China’s entrant to Miss World competition sparks backlash

The Miss World beauty pageant has been embroiled in scandal, after a series of shocking claims emerged about the contestant put forward by China.

Ally Foster September 6, 2022 - 11:24PM

Qin Zewen is China’s entrant to the 2022 Miss World competition. Picture: Miss World China

The Miss World competition is facing a scandal over the contestant put forward by China, amid accusations the woman lied her way into the role.

Last month, Qin Zewen was announced as the new Miss China after the previous candidate was stripped of her title due to “inappropriate” behaviour.

Ruan Yue was set to represent China in the Miss World beauty pageant after winning the 2022 Miss China competition.

However, roughly two weeks before her place in the worldwide competition was to be announced, Ruan was stripped of her crown.

The specific reasons behind the move were never disclosed, other than claiming she had performed “inappropriate acts”.

Instead of then choosing the runner-up or second runner-up to replace Ruan, the organisers put forward 25-year-old Qin.

This is where the controversy began, as Qin was not even a regional winner of the Miss China pageant and was not well known, with just 3500 followers on Chinese social media site Weibo.

Accusations then surfaced that Qin had lied about her education and employment qualifications.

Her bio for the competition claimed she held a master’s degree in finance from the prestigious Fudan University in Shanghai and that she was previously an analyst at Essence Securities, one of China’s leading securities corporations.

Upset at her appointment in the Miss World competition, social media users began digging into her background and uncovered a series of shocking allegations.

Qin was hit with claims that she had photoshopped herself into a picture of a lecture at Fudan University, raising questions about the authenticity of her masters degree claim.

Her studies at Shanghai Jiaotong University were also questioned, with some online sleuths claiming the “studying certificate” she received after her graduation looked fake.

The Securities Association of China, a self-regulatory organisation for the securities industry, also refuted the claim that the 25-year-old is a licenced investment analyst.

Then, just days after her appointment as Miss China, Essence Securities released a statement saying, while Qin did work at the company for a time, she was hired as an assistant analyst.

“During her time at Essence, Qin was mainly responsible for basic tasks like contacting clients and organising documents,” the company said.

“It’s been eight months since she left our company and her credential as a financial analyst has expired.

“It’s her personal decision to take part in social activities and none of her actions represent women in this industry.”

The Miss World competition is the oldest running international beauty pageant. Picture: Miss World/Facebook

The speculation of Qin’s qualifications has gained so much attention that Miss World released a statement confirming they were looking into the matter.

“We are concerned with the complaints regarding the Miss China candidate that we have received,” the pageant said in a statement. “We will look into the matter and if the rules have been breached, appropriate actions will be taken.”

Qin has not addressed the rumours, instead recently posting a picture of herself and friends to social media with the caption: “An ordinary little girl”.

The situation has even gained the attention of past competitors, with the 2014 Miss China winner, Du Yang, saying “many odd things” were surrounding this year’s election process.

“I understand the economy is not doing well, and the organisers have many difficulties,” she said. “But, even with difficulties, there should be no act that severely violates competition rules.

“I have communicated this matter to the representative organisation of the event in China, and will continue to keep in touch with the British event headquarters to jointly maintain the brand reputation of the Miss World event.”

Miss World was created in the UK and is the oldest running international beauty pageant.

It is run every year and is one of the Big Four international beauty pageants, alongside Miss Universe, Miss International and Miss Earth.

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/chinas-entrant-to-miss-world-competition-sparks-backlash/news-story/f0788bbab263faaf27d8b7bba4c56dd8