Heather Chen

Asia Writer, CNN Digital Worldwide

Heather Chen is the Asia Writer for CNN Digital Worldwide, based in Hong Kong.
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1289025 CNN Expansion Headshots - Hong Kong 2022
1289025 CNN Expansion Headshots - Hong Kong 2022
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This image supplied by Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, shows a pod of pilot whales stranded on a beach at Toby's Inlet in Western Australia, Thursday, April 25, 2024. Dozens of pilot whales have beached on the western Australian coast and wildlife authorities were attempting to rescue them, a state government said on Thursday.(Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions via AP)
Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions/AP
‘The final result was good’: 130 whales rescued from mass beach stranding in Western Australia
Apr 25, 2024
A dramatic operation to save the lives of more than 100 pilot whales ended in partial success on Thursday after wildlife officials managed to return most of the stranded animals to sea.
TOPSHOT - People sit on the rubble of buildings destroyed during Israeli bombardment in Khan Younis, on the southern Gaza Strip on April 16, 2024, as fighting continues between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)
AFP/Getty Images
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April 24, 2024 - Israel-Hamas war
Apr 25, 2024
Hamas released a video of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, the first proof that he survived being badly wounded during his capture on October 7. He is shown in the undated video with part of his left arm missing.
(Left) Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marape speaks during a press conference with Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at Parliament House in Canberra on December 7, 2023. Australia signed a security deal with Papua New Guinea on December 7, bolstering ties to a key Pacific neighbour that has been courted persistently by China.<br />(Right) President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign stop at Hillsborough Community College’s Dale Mabry campus on April 23, 2024, in Tampa, Florida. During the event, President Biden spoke about the issue of abortion rights.
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Biden’s controversial ‘cannibalism’ remarks meet pushback in Papua New Guinea
Apr 24, 2024
President Joe Biden’s apparent suggestion his uncle may have been eaten by cannibals has sparked uproar in Papua New Guinea, casting a shadow on ties.
iran israel
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April 14, 2024 - Iran’s attack on Israel
Apr 15, 2024
Israel’s war cabinet meeting ended Sunday without a decision on how Israel will respond to Iran’s attack, an Israeli official said. The cabinet is determined to respond – but has yet to decide on the timing and scope, the official said.
Vietnamese property tycoon Truong My Lan at a court in Ho Chi Minh City on April 11, 2024.
AFP/Getty Images
Tycoon’s death penalty in $12.5 billion fraud case highlights Vietnam’s corruption crisis
Apr 13, 2024
The death sentence handed to a real estate tycoon in a $12.5 billion financial fraud case is the latest punishment meted out by Vietnam in the Southeast Asian country’s sweeping “blazing furnace” anti-corruption campaign.
This picture taken on March 28, 2024 from Israel's southern border with the Gaza Strip shows buildings which have been destroyed by Israeli strikes, amid the ongoing battles between Israeli forces and Hamas militants since the October 7 attack on southern Israel.
Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images
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April 11, 2024 - Israel-Hamas war
Apr 12, 2024
The top US general for the Middle East is in Israel as the region braces for a possible Iranian retaliation to Israel’s strike last week in Damascus, Syria.
TOPSHOT - Tourists shield themselves from the sun with umbrellas to combat the heat outside of Wat Pho Buddhist temple in Bangkok on April 1, 2024. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP) (Photo by LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/AFP via Getty Images)
Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP/Getty Images
Searing heat is back across Southeast Asia and it’s not going away anytime soon
Apr 11, 2024
From Malaysia to Vietnam, Thailand to Singapore: Southeast Asia has seen temperatures reach unprecedented levels in recent weeks, with little respite in sight.
Election officials sort through ballots at a counting station in Seoul on April 10, 2024, after voting in the parliamentary elections was closed. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP) (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP via Getty Images)
Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images
