Anastasia Lin, a 25 year-old University of Toronto graduate and Human Rights Activist, was barred from entering China and competing in the 65th Miss World pageant.
Lin won the Miss World Canada contest in Vancouver last May where she also attended high school before moving to Toronto.
The practitioner of Falun Gong and Rights Advocate had since found difficulties with her visa application which led to her being formally banned from entering the country and unable to compete as a contestant.
China has outlawed Falun Gong which is a Buddhist-inspired Chinese spiritual movement and deemed it as an ‘evil cult’. Additionally, Lin’s political advocacy and public voice against human rights abuses in her birthplace of China have essentially made her an enemy of the state. Her activism also pours into her acting career in which she joins productions dealing with China’s human rights issues.
In Canada, Lin consulted with the Foreign Affairs Minister and Parliamentary Secretary during the creation of the Office of Religious Freedom. More recently she was invited to testify before a U.S congressional hearing for the Congressional-Executive Commission on China to speak about the persecution of religion in China.
Written by: Amar Mirchandani @amarmirch
Image via Anastasia Lin
