Twenty-five-year-old Canadian beauty queen and University of Toronto-graduate Anastasia Lin has been declared persona non grata by China’s ruling Communist party. The Chinese government has forbidden Lin—a Canadian citizen born in China—from entering the country.
Lin, who was crowned Miss World Canada in May 2015, had flown from Toronto to Hong Kong International airport on Nov. 26, 2015 with the intention of flying from Hong Kong to Sanya —a resort city on Hainan Island, hosting the 65th Miss World 2015 beauty pageant. After spending several hours arguing with Chinese immigration officials, Lin was denied passage to Sanya.
Currently, no formal explanation has been offered by the Chinese government regarding Lin’s change in status. As a result, however, Lin is unable to compete in the pageant that features an international group of over 100 women, from countries around the world.
Lin believes she has been declared persona non grata because she practices Falun Gong, a spiritual practice that the Chinese government condemns as an “evil cult.” Practitioners of Falun Gong are allegedly routinely arrested, tortured, and used for organ transplants in China.
Lin has also publicly spoken out against human rights abuses in China, and recently testified in a U.S. Congressional hearing on religious persecution in the People’s Republic.
During her July 23, 2015 testimony, Lin said, “I wanted to speak for those in China that are beaten, burned, and electrocuted for holding to their beliefs; people in prison who eat rotten food with blistered fingers because they dare have convictions.”
Lin began practicing Falun Gong and speaking out against the Chinese government’s practices when she immigrated with her mother to Canada from mainland China approximately 12-years-ago.
Lin was once anti-Falun Gong herself, as a young student. As an adult, Lin began accepting roles in small-budget, Canadian films that focused on problems in China, after hearing of the government’s mistreatment of fellow practitioners. Much of Lin’s pageant performance involves her advocacy of the freedom of religious practice and spiritual expression.
On Nov. 29, 2105, the Chinese Global Times published an editorial attacking Lin, claiming that she criticized the Chinese government to “gain sympathy from the Western public that already holds prejudices against China.”
Lin has also claimed that her father, still a resident of mainland China, has been harassed by Chinese officials, after she spoke out about humans rights abuses perpetrated by the Chinese government. Her father, out of fear of further punishment by government officials, has cut off all contact with his daughter and wife.
In a Nov. 26, 2015 prepared statement, Lin said, “The Chinese government has barred me from the competition for political reasons. They are trying to punish me for my beliefs and prevent me from speaking out about human rights issues.”
Lin hopes that others are inspired by her willingness to stand up against the Chinese government and follow suit.
The Trudeau government, while reluctant to initiate conflict with the Chinese government, has stated that it takes threats against the safety of Canadians’ family members seriously.