Miss Asia Pageant 2009

I recently watched the Miss Asia Pageant 2009 and was impressed with the overall standard. Miss Asia is growing from strength to strength but Miss Hong Kong is falling year by year. However I don't like comparing Miss Asia with Miss Hong Kong as Miss Asia is an equivalent of Miss Chinese International as girls from China, Taiwan, Macau, Hong Kong, America etc get to participate. I'd say Miss Chinese International and Miss Asia are on par with each other.

The Top 3 (from L to R: Xu Ying, Wang Xiyao, Hsu Chia Hsuei)

In general it was a good show but I have to say the final results did shock me somewhat. No.15 Xu Ying was a decent winner, she had the height, the body, the look, the eloquence and the elegance the only thing she lacked I'd say was charisma and a vibrant personality however she was one of 3 whom I believed could take the crown. However No.2 Wang Xiyao (using Mandarin pingyin here) was an underserving 1st Runner Up. Her look was decent at times but at other times she looked tired, she didn't have the eloquence or charm to her interview section either. The only thing she had was the body, yes I have to say she was extremely fit! And she had a good walk. However No.17 was the most undeserving of the 2nd Runner Up. She was basically not considered pre show but managed to scrape in! She had average looks, a weak body, an average interview and very little charm. I was utterly shocked when she was chosen over my favourite 3 - none of which made the Top 3!

I must say Miss Asia provided me with 100 times more laughs than Miss Hong Kong did, I thought the show's production was good, there was a variety of segments and the quality of delegates were decent - overall a great show shame about the results.

My Top 6 were (in order);
No.18 Liu Yi Hsin
No.6 Sheng An
No.16 Wang Jin Jin
No.10 Wang Chen
No. 15 Xu Ying
No.5 Tiana Tran

Then I'd go for;
No.4 Trudy Tai
No.14 He Qing
No.20 Tung Yi Wen

and rounding out my Top 12 would be
No.2 Wang Xiyao
No.3 Lam Tsz Kwan
No.11 Wang Zifei

A shame that No.4,11,14 and 20 were all eliminated before the Top 12.

In my opinion the Hong Kong candidates weren't a strong bunch, but I must say most of them weren't from Hong Kong I'd expect. No.2,4,7 had an accent whilst No.5 was from the US and No.6 was from Canada!

Here is my opinion on the 19 girls


No.1, Rebecca Mok
22
5'3"
95 lbs
32-24-32
student

Rebecca was the shortest contestant out of all, it was especially awkward when she would be standing with No.2 Wang Xiyao who is 5'9". However she failed to make an impression and was eliminated in the first round. Girls who are short need the confidence and personality to break them in but No.1 had neither. She walked around lacking a single smile and never really presented herself. Her frown aged her just look at her smile on the official portrait - much better than her live performance. Sadly I had to agree with her early dismissal.


No.2 Wang Xiyao
26
5'9"
115 lbs
34-24.5-34
Merchandising Manager

Xiyao was a favourite of mine early on and I must say on certain angles she does look like Michelle Reis but she sharply fell in my books. I believe I've stated the reasons for my quick dismissal of her, I didn't dislike her and I truly didn't mind her getting into the Top 6 but 1st Runner Up was a bit too much.


No.3 Lam Tsz Kwan
18
5'5"
122 lbs
35.5-26-36.5
High School Student

I didn't like Tsz Kwan that much in the beginning because I felt she was on the chubby side of asian girls and had an average look. I began to like her for her personality and interview technique. She was a confident and content girl so I was happy for her. However I wouldn't say I'd have liked her any further than the Top 12 but in all honesty I thought she would be in the Top 6. Overall she was a decent contestant to put into the Top 12 but not any further.


No.4 Trudy Tai
22
5'3.5"
95 lbs
31-22-33
Ice Skating Instructor

I liked Trudy but one thing irked me with her, her honesty! She unbashfully listed why she was better than some famous model (or such) though this would show confidence it doesn't go down too well in Asian pageants, say you're better but leave some space and dignity for the one in concern. However she was a pretty and exuberant girl sadly she wasn't noticed in the competition and left before the Top 12. In my opinion she was probably the prettiest Hong Kong girl (not including No.5 and 6 as I don't deem them Hong Kongers) but sadly she lacked height and grace - something Miss Asia loves!


No.5 Tiana Tran
20
5'6"
105 lbs
34-25-34
Student (North American West Coast Representative)

Tiana provided us with a number of funny moment with her weak command of the Chinese language, she was however charming and beautiful, a shame that she couldn't speak Chinese in any form or she may have made the actual Top 6!

I'll leave it there for now, I have a lot of work to do so I'll catch up on this at a later date - watch this space!