China's Xi Jinping held a rare meeting with Cheng Li-wun, the leader of Taiwan's opposition KMT party. It comes ahead of a summit with President Trump, where Xi is likely to bring up his opposition to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan ... w/ @ashishval.bsky.social www.npr.org/2026/04/10/n...

My latest for @npr.org alongside @jpak25.bsky.social : Taiwan's opposition leader Cheng Li-wun may meet Xi Jinping later this week. She says the safety of Taiwan is her priority, though Taiwan's government doubts her visit will lower tensions. www.npr.org/2026/04/07/n...

My latest for @npr.org : A report by the US director of national intelligence assessed China likely does not plan to invade Taiwan in 2027. It's reignited partisan divisions in Taiwan as lawmakers debate $40 billion in defense spending to counter China. www.npr.org/2026/03/31/n...

I joined @cnnipr.bsky.social's One World with Zain Asher to discuss the impact of the Iran war on Asian economies. Highlights: China is relatively secure. High-income East Asia is stressed but surviving. Lower-income nations like Pakistan and Bangladesh are especially hard-hit. Here's a clip:

Despite rising tensions between the world's two largest economies, a growing number of young Americans are becoming captivated by China, as seen in the online trend "Chinamaxxing." n.pr/4sIOpGg

My latest for @npr.org : Why are Gen Z Americans obsessed with China? Livestreamer Hasan Piker told me life in the US "is just getting worse... then I turn on TikTok, and I see a video of Chongqing. They've got trains everywhere and it's this fascinating city." www.npr.org/2026/03/13/n...

My latest for @npr.org : In China, the year of the horse has taken on an uncanny association with Draco Malfoy. Take a listen to find out why: www.npr.org/2026/02/18/n...

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.

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.

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...

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.

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.

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...

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

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...

🧵 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...

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

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...

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.

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...

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.

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.

Breaking News: South Korea’s president said he would reverse his martial law order, bowing to pressure hours after the National Assembly voted to halt it.

#BreakingNews #SouthKorea The South Korean military government plans to establish a media control office to oversee and censor the press following President Yoon Suk-yeol's declaration of martial law. n.news.naver.com/article/002/...

Ministry of Defense saying it will maintain martial law until it receives an order rescinding it from the president

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.

Office of the Speaker of the National Assembly declares martial law declaration invalid 2h48m after declaration Helicopters seen moving toward National Assembly, crowds outside chanting "IMPEACH THE PRESIDENT"

Restrictions on media and social gatherings announced right after South Korean president Yoon declared martial law in a televised address today

🚨 South Korean President Yoon declares martial law. Follow Reuters coverage www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...

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.

Learned a lot from this article on the history of Taiwan's National Health Insurance. Many (myself included) thought Taiwan developed NHI in 1995. But the KMT actually started similar programs in the 50s on a discriminatory basis favoring the migrants who left Mainland China along with their regime.

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.

Hello! I'm a journalist reporting on Taiwan, formerly at @npr.org. Let's connect if you're interested in social issues, climate change, Indigeneity, migration, culture and identity in Taiwan, Asia and beyond. I also frequently post about South Asia and the US, as well as history, film, and tea.