Canadian is centre of attention–and speculation–at Miss World pageant

If things go her way, Miss World Canada could cause quite a stir at this weekend’s Miss World pageant in Washington, D.C.

Anastasia Lin, a 26-year-old actress from Toronto, wants to tell the world about the evils of organ harvesting.

Whether or not she will get to make her case remains to be seen.

She was denied the opportunity last year when the pageant was held in China and she was barred from entering the country because of her activism against what she said was persecution against Falun Gong, a meditation practice China’s government has outlawed and that she practices.

Lin, who was born in China and moved to Canada with her mother at the age of 13, alleges that tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have been killed and their organs harvested and sold for transplants.

Since being barred from last year’s pageant, she has appeared at a U.S. Congressional hearing and testified before the British and European parliaments.

The U.K.-based Miss World contest, which has Chinese corporate sponsorship, is allowing her to compete this year but has prevented her from speaking with most U.S. media organizations.

Lin has said this year’s Miss World pageant is another opportunity for her to speak out.

The Chinese government outlawed Falun Gong in 1999, claiming it was a threat to social stability and an “evil cult.”

At the time, Falun Gong had attracted an estimated 70 million followers.

Last year China said it was ending the practice of harvesting the organs of executed prisoners for use in donor transplants.

However, some human rights groups have expressed scepticism about the claim.