A transgender beauty pageant in Vietnam is currently under the radar of officials who say it was organized without their permission.
According to VNExpress, the Department of Culture and Sports in Ho Chi Minh City will investigate Miss International Queen Vietnam, a pageant that was hosted on Saturday evening and live-streamed as well.
A department official said on Sunday, “This contest was not licensed by the authorities. The department will coordinate with other agencies to probe and handle it in accordance with the law.”
The company which organized the beauty contest is owned by Nguyen Huong Giang (who won the 2018 Miss International Queen in Thailand). The organization said that it would work with authorities in this regard.
The beauty pageant was earlier streamed in the format of a reality tv show on YouTube, where seven episodes were uploaded for broadcast.
Giang had planned an event in February to announce the top 20 contestants, but it had to be canceled. Officials say that although the company had applied for a license to host a physical event, but it didn’t submit enough documents to secure the same.
Founded by Huong Giang in 2018, this was the third edition of Miss International Queen Vietnam. This year’s winner, 23-year-old Nguyen Ha Diu Thao will get to compete at the Miss International Queen pageant held in Thailand in June.
Last year, the Lao Youth Union banned transgender people from entering any beauty pageants, whether domestically or abroad, and including pageants meant only for transgender participants.
