ANASTASIA LIN may not have been allowed by China to represent Canada in the Miss World pageant, but she was met at the airport like a conquering hero.
Cheers and camera flashes at the Toronto Pearson International Airport greeted the Miss World Canada who challenged the Peoples' Republic of China using social media as her weapon. Lin was refused permission to travel to the Miss World competition by the government of China because of her affiliation with Falun Gong, a group banned in China.
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| Anastasia Lin was interviewed by Canadian TV last Nov. 4. |
“I did not expect this to become an international incident, that’s for sure. When I went there, my sole purpose was really to represent Canada in the contest,” she said in an interview with the Epoch Times upon her arrival.
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She told reporters that she flew to Hong Kong hoping to slip into Sanya, China, where the pageant is taking place but Chinese authorities were prepared for her arrival.
“But I guess we overestimated them a bit," Lin said. "But overall I have achieved my goal, that people now know about this kind of story. Because it is not just me—my case is just the tip of the iceberg. It shows a huge pattern: that the communist government uses visas and family members as leverage to silence people outside China.”
Her use of social media describing her plight gave her all the publicity that China sought to censor. "The support I got from all over the world is overwhelming. I really appreciate that.”
Lin has been an outspoken critic of China's repression of Falun Gong even before winning the beauty title. She testified before the U.S. Congress and starred in a movie critical of the Chinese government.
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