Myanmar beauty queen granted asylum in Canada

Former Myanmar beauty queen Han Lay (Photo: Varuth Hirunyatheb)
Former Myanmar beauty queen Han Lay (Photo: Varuth Hirunyatheb)

A former Myanmar beauty queen held at Suvarnabhumi airport after she was barred from entering the country last week has been granted refugee status in Canada.

The Myanmar military issued a warrant for her arrest after she spoke out against the junta while on the stage as one of the 20 finalists in the Miss Grand International beauty pageant.

A security source told the Bangkok Post that Thaw Nandar Aung, also known as Han Lay, will leave Thailand on a Korean Air flight on Tuesday.

The Miss Grand International Myanmar 2020 will stop over at South Korea’s Incheon airport for a quick transit before leaving on a flight bound for Toronto, Canada on Tuesday night.

It was reported that Han Lay applied for asylum with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Thailand after she was denied entry upon returning from Vietnam last week.

Han Lay was denied entry after an immigration officer spotted an irregularity with her passport.

A source said Myanmar’s military junta may have revoked Han Lay’s passport.

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Vocabulary

  • asylum: the right to stay in a country, given by a government to protect someone who has escaped from war or political trouble in their own country - การลี้ภัย
  • denied: a refusal to allow somebody to have something - ปฎิเสธ, ไม่ยอมรับ
  • grant: to officially give something - ให้
  • irregularity: something that is not according to what is expected - ความผิดปกติ
  • junta: a group of military officers that governs a country, usually without having been elected - รัฐบาลทหาร
  • pageant: a competition to choose the most beautiful from a group of women - ประกวดนางงาม
  • refugee: someone who leaves their country, especially during a war or other threatening event - ผู้ลี้ภัย
  • revoke: to officially say that something is no longer legal - เพิกถอน
  • source: someone who gives information - แหล่งข่าว
  • transit: the act of moving something from one place to another - การส่งผ่าน
  • warrant (noun): a legal document that is signed by a judge and gives the police authority to do something - หมาย
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