Beauty queen claims organizers told her to wear a Chinese Taipei sashBy Joseph Yeh

By Joseph Yeh, The China Post
November 24, 2015, 12:01 am TWN

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- A Taiwanese contestant in the annual Miss Earth beauty pageant has claimed the event organizers have forced her to replace a sash that originally said "Taiwan R.O.C." with a "Chinese Taipei" one because of pressure from mainland China.

In a Facebook post on Sunday, Ting Wen-yin (丁文茵), who is representing Taiwan in the pageant this year held in Vienna, Austria, said she originally wore a sash given by the event organizers that said "Taiwan, R.O.C." after she arrived in Vienna.
This is the first time Taiwan has used its own name to participate in an international beauty pageant contest, according to Ting.

However, the pageant organizers later asked her to replace the sash with a "Chinese Taipei" sash.
The organizers claim that Taiwan has always participated in the event under the name Chinese Taipei, and they warned that she must accept the change or face being forced to withdraw from the competition, Ting said in her Facebook post.

Ting claimed that the organizers' move was because of pressure from mainland China.
Ting stressed that she does not want to wear a Chinese Taipei sash since she is from Taiwan, calling for netizens to support her stance.

Asked to comment, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Eleanor Wang told The China Post that the ministry has yet to establish contact with Ting but has managed to contact Taiwan's Chinese International Beauty Pageants Association (中華國際選美發展交流協會), which sent Ting to Vienna in the first place.

Ting to Stay: Association

Wang confirmed that Ting was forced to replace her sash due to pressure from mainland China.
After learning of the incident, the ministry told the association that its representative office in Austria can lodge an official protest with the event organizers on behalf of Ting, Wang said.

However, Wang said the association later told the ministry that Ting will continue to compete in the pageant under the name Chinese Taipei.

The China Post yesterday reached out to the Miss Earth website for the organizers' comments on the matter but has yet to receive a reply as of press time.

According to the Miss Earth official website, a total of 87 contestants arrived in Vienna on Nov. 18 for this year's competition.

First launched in 2001, this year's Miss Earth is held to promote environmental awareness by focusing on its climate change campaign through the 5Rs: rethink, reduce, reuse, recycle and respect.

The winner of the Miss Earth competition will serve as the ambassador to environmental protection campaigns worldwide.

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2015/11/24/451749/Beauty-queen.htm