Heather Chen - Asia Writer, CNN Digital Worldwide
Heather Chen
Asia Writer, CNN Digital Worldwide
Heather Chen is the Asia Writer for CNN Digital Worldwide, based in Hong Kong.
Latest
Exclusive: Inside the prison that executes people for supplying cannabis
Oct 21, 2024
Though he is provided with a straw mat, Matthew says he prefers to sleep on the concrete floor of his cell in the maximum-security wing of Singapore’s Changi Prison.
Malayan tiger teeters on ‘brink of extinction’ as spate of deaths sparks alarm
Jul 14, 2024
A recent spate of alarming deaths has heightened fears for the Malayan tiger, wildlife authorities and conservationists say, with some calling the threat to Malaysia’s emblematic animal a “national emergency.”
A Seoul neighborhood is so crowded with tourists that the government is taking over
Jul 11, 2024
Seoul is putting strict tourist limits on Bukchon Hanok Village. One of the city’s most popular tourist hot spots, it attracts thousands of visitors every day.
Silkworm satay? Singapore approves insects as food
Jul 10, 2024
Singapore has approved 16 species of insects for sale and consumption in the country, including locusts, grasshoppers, mealworms and several types of beetle.
The ‘fearless young activists’ thrown in jail for climate campaigns in Cambodia
Jul 7, 2024
They are young and passionate about protecting Cambodia’s rich and ecologically fragile environment.
These women are about to play Glastonbury. That should be no surprise given their nation is mad about metal
Jun 27, 2024
VOB will be the first Indonesian band to play at Glastonbury. But their rise isn’t that surprising considering the Muslim-majority country is packed with metalheads.
Cambodia now has its own version of WhatsApp. Critics fear it could be used for surveillance
Jun 27, 2024
Cambodian strongman leader Hun Sen has thrown his weight behind a new homegrown messaging app, which critics say is a way for the government to monitor and undermine political discussion in the country.
‘We are happy he’s buried in Mecca,’ says daughter of man who died in Hajj heat wave
Jun 24, 2024
The family of an elderly Indonesian man who died during this year’s Hajj is happy he was buried in the holy city of Mecca, his daughter said, as the Southeast Asian nation mourns hundreds of its citizens who perished in extreme heat during the annual Islamic pilgrimage.
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May 29, 2024 Israel-Hamas war
Jun 5, 2024
The Israeli military says it established “operational control” over the Philadelphi Corridor, a 14-kilometer (8.7 miles) strip of land along the border between Gaza and Egypt.
Japan is determined to keep hunting whales. And now it has a brand new ‘mothership’
Jun 5, 2024
Wearing a toy whale hat, whale tie and a whale motif shirt, Hideki Tokoro spends much of his days thinking about the world’s largest mammals. But he doesn’t want to protect them. He wants to hunt them.
Top Indonesian officials resign from $32 billion new capital city project
Jun 4, 2024
The head and deputy head of the body overseeing Indonesia’s planned new capital have unexpectedly resigned, raising questions about the $32 billion project.
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May 30, 2024 Israel-Hamas war
May 30, 2024
The war in Gaza will likely continue until at least the end of the year, an Israeli official warned.
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May 28, 2024 - Israel-Hamas war
May 29, 2024
Global condemnation is mounting over Israel’s airstrike on a camp for displaced people in Rafah that killed at least 45 people, many of whom were women and children.
Colombia’s parliament has banned bullfighting - leaving just seven nations that still permit it
May 29, 2024
Colombia has approved a bill banning bullfights, marking a significant victory for animal rights activists over advocates who argued to uphold the sport in the South American country.
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May 27, 2024 - Israel-Hamas war
May 28, 2024
At least 45 people were killed in Israeli strikes on a camp for displaced people in Rafah, the Gaza health ministry said Sunday. Israel claimed it killed two senior Hamas officials.
As many as 2,000 people feared buried under Papua New Guinea landslide as survivors dig with hands and spades
May 27, 2024
As many as 2,000 people are feared to have been buried by last week’s massive landslide in Papua New Guinea, according to the country’s National Disaster Centre, as survivors recounted the horror losing so many loved ones.
About
Heather Chen is the Asia Writer for CNN Digital Worldwide, based in Hong Kong. She is responsible for writing breaking news, features and analysis pieces across the Asia-Pacific region.
Before joining CNN in 2022, Chen worked as a journalist and producer for BBC News in Singapore, and produced several long-form digital features as a senior VICE reporter in Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.
Chen has covered her home region of Southeast Asia for the past decade. Major events she has reported on include the 2018 Thai cave rescue, the 2018 Inter-Korean summit, the 2016 Philippine presidential election and the 2014 disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370. She has written extensively about identity politics, culture wars and various societal issues like migrant worker rights, the death penalty debate and drug abuse in Singapore and Vietnam, corruption in Cambodia, and religious tensions in Malaysia.
Chen speaks English, Chinese and basic Malay and is currently learning Korean and Cantonese.
