Miss Chinese International Pageant

Miss Chinese International Pageant (Chinese: 國際中華小姐競選, formerly 國際華裔小姐競選), or MCI (Chinese: 華姐) for short, is an annual international beauty pageant, organized and broadcast by TVB, a leading network television station in Hong Kong. It was established in 1988 and the Chinese name of the pageant was rebranded in 2007.

Miss Chinese International Pageant
國際中華小姐競選 (2007-present)
國際華裔小姐競選 (1988-2006)
AbbreviationMCI, MCIP, 華姐
Established1988 (1988)
Founded atHong Kong
TypeBeauty pageant
PurposeAnnual beauty pageant to crown the best representative of Chinese beauty from around the globe.
Official language
Cantonese, Mandarin
Current title holder
Hera Chan (2019)
Parent organization
TVB
Websitehttp://b.tvb.com/mcip/
Miss Chinese International Pageant
Traditional Chinese國際中華小姐競選
Simplified Chinese国际中华小姐竞选
Former Chinese name
Traditional Chinese國際華裔小姐競選
Simplified Chinese国际华裔小姐竞选
Shortform name
Traditional Chinese華姐
Simplified Chinese华姐

The current Miss Chinese International is Miss Hong Kong 2018 winner Hera Chan, who was crowned at the Miss Chinese International Pageant 2019.

The 31st Miss Chinese International Pageant of 2020, originally scheduled to take place February 2020, has been postponed to 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[1]

Composition

At its inception in 1988, in what was formerly British Hong Kong, delegates were either winners or runners-up of regional Chinese beauty pageants around the world excluding the country of China, as originally, this was a pageant for Chinese delegates from overseas. In 2007, pageant organizers altered the entry requirements to include delegates representing Mainland China. All delegates at the time of the pageant are between the ages at least of 17 and 25, with the upper age limit expanded to 27 in 2012. The delegates must be of at least partial Chinese descent.

In 2009, a record number of 11 delegates came from Mainland China, more than one-third of the total contestant count. The number of China delegates has since decreased, with the 2013 pageant having only one Mainland Chinese delegate, representing Foshan.

Chinese name change

Starting in 2007, the pageant allowed mainland Chinese participants, and the Chinese name of the pageant changed from 國際華裔小姐競選 (Cantonese: Gwokjai Wàhyeuih Síujé gihngsyún; Mandarin: Guójì huáyì xiǎojiě jìngxuǎn), which literally translated to "Miss International of Chinese Descent Pageant" to 國際中華小姐競選 (Cantonese: Gwokjai Jūngwàh Síujé Gihngsyún (Mandarin: Guójì zhōnghuá xiǎojiě jìngxuǎn) to reflect the change, matching the English pageant title of Miss Chinese International Pageant.

Participating regions

Pageant timeframe

The first two pageants (1988 & 1989) were held in the fourth quarter of the calendar year. However, in 1990, TVB decided to shift the pageant date to the beginning of the year to coincide with Lunar New Year. But since Miss Chinese International Pageant 1989 was not held until mid-December, the 3rd Miss Chinese International Pageant came early 1991 with no pageant being held in 1990. Since then, the pageant was held late January or early February of every year.

In 2010, the pageant reverted to being held in November, delaying the 22nd Miss Chinese International Pageant by almost 10 months. Therefore, Christine Kuo, Miss Chinese International 2009 is the longest serving titleholder, having served 658 days from January 17, 2009 to November 5, 2010. The delay of the pageant meant that several regional titleholders from 2009 were not able to enter Miss Chinese International Pageant 2010 as they have already crowned their successors by November 2010, including Miss Hong Kong 2009 Sandy Lau. Miss Hong Kong Pageant 2010 was held in August and Lau's successor, Toby Chan, represented Hong Kong in Miss Chinese International 2010 instead.

One year later, TVB announced that the 23rd Miss Chinese International Pageant would be delayed until January 15, 2012, meaning that there would be no pageant held in 2011.[3] This is the first time since 1990 a pageant would not be held during a calendar year. As with the year before, several regional titleholders from 2010 would not be able to enter Miss Chinese International Pageant 2012 as they have already crowned their successors by the end of 2011. However, the organizers allowed 2010 regional titleholders from Auckland, Kuala Lumpur, Melbourne, Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver to compete with their 2011 counterparts in Miss Chinese International 2012, marking a first in the pageant's history where two representatives of the same region compete together.

