Melissa Chen

Chen was born in Singapore.[1] She was raised in a conservative household. Chen emigrated to the United States at 17, living in Boston.[2] She studied at Boston University. She later became a journalist. Chen has stated her decision to reside in the United States is due to the country's freedom of the press and ideas.[2]

Chen rose to prominence when she became a strong advocate for Amos Yee,[3] a Singaporean student who had been arrested and imprisoned for publishing materials (depicting Lee Kuan Yew in a negative way) that the government of Singapore considered to be insulting. Chen assisted Yee when the latter fled to the United States and claimed political asylum.[4] Yee severed ties with Chen in 2017.[1] Chen would later call for Yee to be deported after he expressed pro-pedophilia opinions and created pro-pedophilia content.[1][4]

In 2017 Chen co-founded Ideas Beyond Borders with Faisal Saeed Al Mutar, an Iraqi advocate for free speech.[5] The foundation focuses on translating works written in English into Arabic; most of the translated works are books that are considered controversial (often to the point of being de facto or de jure banned) in the Arabic world, such as George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four and works by Thomas Paine.[6] Chen serves as the organization's managing director.[7]