Human rights activist, Miss World Canada, denied entry to China

Miss World Canada has claimed she was prohibited from entering China when trying to attend the Miss World 2015 finals.

Anastasia Lin, 25, who was born in China and moved to Canada with her mother at the age of 13, was prevented from getting on a connecting flight from Hong Kong to the city of Sanya.

China has declared Lin a “persona non grata” but Lin wrote in a Facebook statement that she was not given a reason at the time of authorities’ refusal to allow her to board the flight.

“Unlike all other Miss World contestants, I did not receive an invitation letter from the Chinese organizers of this event, and so was unable to obtain a visa in advance,” she wrote. “I was never given an explanation as to why I did not receive the letter. Under Chinese law, however, Canadian citizens are eligible to obtain a landing visa upon arrival in Sanya, so I decided to try attending anyway.”

Lin is an activist in speaking out against Chinese political and religious repression, The Guardian reports. She claims her father, who still lives in China, was paid a visit by Chinese officials in an attempt to threaten him.

“My denial was unfortunate, but not entirely unexpected,” she continued. “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 also held a press conference on Friday, which she posted to her Facebook page.