Miss World Canada Anastasia Lin was stopped in Hong Kong on Thursday and denied permission to board a flight to the beauty pageant finals in China, a move she said was punishment for speaking out against human rights abuses in the country.
Anastasia Lin poses with her crown after an interview at her home in Toronto, Ontario November 10, 2015. But she said she attempted to enter the country anyway based on a rule that allows Canadian citizens to obtain a landing visa upon arrival in Sanya. REUTERS/Chris Helgren
Miss World Canada Anastasia Lin attends a news conference in Hong Kong, China November 27, 2015. Lin, Canada’s China-born Miss World contestant, was stopped in Hong Kong on Thursday and denied permission to board a flight to the beauty pageant finals in China, a move she said was punishment for speaking out against human rights abuses in the country. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
Anastasia Lin poses for a photo at the departure hall of Hong Kong Airport in Hong Kong, China November 26, 2015. Anastasia Lin, a 25-year-old Toronto actress who was crowned Miss World Canada in May, was unable to obtain a visa in advance of her arrival for the contest finals this week in Sanya, on the southern Chinese resort island of Hainan. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
Anastasia Lin speaks during a news conference in Hong Kong, China November 27, 2015. Lin, who is a practitioner of Falun Gong, a religious group that says it is repressed in China, told reporters at Hong Kong’s international airport that she was prevented from boarding a Dragonair flight to Sanya. She said there has been no response from the Chinese authorities so far. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
Anastasia Lin poses with her crown after an interview at her home in Toronto, Ontario November 10, 2015. “There’s no comment from the Chinese embassy … so I realize that’s the tactics they’re using, they just want to let it die down,” said Lin, who was wheeling a silver suitcase and dressed in a long brown trench coat. “It’s very difficult to stand up for what you believe in,” she said, adding: “I need to figure out what to do next.” REUTERS/Chris Helgren
