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Games
Leslie Yip tested the crowd with some Sonija trivia. Fav color, food, etc. Those who answered correctly received a pearl necklace valued at $150 CAD from Hung Sing Jewels, official sponsor of the event. $10 received one when she was asked the name of the character which Sonija portrayed from the series Blast from the Past!! Exciting! Unfortunately, there was no Miss HK trivia ...zero domination for moi! Other games included prize draws, acting scenes from Sonija's recent series with Eric Tsang, catwalk walkoff.

Sonija & Leslie Yip, who did such an excellent job hosting & getting people involved

Autograph/Photo
$10 & I ended up getting a photo & autograph from Sonija. Line up was quite long & security was tight. It was revealed that MHK 2001 & TVB actress Shirley Yeung Sze-Kei will be at Splendid China Tower on July 29th. My regret....should've brought the Nikon D80 even if it doesn't fit in any purse!

MISS CHINESE SEATTLE SCHOLARSHIP PAGEANT 2007 RESULTS *Courtesy of Amy Ng
WINNER: Samanth Chin
First Princess: Ni Jiang
Second Princess: Leslie Yeh
Special Awards:
Miss Talent: Vivian Chan
Miss Congenialty: Jennifer Wu
Miss Photogenic: Ni Jiang

Contestants:
Quenna Cheung
Angela Chu
Doris Wu
Marissa Yap

Official Website: http://www.chinesechamber.net

Samantha Chin (17 yrs) will participate at MCI 2008 as well as Miss Chinatown USA 2008. She is preceded by Amy Ng. Samantha sang "Big Spender" for talent, 1st RU Ni Jiang (19 yrs) sang "The Moon Represents my heart", 2nd RU Leslie Yeh (20 yrs) played a piano piece by composer Claude Debussy. Miss Talent Vivian Chan (20 yrs) performed on the guquin.

Miss Chinese Seattle 2005 Amy Ng will participate at next month's Miss Asian America pageant. She participated in MCI 2006 & Miss Chinatown USA 2007, where she was 2nd Princess. Good luck Amy!! :)

ARTICLE: YOUNGEST CONTESTANT WINS MISS CHINESE SEATTLE PAGEANT. By Shane Allen, For the Northwest Asian Weekly
Samantha Chin, 17, won over the judges at the Miss Chinese Seattle Scholarship Pageant on June 30 at Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue. Presented with a sparkling crown and $5,000 in scholarships following her performance, Chin will spend 2007 as the Miss Chinese Seattle queen.

Chin will represent the Chinese community at this summer�s Seafair parades and festivals and will have the opportunity to compete in Miss Chinese International in Hong Kong this winter and the Miss Chinatown USA pageant in San Francisco next Lunar New Year.

The teenager said her initial reaction to being named the winner was of astonishment. "I couldn�t believe that this was happening. The first thing in my mind was that, to me, all of us placed first. I am glad we all came here and created good friendships," she said.

A junior at Seattle�s Garfield High School, Chin was the youngest among the nine contestants. All the other young women are in college or are recent college graduates.

She is the granddaughter of a well-known member of Seattle�s Asian community, Ark Chin, a former regent of the University of Washington, philanthropist and retired engineer. Her parents are Dr. Curtiss and Omi Chin.
A singer, Chin chose to perform the popular jazz tune �Big Spender� in the talent competition. She said she chose to sing because singing �has the ability to transcend all cultural barriers.�

The talent competition offered a diverse array of performances that also included traditional Chinese fan dancing, salsa dancing and instrumental music.

First princess Ni Jiang took home $3,000 in scholarships, plus a variety of gifts as the winner of the Miss Photogenic title.

As second princess, Leslie Yeh won $2,000 in scholarships.

The title of Miss Talent went to Vivien Chan, who displayed her interests in the Chinese arts. Chan demonstrated her calligraphy skills and also plucked a melody on the guquin, a seven-stringed Chinese instrument. She was awarded a $1,000 scholarship.

The Miss Congeniality award was presented to the young woman who was considered most likable by the other contestants. Emotionally struck after being named the winner, Jennifer Wu was presented a $1,000 scholarship.

Co-chaired by Millie Su and Suana Chin, the pageant is organized by the Seattle Chinese Chamber of Commerce. Su said she was so busy making sure things went smoothly backstage that she never saw the audience�s reaction to the show.

The contestants were dressed in sparkling Western-style evening gowns and cheong sam (Chinese dresses) in a variety of colors and styles that reflected each woman�s taste. They also modeled light-blue swimsuits during the show.

Poise, talent, form, speaking ability, presentation and fitness were among judging categories. Each contestant also had to respond to a randomly drawn question.

