Contestants from more than 110 nations have arrived in the Southern Chinese island of Hainan this week for the 65^th annual Miss World contest. Unfortunately, Miss Canada was absent from the opening ceremony.

25-year-old Anastasia Lin is an actress and a classically trained pianist.She says she was denied a Chinese visa to attend the month-long pageant because of her advocacy for human rights and religious freedom in China, NewYork Times reported.

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Anastasia Lin was crowned Miss World Canada in May. She is a member of the Falun Gong meditative group - the group is banned in China.

Lin, who is currently studying theatre studies in Toronto, claims that she was not able to board her connecting flight from Hong Kong to China after a Chinese official said to her via phone call that she would not be given a visa on arrival.

According to The Globe and Mail, China does not allow any persona non-grata to come into the country.

Lin said that her denial was unfortunate, but not entirely unexpected. The Chinese government has allegedly barred her from the competition for political reasons. She claims that they are trying to punish her for her beliefs and prevent her from speaking out about human rights issues. She said that, unlike other contestants to the pageant, she was not issued a visa by China.

Lin has been an outspoken critic of political suppression in China both before and following her 'coronation' in May in Vancouver. She has often highlighted the troubles faced by practitioners of Falun Gong in the hands of the government, The Guardian reported. Recently, she noted that her father has aslo suffered as a result of her advocacy.

TagsMiss Canada, anastasia lin, Miss World, miss world canada, miss world pageant, Anastasia Lin Hong Kong