China allegedly barred Canada's Miss World contender from boarding a plane at Hong Kong to the Chinese city hosting this year's pageant.
Since an invitation for the event had not been given to 25 year old Chinese born Anastasia Lin, she says she could not apply for a visa.
However she tried to reach Sanya via Hong Kong as Canadian tourists are eligible for visas on arrival.
Her human rights campaign, according to Lin, is behind the move by the Chinese authorities.
Lin is a practitioner of Falun Gong, a spiritual movement which China deems a cult and has banned and has criticized the "repressions and censorship" in China.
The Miss World tournament is due to happen in the seaside resort of Sanya on 19 December.
The Miss World authorities did not respond to media queries when they were contacted after Lin claimed that she was not sent an invitation.
Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail quoted statement from the Chinese embassy in Ottawa that "China does not allow any persona non grata to come to China", in response to a query on Ms Lin's status.
"My denial was unfortunate, but not entirely unexpected. The Chinese government has barred me from the competition for political reasons," Ms Lin said in a statement.
"They are trying to punish me for my beliefs and prevent me from speaking out about human rights issues," she said.
Lin claims that as a child growing up in southern China she was completely unaware of any human rights abuses in the country. She even helped organize propaganda films for her fellow students to watch as a class monitor. But things have changed ever since she moved to Canada 12 years ago.
Lin claims that she embraced activism and Falun Gong after her mother, a former university professor, gave her a wide range of reading material, including books about the Falun Gong spiritual movement.
She however applauded the pro-democracy Umbrella movement in Hong Kong last year.
Since she has no other way to enter mainland China, Lin wants to return back to Canada after spending some time meeting Hong Kong rights campaigners.
Ms Lin said she was barred from flying after trying to check in at the Dragonair counter at Hong Kong airport.
While it is mandatory for Canadians to have a visa permit to enter China, Lin was trying to enter Sanya on a special landing visa that Sanya, as a tourist destination, grants on arrival to citizens of certain countries, including Canada.
At the counter, Lin's travel companion Kacey Cox, was asked attend a to phone interview with a Sanya official. During that conversation she was told she could not enter Sanya.
Dragon air refused to divulge any details about the incident citing “privacy” concerns.
As a teenager Lin had moved to Canada from China in 2003. She has been an activist for some time now and has even performed in films about the abuse of Falun Gong members and spoken about the subject to a US Congressional committee in July.
Lin’s father, who still lives in China, has been harassed because of her, claimed Lin.
Falun Gong, considered a cult by Chinese authorities, first began as a spiritual movement that quickly amassed thousands of followers. Chinese authorities outlawed Falun Gong and launched a crackdown after a demonstration by its practitioners demanding recognition in 1999.
In order to draw global attention, the followers of the movement have often held protests outside China and have accused Chinese authorities of persecution.
(Source:www.bbc.com)
Since an invitation for the event had not been given to 25 year old Chinese born Anastasia Lin, she says she could not apply for a visa.
However she tried to reach Sanya via Hong Kong as Canadian tourists are eligible for visas on arrival.
Her human rights campaign, according to Lin, is behind the move by the Chinese authorities.
Lin is a practitioner of Falun Gong, a spiritual movement which China deems a cult and has banned and has criticized the "repressions and censorship" in China.
The Miss World tournament is due to happen in the seaside resort of Sanya on 19 December.
The Miss World authorities did not respond to media queries when they were contacted after Lin claimed that she was not sent an invitation.
Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail quoted statement from the Chinese embassy in Ottawa that "China does not allow any persona non grata to come to China", in response to a query on Ms Lin's status.
"My denial was unfortunate, but not entirely unexpected. The Chinese government has barred me from the competition for political reasons," Ms Lin said in a statement.
"They are trying to punish me for my beliefs and prevent me from speaking out about human rights issues," she said.
Lin claims that as a child growing up in southern China she was completely unaware of any human rights abuses in the country. She even helped organize propaganda films for her fellow students to watch as a class monitor. But things have changed ever since she moved to Canada 12 years ago.
Lin claims that she embraced activism and Falun Gong after her mother, a former university professor, gave her a wide range of reading material, including books about the Falun Gong spiritual movement.
She however applauded the pro-democracy Umbrella movement in Hong Kong last year.
Since she has no other way to enter mainland China, Lin wants to return back to Canada after spending some time meeting Hong Kong rights campaigners.
Ms Lin said she was barred from flying after trying to check in at the Dragonair counter at Hong Kong airport.
While it is mandatory for Canadians to have a visa permit to enter China, Lin was trying to enter Sanya on a special landing visa that Sanya, as a tourist destination, grants on arrival to citizens of certain countries, including Canada.
At the counter, Lin's travel companion Kacey Cox, was asked attend a to phone interview with a Sanya official. During that conversation she was told she could not enter Sanya.
Dragon air refused to divulge any details about the incident citing “privacy” concerns.
As a teenager Lin had moved to Canada from China in 2003. She has been an activist for some time now and has even performed in films about the abuse of Falun Gong members and spoken about the subject to a US Congressional committee in July.
Lin’s father, who still lives in China, has been harassed because of her, claimed Lin.
Falun Gong, considered a cult by Chinese authorities, first began as a spiritual movement that quickly amassed thousands of followers. Chinese authorities outlawed Falun Gong and launched a crackdown after a demonstration by its practitioners demanding recognition in 1999.
In order to draw global attention, the followers of the movement have often held protests outside China and have accused Chinese authorities of persecution.
(Source:www.bbc.com)
