The Miss Tourism Intercontinental 2010 Finale will be held at the Miri Indoor Stadium tonight. The pageant is organized by Alaric Productions which is owned by Malaysian Alaric Soh. It is being held in Miri in conjunction with Miri’s fifth anniversary as a city.
Miri Indoor Stadium
Thirty three finalists are vying for the title. These thirty three finalists are from Australia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Brazil, China, Estonia, Ethiopia, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Kyrghyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Macau, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Panama, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, Ukraine, USA and Venezuela.
The beauty pageant has stirred up controversy in Taiwan. Amanda Chen Pei Ying, representing Taiwan, has sparked a war of words between two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators in Taiwan after photos showed her wearing a “Miss Taiwan China” sash.
Miss Taiwan Amanda Chen(photo courtesy of Chris Gan)
DPP Legislator Chen Yin said that the organizers undermined Taiwan’s sovereignty and that Amanda Chen “had problems recognizing her own country.”
Speaking to the Liberty Times, Amanda Chen denied that the sash was a big issue for her and said that she did not see the need to ask organizers to change the wording. “China is very friendly toward me, so the sash doesn’t need to be changed,” the newspaper quoted Amanda Chen, who reportedly works in China, as saying.
However, in a turn of events that left the DPP lawmaker red-faced, it was later revealed that Amanda Chen is connected with DPP Legislator Yu Tien through his son Yu Hsiang-chuan, who is Amanda Chen’s boyfriend.
The Chinese-language website NOWnews quoted Yu Tien criticizing Chen Ying yesterday afternoon, saying that her comments crossed the line and that she should instead empathize with the contestant.
“What kind of bullshit is she saying? What does she mean by problems recognizing her own country?” Yu Tien was quoted as saying. “Chen Ying has no right criticizing my son’s girlfriend.”
“She has no choice, being out there alone. Instead, what has the Ministry of Foreign Affairs done for her? I think that the problem lies with Taiwan’s government,” Yu Tien said.
Another snag that hit the pageant was the absence of Vietnam’s Kim Dung . Kin Dung was supposed to take part but she was not granted licence to participate because she has not won any titles in national beauty contests. She therefore did not meet Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports & Tourism’s standard to represent Vietnam in international beauty pageants. Kim Dung was the Bronze Cup winner at the Vietnam Supermodel 2009 contest which means she can compete in international model competitions but not beauty pageants.
Vietnam's Kim Dung
Malaysia is represented by student Darcia Marselynna, 20, from Miri. She was the first runner up in Miss Borneo Beautiful 2009 and is of Malay and Chinese parentage.
The contestants have varied backgrounds and include students, models, beauty therapists, environmental spokesperson, lecturer, TV host, general manager, tour guide, actress and cabin crew.
The tallest among the contestants is Pakistan’s Asma Waheed. Aged 24, she is 180 cm tall and weighs 65 kg and her hobby is car racing.
The shortest is 21-year old Ane Coertze, a beauty therapist from South Africa who stands at 162 cm and weighs 50 kg and lists scuba diving as her hobby.
The youngest is Panama’s Maria Alejandra Tejada, 18, a student of social communication and whose hobby is reading. Her height is 176 cm.
Who will win the coveted title of Miss Tourism Intercontinental 2010 tonight? Check out my blog post tomorrow!
