The New York Times reports that Miss Canada, Anastasia Lin, has been denied a visa to China, which means she won't be able to participate in the 65th annual Miss World contest happening in Hainan, China. The denial apparently happened because the 25-year-old actress and pianist has advocated for human rights and religious freedom in China.
After waiting in vain for weeks, Ms. Lin packed up her Canadian-designed eveningwear on Wednesday and quietly boarded a Hong Kong-bound flight with the hope she might obtain an on-demand visa at the border and perhaps slip unnoticed into mainland China.
The Chinese authorities, tipped off to her arrival, barred her from flying onward to Hainan.
Speaking by telephone from Hong Kong on Thursday, Ms. Lin said she was angry and disappointed but not entirely surprised. "I have every right to be at that event," she said. "It's kind of sad. I mean, I'm just an acting student and a beauty queen. What could they possibly be so afraid of?"
The Chinese Embassy in Ottawa issued a statement on Thursday saying: "China welcomes all lawful activities organized in China by international organizations or agencies, including the Miss World pageant. But China does not allow any persona non grata to come to China."
Lin seems undeterred, though.
When Chinese government security agents visited her father (who lives in China) shortly after her Miss Canada win to complain about her human rights work, he became scared to speak to her. But instead of backing down and staying silent, Lin wrote an wrote an op-ed article in The Washington Post about it.
"If I don't speak out for what's right, it will send out a terrible message to those who experience China's fear and intimidation and don't have the ability to fight back," she said.
Opinion:
This is so unfair. She just wanted to stand up for some human rights. But she she has nothing to do, I mean she's not a strong celebrity or a powerful . She just said the truth about what was going on with her dad in China. She just wanted to say that her dad's job is precarious and she just tryed to transfer that missage.
It is so sad that people can't talk about some kind of stuff in the era we are living. We should be allowed to say what we want to say. It is not necessary to take this extremes mesures, she's harmless, what she can do with it? She's not Obama or another important personality, she's just an art student.
It also doen't makes sense because now she will not can to visit fer dad in China because of that. I just can say that it is so sad because it happens in my Mom's country (Cuba) as well. Sometimes you can't return because of your political ideology.
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