The judges in this year�s pageant were former Mrs. USA Kim LaPlante; Michael Miller, executive field officer of the Miss Washington Scholarship Organization; author Lisa Quast; Ming Zhang, a senior partner at MulvannyG2 Architecture; and Dr. Deirdre Yen Chiu, 1982�s Miss Seafair and Miss Chinatown Seattle.

Former first lady of Washington Mona Locke and actor Bruce Locke (no relation) emceed the pageant. Mona Locke is currently pursuing a career in philanthropy after stepping down as an anchor and reporter for KIRO-TV this past April. Bruce Locke appeared in television�s �Mortal Kombat Conquest.�

The 900 or so audience members included former Gov. Gary Locke, whose appearance received much applause.

There was a slight change in the rules for the contestants this year. The women could not have any history of pageant participation prior to joining Miss Chinese Seattle. �It was decided so that each contestant could have an equal chance in the pageant,� co-chair Su explained.

The winner, Chin, said she plans to work with the Chinese Chamber to create unity within the community. During the pageant�s Q&A session, she was asked how she would help Chinese American children embrace their Chinese culture. Chin replied by saying that she would create intergenerational programs that forge friendships between young people and the elderly.

Some controversy erupted after the pageant when a complaint was lodged by family members of one of the contestants that did not win. They pointed out that pageant rules require the contestants be between the ages of 18 and 24. The winner was a year too young to wear the crown, they charged.

Organizers said they determined Chin was mature enough to participate following a special interview. In addition, they pointed out, she will be 18 for the national and international pageants.

This was the 51st Miss Chinese Seattle pageant.

JULY 6TH

MISS CHINESE TORONTO 2000 CISSY WANG EXPECTING BABY #2
Congratulations to Miss Chinese Toronto 2000 Cissy Wang & husband Donnie Yen, who're are expecting baby #2! The couple already have a beautiful 3.5 year old daughter Jasmine. The baby is due at the end of 2007 or early 2008.

Other expectant pageant mums due this year are...MHK 1987 Pauline Yeung Bo-Ling (7 months), MHK 1990 2nd RU Noel Leung Siu-Bing (due this month), MCI 1996 1st RU Melissa Ng Mei-Han (due this month).

JULY 1ST

MISS NEW YORK CHINESE CONTESTANTS CHOSEN*Information courtesy of Eric Yuen, Miss NY Chinese
Finals of the Miss Chinese New York pageant will be held on Saturday, August 4th in Mohegan Sun, Ballroom (Uncasville, CT). Guest stars will be Moses Chan Ho & Selena Li Sze-Wan (Miss HK Photogenic & Talent winner 2003). The 13 contestants will also compete in talent.
CONTESTANTS
A press conference was held on June 26th introducing the press to the 13 finalists for the MNYC pageant. They are #1 Anni Liang, #2 Crystal Kong, #3 Cisy Liang, #4 Yancy Yu, #5 Min Ming Jiang, #6 Stacy Wang, #7 Louise Lau, #8 Yin Zhang, #9 Elaine Lu, #10 Judy Yu, #11 Lanna Xu, #12 Allison Chen, #13 Yola Yu. The contestants were quite confident & it was evident they've had some training since the first interview.

The youngest contestant is #13 Yola Yu, who's 17 years of age. Most of the contestants were born in China (Beijing, Shanghai, Harpin, etc.). #7 Louise was born in HK and raised in Taiwan. The contestants are also quite talented and will be performing in the talent competition in dance, piano, violin, singing, or acting.

ACTIVITIES
06/30: Finalist Contestants attend Kite Festival 2007 in Jacob Riis Park, Rockaway, NY
07/03: Finalist Contestants visit Sponsors
07/10-12: MTV Production for Finalists in Mohegan Sun.
07/20: Talent Show at 7:00 pm in 46-45 Kissena Blvd., Flushing, NY. 11355, East Manor.
07/24: Meet the judges

TICKETS
Talent Competition
Date:Jul 20, 2007 (Fri) 7:00 pm
Location: East Manor Kissena, 46-45 Kissena Blvd., New York NY 11355
Dinner Ticket: $150(VIP), $100, $80

Final Show
Date:Aug 05, 2007 (Sun) 1:00 am
Location: Mohegan Sun, Ballroom
Ticket: $150(VIP), $95, $65

AWARDS
Awards to be distributed will be Miss Phtoogenic, Miss Friendship, Miss Talent, Best Costume, Miss Internet Popularity, Miss Popularity, as well as the winner, 1st RU, & 2nd RU titles.

The winner of Miss New York Chinese Pageant 2007 will compete in Hong Kong at Miss Chinese International 2008.