Monday, October 13, 2008 - 17:20
AFP News Briefs ListChina legislator quits pageant as politics rears ugly head
A Chinese lawmaker has quit a beauty contest after critics accused her of debasing the pageant with politics, state media said Monday.
Yuan Jing, 22, ranked second out of 1,000 contestants in the Miss Chinese International Pageant, insisted she had not withdrawn under pressure, Xinhua news agency said.
"I'm too busy to continue the contest. I have a heavy workload," she was quoted as saying, citing her political duties.
Yuan is a deputy to the National People's Congress, China's rubber-stamp legislature, from the eastern province of Jiangsu.
One of the country's youngest deputies, she is also an alternate member of the Chinese Communist Youth League Central Committee.
The Hong Kong-based pageant, organised by broadcaster TVB, is held at the beginning of each year and is for Chinese-born women and those of Chinese descent born abroad.
Yuan has created a buzz due to her background and achieved a No. 2 ranking in the preliminary online portion, Xinhua said.
But Internet users across China have complained about the participation of a political figure.
Some said a congress deputy should not be involved in such trivial pursuits in a country where millions struggle to get ahead, while others complained about Yuan listing her political titles on her pageant biography, Xinhua added.
However, Yuan defended herself.
"I was only introducing myself to the public. It was a kind of resume. Besides, contestants naturally would try all means to win votes. Why can't I?" Xinhua quoted her as saying.
