For China, taking third place in the Miss Universe contest the first time it entered a candidate might seem something to make hearts swell with pride. Instead, officials are going to great lengths to ignore the contestant, Shanghai model Zhuo Ling. Some media are questioning whether the bizarre way the 19-year-old was selected makes her achievement closer to a scandal.Two months before the 2002 Miss Universe pageant, Zhuo was strutting nervously down the catwalk at a remote resort in South China’s Guangdong province. ‘‘Hello everyone. I’m candidate number one Zhuo Ling. I am from Zhejiang (province),’’ Zhuo told judges at the Miss Universe China, before hurrying off. No other contestant emerged. Minutes later local cultural bureau officials marched in, declared the contest illegal and shut it down.Zhuo was eventually declared the winner. However her success at the Miss Universe pageant in Puerto Rico in May went barely mentioned in China’s media, usually eager to trumpet any national success.
