removing them from roadsides and warning that toxic mushrooms are hard to tell apart from edible ones. taiwannews.com.tw/news/6172548
My latest for @npr.org : Today is the deadline for thousands of Chinese immigrants in Taiwan to prove they gave up household registration in China, or potentially face deportation. Many immigrants feel they've become victims of worsening cross-strait tensions.
www.npr.org/2025/06/29/g...
www.npr.org/2025/06/29/g...
Deadline nears for Taiwan's Chinese immigrants to prove no China household registration
Amid a wave of national security measures, immigrants from China must prove they've given up their household registration in China by June 30. Many are Chinese women married to men from Taiwan.
www.npr.org
June 30, 2025 at 12:42 AM
My latest for @npr.org : Today is the deadline for thousands of Chinese immigrants in Taiwan to prove they gave up household registration in China, or potentially face deportation. Many immigrants feel they've become victims of worsening cross-strait tensions.
www.npr.org/2025/06/29/g...
www.npr.org/2025/06/29/g...
🧵 1/8 My latest for @theworld.org: Taiwan's birthrate is among the lowest in the world. Fewer babies means fewer kids going to school, and fewer still onwards to university. 15 colleges have closed here in the past decade as a result - four of them just last year. theworld.org/segments/202...
Taiwan's colleges closing amid dropping enrollment - The World from PRX
Due to Taiwan’s falling birth rate, enrollment at many universities and colleges has been declining for years, forcing many higher education institutions to shut their doors or merge with other univer...
theworld.org
May 30, 2025 at 10:41 AM
🧵 1/8 My latest for @theworld.org: Taiwan's birthrate is among the lowest in the world. Fewer babies means fewer kids going to school, and fewer still onwards to university. 15 colleges have closed here in the past decade as a result - four of them just last year. theworld.org/segments/202...
Reposted by Ashish Valentine
On The World 🌎 today:
🌐 @orlabarry.bsky.social: Poland votes this weekend in an election seen as a test for democracy
🌐 @ashishval.bsky.social: Taiwan colleges closing amid enrollment drops
🌐 The rush to buy metal detectors in Syria, as search for gold heats up
Tune in 📻 bit.ly/3xyRRfD
🌐 @orlabarry.bsky.social: Poland votes this weekend in an election seen as a test for democracy
🌐 @ashishval.bsky.social: Taiwan colleges closing amid enrollment drops
🌐 The rush to buy metal detectors in Syria, as search for gold heats up
Tune in 📻 bit.ly/3xyRRfD
Two very different candidates are running for president of Poland in elections this weekend. Whoever wins could determine the future direction of the country. My report up shortly on @theworld.org Join us: theworld.org
May 29, 2025 at 6:26 PM
On The World 🌎 today:
🌐 @orlabarry.bsky.social: Poland votes this weekend in an election seen as a test for democracy
🌐 @ashishval.bsky.social: Taiwan colleges closing amid enrollment drops
🌐 The rush to buy metal detectors in Syria, as search for gold heats up
Tune in 📻 bit.ly/3xyRRfD
🌐 @orlabarry.bsky.social: Poland votes this weekend in an election seen as a test for democracy
🌐 @ashishval.bsky.social: Taiwan colleges closing amid enrollment drops
🌐 The rush to buy metal detectors in Syria, as search for gold heats up
Tune in 📻 bit.ly/3xyRRfD
Record numbers of pilgrims are accompanying a figure of the goddess Mazu on a roughly 400-km route through western Taiwan. I stopped by on the goddess's return journey to the home temple in Baishatun, Miaoli, as her carriage rested in a rice farming village in Yunlin.
May 4, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Record numbers of pilgrims are accompanying a figure of the goddess Mazu on a roughly 400-km route through western Taiwan. I stopped by on the goddess's return journey to the home temple in Baishatun, Miaoli, as her carriage rested in a rice farming village in Yunlin.
Very sad to see Brilliant Time books is closing. More than a bookstore, a space for Southeast Asian communities and anyone who wanted to learn about them. They often hosted talks on Southeast Asian literatures and free classes for Bahasa Indonesia and other languages. www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqej...
Southeast Asian Bookstore in New Taipei Closes After a Decade｜TaiwanPlus News
YouTube video by TaiwanPlus News
www.youtube.com
April 11, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Very sad to see Brilliant Time books is closing. More than a bookstore, a space for Southeast Asian communities and anyone who wanted to learn about them. They often hosted talks on Southeast Asian literatures and free classes for Bahasa Indonesia and other languages. www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqej...
Latest for @npr.org : Taiwan's premier music festival, Megaport, draws tens of thousands of fans each year to the southern port city of Kaohsiung. This year, several artists used their platforms to share concerns about an escalating threat from China. www.npr.org/2025/04/05/n...
