Miss Canada denied passage to China for competition

Canada's Miss World contender has said she was barred from boarding a plane from Hong Kong to the Chinese city hosting this year's pageant.

Chinese-born Anastasia Lin, 25, says she did not receive an invitation to attend the event, which meant she could not apply for a visa.

But she attempted to travel to Sanya, via Hong Kong, as Canadian tourists are eligible for visas on arrival.

Lin has blamed the apparent ban on her human rights campaigning. She has criticised the "repressions and censorship" in China and is a practitioner of Falun Gong, a spiritual movement which China deems a cult and has banned.

Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail quoted a statement from the Chinese embassy in Ottawa that "China does not allow any persona non grata to come to China", in response to a query on Ms Lin's status.

"My denial was unfortunate, but not entirely unexpected. The Chinese government has barred me from the competition for political reasons," Ms Lin said in a statement.

"They are trying to punish me for my beliefs and prevent me from speaking out about about human rights issues."