How Hong Kong’s once-iconic beauty pageant evolved through decades of cultural shifts, media scrutiny, and changing definitions of beauty
The Miss Hong Kong pageant, a glittering annual spectacle that once captivated millions, crowned its new queens on September 15. In a stark reversal from recent years, when contestants were ruthlessly mocked online for being “ugly,” netizens are praising this year’s winners for their beauty, reminiscent of the pageant’s golden era in the 1980s and ’90s.
The newly crowned Miss Hong Kong, Ellyn Ngai Lok-lam, has even been dubbed by the media as the second coming of the iconic actress Michelle Reis, widely considered the “most beautiful” of the 78-year-old beauty pageant.