The 31st Miss Chinese International Pageant was originally scheduled to take place on February 15, 2020 in Hong Kong. However, on January 28, 2020, organizer TVB announced that due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, for the safety of the delegates, crew, and audience, the pageant would be postponed to the year 2021, with the actual date to be announced.[4]

Results

Delegates representing Canadian cities have won 11 iterations of the competition; with Vancouver winning seven titles (2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2010, 2013, 2016), Toronto three times (1992, 1997 and 2009) and Montreal once (1993).

Delegates from pageant organizer Hong Kong have won four times (1988, 2000, 2014, 2019), and have recorded the most top three finishes with 19.

Delegates representing New York City, USA have won thrice, first in 1999, followed by back-to-back wins in 2017 and 2018.

Major award winners

Year Date Winner 1st Runner-Up 2nd Runner-Up Miss Friendship
1988Oct 2, 1988 Michele Monique Reis
Hong Kong
Tammy Lee
Seattle,  USA
Sharon Kwok
San Francisco,  USA
Tanya Lim
Calgary,  Canada
1989Dec 17, 1989 Kit Wong
Sydney,  Australia
Monica Chan
Hong Kong
Guilhermina Madeira da Silva Pedruco
Macau
No award given
1990Postponed to February, 1991
1991Feb 10, 1991 Yen-Thean Leng
 Singapore
Anita Yuen
Hong Kong
Hazel Cheung
Montreal,  Canada
Deanna Leung
Seattle,  USA
1992Jan 26, 1992 Rosemary Chan
Toronto,  Canada
Amy Kwok
Hong Kong
Valerie Lee
San Francisco,  United States
Sherine Tsang
Auckland,  New Zealand
1993Jan 10, 1993 Christy Chung
Montreal,  Canada
Emily Lo
Hong Kong
Elaine Barbara Der
Vancouver,  Canada
Nien-Chien Chang
Seattle,  USA
1994Jan 23, 1994 Saesim Pornapa Sui
Bangkok,  Thailand
Diane Wang
New York City,  USA
I-Man Chao
Seattle,  USA
Rebecca Lok-Sze Miu
Manila,  Philippines
1995Jan 22, 1995 Hsiang-Ling Ku
Taipei,  Taiwan[2]
Darabhorn Bhakdeeratna
Bangkok,  Thailand
Edna Wei
Los Angeles,  USA
Gloria Hui
Vancouver,  Canada
1996Jan 27, 1996 Siew-Kee Cheng
 Singapore
Melissa Ng
San Francisco,  USA
Amy Chung (Dethroned)[a]
New York City,  USA
Winnie Yeung
Hong Kong
1997Jan 26, 1997 Monica Lo
Toronto,  Canada
San San Lee
Hong Kong
Kulzatri Konjanawan
Bangkok,  Thailand
Wendy Giam
Kuala Lumpur,  Malaysia
1998Jan 25, 1998 Louisa Luk
San Francisco,  USA
Lisa Vongthong
Bangkok,  Thailand
Kalyane Tea
Montreal,  Canada
May Ling Lai
Chicago,  USA
1999Feb 14, 1999 Michelle Ye
New York City,  USA
Janet Huang
Los Angeles,  USA
Anne Heung
 Hong Kong
Mabel Wong
Calgary,  Canada
2000Feb 6, 2000 Sonija Kwok
 Hong Kong
Tiffany Yang
Los Angeles,  USA
Crystal Pan
Vancouver,  Canada
Jessie Cheng
Melbourne,  Australia
2001Jan 20, 2001 Bernice Liu
Vancouver,  Canada
Jennifer Huang
Montreal,  Canada
Vivian Lau
 Hong Kong
Hsing-Ting Chiang
Taipei,  Chinese Taipei[2]
2002Jan 27, 2002 Shirley Zhou
Vancouver,  Canada
Christie Bartram
Toronto,  Canada
Angela Foo
Kuala Lumpur,  Malaysia
Marjorie Wu
Honolulu,  USA
2003Jan 25, 2003 Rachel Tan
Kuala Lumpur,  Malaysia
Tiffany Lam
 Hong Kong
Diana Wu
Toronto,  Canada
Lola Gong
Amsterdam,  Netherlands
2004Jan 17, 2004 Linda Chung
Vancouver,  Canada
Mandy Cho
 Hong Kong
Carlene Aguilar
Manila,  Philippines
Mandy Cho
 Hong Kong
2005Jan 29, 2005 Leanne Li
Vancouver,  Canada
Fala Chen
New York City,  USA
Jessica Young
Melbourne,  Australia
Jolene Chin
Kuala Lumpur,  Malaysia
2006Jan 21, 2006 Ina Lu
Johannesburg,  South Africa
Ginney Kanchanawat
