Anastasia Lin was crowned Miss World Canada in May. It’s been a bumpy ride since. Picture: Carlos Osorio/Toronto Star via Getty Images

The 25-year-old Canadian bombshell is beautiful, smart and driven. But she’s also outspoken, just as she should be. It’s earned her plenty of fans but it’s also earned her one powerful enemy: China.

Lin, who was born in and spent the majority of her formative years in China, moved to Canada as a 13-year-old. She started acting and modelling at a young age and was named Canada’s Miss World representative earlier this year.

Armed with a sequin dress and eyeing a crown, Lin was preparing to compete in the Miss World competition in China next week. There’s just one problem — China won’t let her into the country.

Lin was banned from entering the southern Chinese city of Sanya — stopped at Hong Kong airport by customs officials last week. China has stayed tight-lipped on why it made the decision, but Lin’s record on speaking out against the communist regime’s human rights record holds plenty of clues.

This is what happens when you make China a target — you become one.

Canada’s Miss World contestant Anastasia Lin walks away from the airline counter after being denied entry to China. Picture: Kin Cheung/APSource:AP

Lin took to Facebook to share her shock at being turned away in the early hours of November 26.

“Unlike all other Miss World contestants, I did not receive an invitation letter from the Chinese organisers of this event, and so was unable to obtain a visa in advance. I was never given an explanation as to why I did not receive the letter,” Lin wrote.

“Under Chinese law, however, Canadian citizens are eligible to obtain a landing visa upon arrival in Sanya, so I decided to try attending anyway. Unfortunately, I was prevented from boarding the plane from Hong Kong to Sanya. No reason was given for the denial.”

The reason, though, is plainly obvious. Lin herself knows it has to do with her strong stance on the way China treats its citizens.

“My denial was unfortunate, but not entirely unexpected. 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.

Beauty queen Anastasia Lin.Source:Facebook

China’s enemy no. 1.Source:Facebook

“Many others have had similar experiences: for years, the Chinese government has used the threat of visa denials to punish dissidents or anyone with unapproved views, and to bring academics and journalists to heel.”

Lin also openly practices Falun Gong, a form of spiritual meditation classified as a “cult” and banned in China. She believes that too played a role in her exclusion.

China is no stranger to strong-handed tactics and Lin is not the only member of her family suffering. Her father, who still lives in China, is believed to have been punished for his daughter’s opinions.

In a piece she wrote for the Washington Post earlier this year, Lin said her father was proud of her but afraid to speak with her.

“My father was never so proud of me as when I was crowned Miss World Canada in May,” Lin wrote.

“It’s an incredible honour to be able to represent my country on the world stage. To my father it was validation that all of his efforts to support me have paid off.

Anastasia Lin is not making friends in China. Picture: Carlos Osorio/Toronto Star/GettySource:Getty Images

“Although access to information is restricted in China, news of my win spread quickly in my home province of Hunan, and my father was inundated with messages congratulating him and wishing me well. But things soon took a dark turn. Now, just a few weeks after I was crowned, my father is afraid to speak to me.”

The media in China has not been particularly sympathetic of Lin’s predicament. China’s English language newspaper Global Timeswrote a scathing opinion piece about why Lin should learn to keep her mouth shut.

“Lin needs to learn to be responsible for her words and deeds,” the article read. But Lin doesn’t plan on heeding the newspaper’s advice.

“This is not conduct befitting an aspiring superpower — especially one that hopes to host international competitions such as Miss World and the upcoming Winter Olympics,” the 25-year-old wrote on Facebook.

“Silencing beauty queens, censoring journalists, and torturing religious believers is not a sign of strength — it is a sign of profound weakness and insecurity.

“If China wishes to be respected by the international community, it should abide by the norms and standards of that community. If it wishes to be strong and prosperous, it should realise that strength comes from diversity, from being able to listen to different ideas. The Chinese people have an ancient civilisation with rich intellectual traditions. They are fully capable of discerning right from wrong if given a chance. It is too bad that the Chinese government will not afford them this opportunity.”