Close X
Wednesday, January 8, 2025
ADVT 
International

Canada's Outspoken Miss World Contestant Denied Entry To China To Compete In Pageant

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 26 Nov, 2015 01:44 PM
    HONG KONG — Canada's outspoken Miss World contestant said she was barred Thursday from entering China to take part in this year's pageant and accused Beijing of overreach in extending its campaign of censorship even to beauty contests.
     
    Chinese-born Anastasia Lin said she was unable to board her connecting flight from Hong Kong to the southern island province of Hainan after a Chinese official told her by telephone that she would not be granted a visa on arrival.
     
    Lin is an outspoken critic of Chinese religious policy and a follower of the Falun Gong meditation practice, which was outlawed by China's ruling Communist Party in 1999.
     
    "If they start to censor beauty pageants — how pathetic is that?" Lin said in Hong Kong.
     
    Dressed in black leggings and a belted tan trench coat, Lin was approached by several fellow travellers in the Hong Kong airport arrival hall who wanted to take her photo.
     
     
    Lin, who moved to Canada from China when she was 13, told a U.S. congressional hearing in July that tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have been killed so their organs could be harvested and sold for transplants. The 25-year-old actress also plays an imprisoned Falun Gong practitioner in an upcoming Canadian movie, "The Bleeding Edge."
     
    Lin said that after she won the Canadian title, Chinese security agents visited her father who still lives in China in an apparent attempt to intimidate her into silence. Although she hadn't received an invitation letter from organizers, and therefore was unable to obtain a Chinese visa, she said she decided to travel to China anyway in hopes of obtaining a visa on arrival.
     
    After landing in Hong Kong early Thursday on a flight from Toronto, Lin was told by airline staff at check-in that she needed to speak to an official in Hainan's provincial capital of Sanya. She said the official, who identified himself only by his surname, Chen, seemed to be attempting to verify her identify. After telling her she wasn't eligible for a visa, the man refused to give a reason then abruptly hung up the phone, she said.
     
     
    "To prevent me from even stepping into Chinese territory, I think this is what they're trying to do. I really don't see where this insecurity comes from," Lin told The Associated Press. "I think that's the real harm when people watch this and learn a negative lesson. I hope people see courage and hope in the story, not simply just being denied."

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Donald Trump Says Paris Attacks Would Have Been 'Much Different Situation' If Citizens Had Guns

    Donald Trump Says Paris Attacks Would Have Been 'Much Different Situation' If Citizens Had Guns
    Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump says the terror attacks in Paris would have been "a much, much different situation" had the victims been armed with guns.

    Donald Trump Says Paris Attacks Would Have Been 'Much Different Situation' If Citizens Had Guns

    Modi Spreads Desi Flavour With Sartorial Choices In Britain

    Modi Spreads Desi Flavour With Sartorial Choices In Britain
    Kurtas with Nehru jackets, contrasting shawls, bandhgalas and overcoats -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been making style statements one after the other on his Britain visit. And he has got his fashion quotient spot on, say designers.

    Modi Spreads Desi Flavour With Sartorial Choices In Britain

    Paris Attackers Moved With Impunity, Despite Heightened Security Atmospher

    Paris Attackers Moved With Impunity, Despite Heightened Security Atmospher
    Friday’s attacks in Paris have once again put the spotlight on security in Europe, especially in France, as terror groups seem to be increasingly able to strike anywhere, any time, at will.

    Paris Attackers Moved With Impunity, Despite Heightened Security Atmospher

    Air India to launch Ahmedabad-London flights from December 15

    Air India to launch Ahmedabad-London flights from December 15
    Air India on Saturday announced that it will launch a daily direct flight between Ahmedabad and London from December 15.

    Air India to launch Ahmedabad-London flights from December 15

    Watch: Narendra Modi Hard Sells Brand India To British Indians At Wembley Stadium

    Watch: Narendra Modi Hard Sells Brand India To British Indians At Wembley Stadium
    “India is full of diversity. This diversity is our pride and our strength,” Modi said as a frenzied crowd of 60,000 British Indians chanted “Modi, Modi” at the iconic Wembley Stadium here. 

    Watch: Narendra Modi Hard Sells Brand India To British Indians At Wembley Stadium

    Terror Attack In Paris: More Than 100 Killed In Gunfire And Suicide Bombs Blasts

    Terror Attack In Paris: More Than 100 Killed In Gunfire And Suicide Bombs Blasts
    At least 100 dead in series of Paris terror attacks: Kalashnikov-wielding gunman opens fire in restaurant. 100 hostages are taken at theatre. Two SUICIDE bombs detonate near the Stade de France. Gunfire at shopping centre

    Terror Attack In Paris: More Than 100 Killed In Gunfire And Suicide Bombs Blasts