South Korea opposition wins landslide midterm vote in resounding blow to President Yoon
Apr 11, 2024
South Korea’s liberal opposition parties scored a landslide victory in a parliamentary election held on Wednesday, dealing a resounding blow to President Yoon Suk Yeol and his conservative party but likely falling just short of a super majority.
Muslim devotees are sitting in rows at a mosque to eat their iftar meal, breaking their fast, during the observance of Ramadan at Sarkhej Roza in Ahmedabad, India, on April 4, 2024. (Photo by Saurabh Sirohiya/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Saurabh Sirohiya/NurPhoto/Getty Images
Raids and fines for Ramadan fast breaking spotlight rising religious conservatism in multicultural Malaysia
Apr 8, 2024
Religious authorities in Malaysia have stepped up moral policing efforts during the holy month of Ramadan in what critics warn has been part of a wider recent shift toward a more conservative form of Islam in the multi-racial and culturally diverse nation.
GAZA - VIOLENCIA
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April 6, 2024 Israel-Gaza news
Apr 7, 2024
World Central Kitchen and some Western leaders are calling for an independent investigation into an Israeli strike that killed seven of the group’s aid workers in Gaza. Follow for live updates.
Ecuadorian police special forces attempt to enter the Mexican embassy in Quito to arrest Ecuador's former Vice President Jorge Glas, on April 5, 2024. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador ordered on April 5, 2024 the "suspension" of relations with Ecuador after Ecuadorian police raided the Mexican embassy in Quito to arrest former vice president Jorge Glas, who had received refuge. (Photo by ALBERTO SUAREZ / AFP) (Photo by ALBERTO SUAREZ/AFP via Getty Images)
Alberto Suarez/AFP/Getty Images
‘Outrage against international law’: Mexico breaks diplomatic ties with Ecuador over embassy raid
Apr 7, 2024
Mexico has announced that it is breaking diplomatic ties with Ecuador after police raided its embassy in Quito to arrest former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas.
Taiwan earthquake: Hundreds still awaiting rescue, death toll rises to 13
Apr 6, 2024
More than 600 people remain stranded and are still awaiting rescue in Taiwan since a 7.4 magnitude tremor earthquake struck on Wednesday, the Taiwan’s National Fire Agency (NFA) said in a statement Saturday, with 12 more people still missing.
This picture taken on March 28, 2024 from Israel's southern border with the Gaza Strip shows buildings which have been destroyed by Israeli strikes, amid the ongoing battles between Israeli forces and Hamas militants since the October 7 attack on southern Israel.
Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images
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April 3, 2024 Israel-Hamas war
Apr 4, 2024
The Israeli airstrike that killed seven aid workers delivering food to civilians in Gaza has prompted global outrage. Follow for live news updates.
From left, Colombia's President Gustavo Petro and Argentina's President Javier Milei.
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Argentina and Colombia move to mend ties after Milei calls Petro a ‘terrorist murderer’ in CNN interview
Apr 1, 2024
Argentina and Colombia say they have taken “concrete steps” to improve frayed relations between the two countries after far-right Argentine leader Javier Milei called his left-wing Colombian counterpart a “terrorist murderer” in a CNN interview.
Former president of the Spanish football federation Luis Rubiales leaves the Audiencia Nacional court in Madrid on September 15, 2023. Five days after resigning as Spain's football chief, Luis Rubiales was due in court today on sexual assault charges over forcibly kissing women's World Cup player Jenni Hermoso. The 46-year-old has been summoned to Madrid's Audiencia Nacional court at midday (1000 GMT) where he will appear before Judge Francisco de Jorge who is heading up the investigation. (Photo by Thomas COEX / AFP) (Photo by THOMAS COEX/AFP via Getty Images)
Thomas Coex/AFP via Getty Images
Prosecutors seek 2.5-year jail term for Spanish soccer boss Rubiales over unwanted World Cup kiss
Mar 28, 2024
Spanish prosecutors are seeking a prison term of two years and six months for former soccer chief Luis Rubiales for giving an unwanted kiss to star forward Jennifer Hermoso after Spain’s World Cup victory.
Taylor Swift and Scott Swift Taylor Swift seen in New York, on July 11, 2014.
Mediapunch/Shutterstock/File
Taylor Swift’s father will not face charges for alleged paparazzi assault, Australian police say
Mar 27, 2024
Taylor Swift’s father will not face charges for allegedly assaulting a paparazzi photographer in Sydney last month, Australian police have confirmed.

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.