Musicians protest through song at festival in Taiwan
At Taiwan's premier music festival, artists went political with their tunes and lyrics.
www.npr.org
April 7, 2025 at 9:23 AM
Latest for @npr.org : Taiwan's premier music festival, Megaport, draws tens of thousands of fans each year to the southern port city of Kaohsiung. This year, several artists used their platforms to share concerns about an escalating threat from China. www.npr.org/2025/04/05/n...
Hip hop artist Yang Shu-ya 楊舒雅 takes the stage at Taiwan's premier independent music festival, Megaport 大港開唱. She's performing her single "2045", about the fears of a potential Chinese invasion and Taiwan's uncertain future.
March 30, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Hip hop artist Yang Shu-ya 楊舒雅 takes the stage at Taiwan's premier independent music festival, Megaport 大港開唱. She's performing her single "2045", about the fears of a potential Chinese invasion and Taiwan's uncertain future.
My latest for @npr.org: TSMC's $100 billion investments in the US have some in Taiwan worried that their global advantage in semiconductor manufacturing could be compromised. And with it - the "silicon shield" that many believe helps deter a Chinese invasion. www.npr.org/2025/03/12/g...
Taiwanese chip giant's investments in U.S. stir 'silicon shield' security worries
TSMC's plan to invest $100 billion into U.S. production facilities raises concerns that its leverage in securing protection from China may be weakened.
www.npr.org
March 12, 2025 at 10:58 AM
My latest for @npr.org: TSMC's $100 billion investments in the US have some in Taiwan worried that their global advantage in semiconductor manufacturing could be compromised. And with it - the "silicon shield" that many believe helps deter a Chinese invasion. www.npr.org/2025/03/12/g...
My latest for @npr.org: The recent Oval Office showdown between Trump and Zelensky has many in Taiwan worried that one day, US support for their own self-defense may make a similar U-turn. www.npr.org/2025/03/03/g...
Seeing Washington change course on Ukraine, Taiwan ponders its own fate
Developments in the Ukraine-U.S. relationship have regularly made headline news in Taiwan lately. Many in Taiwan compare Ukraine's fate to its own, as China continues to threaten an invasion.
www.npr.org
March 3, 2025 at 2:50 PM
My latest for @npr.org: The recent Oval Office showdown between Trump and Zelensky has many in Taiwan worried that one day, US support for their own self-defense may make a similar U-turn. www.npr.org/2025/03/03/g...
My latest for @theworld.org: Every two years, the Saisiyat Indigenous community gathers to apologize to the spirits of a people their ancestors killed long ago. Combined with recent discoveries, this story may be key to understanding the early human settlement of Taiwan. theworld.org/stories/2025...
New discoveries shed light on some of the earliest humans to settle in Taiwan - The World from PRX
A combination of ancient knowledge and modern research techniques may be closing the gap between who some of the earliest people to settle in Taiwan could have been and its current residents. The key ...
theworld.org
February 4, 2025 at 11:45 AM
My latest for @theworld.org: Every two years, the Saisiyat Indigenous community gathers to apologize to the spirits of a people their ancestors killed long ago. Combined with recent discoveries, this story may be key to understanding the early human settlement of Taiwan. theworld.org/stories/2025...
Visited a shelter for children of migrant workers in Taiwan (most of their mothers are Southeast Asian domestic workers). Many of their mothers can't house them because they live full-time with the Taiwanese elder they're taking care if, or they are undocumented.
December 12, 2024 at 5:02 PM
Visited a shelter for children of migrant workers in Taiwan (most of their mothers are Southeast Asian domestic workers). Many of their mothers can't house them because they live full-time with the Taiwanese elder they're taking care if, or they are undocumented.
So tricky to speculate, but some interesting ideas about why troops were late getting to the National Assembly after President Yoon declared martial law, which enabled lawmakers to rush in and repeal the declaration so quickly while legislative aides and protesters blocked the soldiers.
Just one minute after Yoon finished his televised declaration of martial law, his troops' first destination was the National Election Commission in Gwacheon. (30 minutes from Seoul)
Questions persist regarding why Yoon/Kim chose to seize this election commission office before the National Assembly.
Questions persist regarding why Yoon/Kim chose to seize this election commission office before the National Assembly.
December 5, 2024 at 6:27 PM
So tricky to speculate, but some interesting ideas about why troops were late getting to the National Assembly after President Yoon declared martial law, which enabled lawmakers to rush in and repeal the declaration so quickly while legislative aides and protesters blocked the soldiers.
Booted up Half-Life 2 again in honor of its 20th anniversary. I'm struck by the cleverness of its level design and art direction - placed somewhere between Eastern Europe and the Pacific Northwest, occupied by an alien society that feels otherworldly yet convincingly real. It hasn't aged a day.
December 5, 2024 at 4:30 PM
Booted up Half-Life 2 again in honor of its 20th anniversary. I'm struck by the cleverness of its level design and art direction - placed somewhere between Eastern Europe and the Pacific Northwest, occupied by an alien society that feels otherworldly yet convincingly real. It hasn't aged a day.