Ashish Valentine

In just over a month, Xi Jinping will host President Trump in Beijing, and may bring up the issue of US arms sales to Taiwan.

For NPR News, I'm Ashish Valentine in Taipei.

A sad-looking plush toy has gone viral in China.

A factory in the manufacturing city of Yiwu was supposed to make thousands of smiling horse dolls just in time for the new year.

But apparently, a worker sewed many of the horses' smiles upside down, making them crying instead of smiling.

Customers who found the horses started taking photos, and a hashtag related to the horses has garnered over 100 million views so far.

One commenter said, "...the horse looks so sad and pitiful, just the way I feel at work."

Young people in China often call themselves Niu Ma, a term that literally means cattle horse, but refers to being overworked and undervalued.

Many netizens are hoping the horse brings some good humor and luck in the new year.

For NPR News, I'm Ashish Valentine in Taipei.

Pyongyang's home to a memorial wall and a museum honoring North Korea's war dead in Ukraine, and the state's now giving families of those soldiers new housing in the capital city.

State media showed Kim Jong-un walking through the new neighborhood with his teenage daughter, who many analysts believe may be his potential successor.

One photo shows Kim holding the hand of a father that lost his son in the war, crying as he and his wife sit down on sofas in their brand new living room.

Kim said in a speech the homes were meant to honor the spirit and sacrifice of the troops and to allow their families to live happily.

North Korea has sent thousands of soldiers as well as artillery and missiles to aid the Russian military in Ukraine.

For NPR News, I'm Ashish Valentine in Taipei.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-de has asked the legislature for $40 billion to pay for U.S.

arms sales and other weapons system upgrades over the next eight years.

But opposition parties, which favor closer ties with Beijing, say they haven't received enough details from the president to justify signing a blank check.

They've proposed cutting the budget down significantly.