Beauty queen shows her true grit

Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled babes. The mainland might not want its beauty queens but Hong Kong does. Renegade Miss Universe contestant, Shanghai-born Zhou Ling, ignored by China after going to the pageant without official permission, is arriving in Hong Kong this weekend after her brief sojourn in Paris. However, the beauty queen - who would be celebrated as a heroine in most countries for taking third place - is only here to judge a sandcastle competition.

The low-rent gig is the latest in a humiliating string of jobs the 19-year-old model (right) has taken since she won the second runner-up trophy in Puerto Rico in May. The publicity blackout that followed her success has come to symbolise chauvinistic China's difficulty in coming to terms with modern roles for women and, for many urban Chinese women at least, Zhou is seen to have forged a path.

Even her appearance at the Stanley Plaza sand sculpture show on Sunday is low key. Organisers from the Hong Kong Tourist Board and the Housing Authority for the 'Endless Fun With Sand' event weren't even aware of her status. 'Isn't she just another model?' one asked.