1. Anastasia Lin's father is the CEO of a large company that supplies medical equipment, Samsung cellphones, and other products in China; he owned a chain of 50 hotpot restaurants, before selling them during the SARS crisis.
21 Facts About Anastasia Lin
1. 2.
In China, Anastasia Lin's mother was a university professor who taught Western economics and international finance, and was the reason that Anastasia Lin eventually left the country.
3.
Anastasia Lin characterizes her mother as a "tiger mom" who put her through elementary school two years early and forced her to learn classical piano as a child.
4.
Anastasia Lin went to high school in Vancouver before moving to Toronto.
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Since she began acting at age 15, Anastasia Lin has appeared in films and television productions, and most prominently played lead roles in several films about human rights themes in China.
6.
Anastasia Lin won the 2016 Leo Award for Best Female Lead Performance in a TV Movie.
7.
Anastasia Lin has participated in beauty pageants, winning the Miss World Canada in 2015.
8.
In late November, after having not received the invitation letter from the Chinese government to support her visa request for the Miss World 2015, Anastasia Lin assumed that she had been effectively denied the right to compete in the pageant.
9.
Anastasia Lin had originally hoped to benefit from Hainan province's special visa policy for Canadian nationals, and sought to transit in to Sanya from Hong Kong on a Cathay Pacific flight from Canada.
10.
Anastasia Lin's being rejected from the pageant led to global media attention and commentary.
11.
Anastasia Lin's activism began in part as a reaction to what she characterized as "a lifetime of indoctrination" by China's political authorities.
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In China Anastasia Lin was part of the Young Pioneers, a Communist Party organization.
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Anastasia Lin was on the student council and helped to spread anti-Falun Gong propaganda.
14.
In July 2015 Anastasia Lin was invited to testify before US Congress, addressing the topic of Religion With "Chinese Characteristics": Persecution and Control in Xi Jinping's China.
15.
In subsequent interviews with media, Anastasia Lin has advocated for freedom of expression in China.
16.
Anastasia Lin was a speaker at the 2016 Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy.
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Anastasia Lin's voice is more resonant than ever, and she's gained thousands of supporters worldwide.
18.
Anastasia Lin has been invited to speak at a luncheon held at the National Press Club.
19.
Apart from her acting and human rights advocacy, Anastasia Lin went on to become a celebrity in her own right.
20.
Anastasia Lin participated in the Oslo Freedom Forum in May 2016, giving a speech about Falun Gong, organ harvesting, and freedom of belief.
21.
In December 2018, Anastasia Lin signed on to be a Macdonald-Laurier Institute Ambassador for Canada-China Policy.