Bangkok,  Thailand
Annabelle Kong
Kuala Lumpur,  Malaysia
Annabelle Kong
Kuala Lumpur,  Malaysia
2007Jan 20, 2007 Sarah Song
Sydney,  Australia
Ivy Lu
Johannesburg,  South Africa
Sherry Chen
Toronto,  Canada
Parichat Wisuthiphatt
Bangkok,  Thailand
2008Jan 26, 2008 Océane Zhu
Paris,  France
Kayi Cheung
 Hong Kong
Aileen Xu
Chongqing,  China
Delaine Lee
Calgary,  Canada
2009Jan 17, 2009 Christine Kuo
Toronto,  Canada
Skye Chan
 Hong Kong
Cici Chen
Vancouver,  Canada
Skye Chan
 Hong Kong
2010Nov 5, 2010 Eliza Sam
Vancouver,  Canada
Belle Theng
Kuala Lumpur,  Malaysia
Candy Chang
Toronto,  Canada
Lu Bai
Foshan,  China
2011Postponed to January, 2012
2012Jan 15, 2012 Kelly Cheung
Chicago,  USA
Cheryl Wee
Singapore,  Singapore
Lenna Lim
Kuala Lumpur,  Malaysia
Ashton Hong
Toronto,  Canada
2013Feb 24, 2013 Gloria Tang
Vancouver,  Canada
Denise Camillia Tan
Kuala Lumpur,  Malaysia
Carat Cheung
 Hong Kong
Lauren Weinberger
Los Angeles,  USA
2014Jan 26, 2014 Grace Chan
 Hong Kong
Cindy Zhong
Vancouver,  Canada
Lucia Lorigiano
Montreal,  Canada
Mandi Cheung
 Singapore
2015Jan 25, 2015 Mandy Chai
Sydney,  Australia
Veronica Shiu
 Hong Kong
Catherine Hui
New York City,  United States
Christina Jin
Auckland,  New Zealand
2016Jan 23, 2016 Jennifer Coosemans
Vancouver,  Canada
Mary Chen
New York City,  United States
Tiana Luan
Sydney,  Australia
Alice Wong
Los Angeles,  United States
2017Jan 15, 2017 Stitch Yu
New York City,  United States
Serene Lim
Kuala Lumpur,  Malaysia
Crystal Fung
 Hong Kong
Adelaide Lee
Johannesburg,  South Africa
2018Feb 3, 2018 Rose Li
New York City,  United States
Angela Liu
Los Angeles,  United States
Juliette Louie
 Hong Kong
Crystal Yang
Hawaii,  United States
2019Mar 2, 2019 Hera Chan
 Hong Kong
Stephanie Wang
Hawaii,  United States
Gina Wu
New York City,  United States
Tavee Meesang
Bangkok,  Thailand
2020Postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19
Notes
  • a ^ In 1999, Amy Chung was stripped of her title of Miss Chinese International 1996 Second Runner-Up and had her artiste contract with TVB terminated when it was discovered that she had an outstanding warrant for her arrest in USA as she left the country to enter the pageant while on probation stemming from a credit card fraud conviction. Chung had also lied about her academic credentials, claiming to have a Masters Degree from Harvard University when she only has taken a course from Harvard Extension School.[5] The title has yet to be filled since.

See also

  • List of beauty contests

References

  1. "TVB postpones 2020 Miss Chinese International pageant". sg.style.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2020-09-01.
  2. Due to the complexities of the relations between it and the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China (ROC or "Taiwan") is not represented in the Miss Chinese International Pageant under its official name "Republic of China" or as "Taiwan" but competes under the name "Chinese Taipei". See One-China policy and Chinese Civil War for details.
  3. Miss Chinese International Pageant 2012 Announcement TVB.com article (In Chinese). Retrieved 2011-10-21
  4. Miss Chinese International Pageant 2020 postponement announcement TVB official Facebook account article (In Chinese). Retrieved 2020-02-06
  5. Amy Chung Destroyed Her Future Article from The Sun (Hong Kong) (In Chinese) dated 2002-10-05. Retrieved on 2011-12-01.
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