The Reason Miss Canada Can't Participate In Miss World Will Upset You

​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. 

From NYT:

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. 

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