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
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.
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.
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.
As policymakers fret about Taiwan's low birthrate, the current approach ships off and excludes many Taiwan-born children whose mothers often want to stay longer-term here. As a naturalized immigrant to the US, I can't help but picture similar situations if the US ends birthright citizenship as well.
December 12, 2024 at 5:21 PM
As policymakers fret about Taiwan's low birthrate, the current approach ships off and excludes many Taiwan-born children whose mothers often want to stay longer-term here. As a naturalized immigrant to the US, I can't help but picture similar situations if the US ends birthright citizenship as well.
Though they're born in Taiwan, they don't have the right to claim citizenship, although in some cases they are eligible for temporary residency. Their ability to go to school and access other services is limited, with decisions often made on a case by case basis.
December 12, 2024 at 5:05 PM
Though they're born in Taiwan, they don't have the right to claim citizenship, although in some cases they are eligible for temporary residency. Their ability to go to school and access other services is limited, with decisions often made on a case by case basis.
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.
Hard-core parkour: Lawmaker and opposition party head Lee Jae-myung livestreams himself vaulting over a wall to enter the National Assembly. 190 lawmakers out of 300 made it inside and voted unanimously to lift martial law.
December 3, 2024 at 5:25 PM
Hard-core parkour: Lawmaker and opposition party head Lee Jae-myung livestreams himself vaulting over a wall to enter the National Assembly. 190 lawmakers out of 300 made it inside and voted unanimously to lift martial law.
Tonight outside the Legislative Yuan, where several civil rights groups called a rally to protest KMT-TPP bills advancing through the legislature. These would impose tighter requirements on recall elections and raise the threshold for judgments from the Constitutional court.
November 28, 2024 at 6:58 PM
Tonight outside the Legislative Yuan, where several civil rights groups called a rally to protest KMT-TPP bills advancing through the legislature. These would impose tighter requirements on recall elections and raise the threshold for judgments from the Constitutional court.
Spent the weekend visiting the Saisiyat Indigenous community to observe the Pas Ta'ay: a ritual held every two years to apologize to the spirits of the Koko Ta'ay, a people their ancestors killed a long time ago.
November 20, 2024 at 6:32 AM
Spent the weekend visiting the Saisiyat Indigenous community to observe the Pas Ta'ay: a ritual held every two years to apologize to the spirits of the Koko Ta'ay, a people their ancestors killed a long time ago.