The Miss International 2012 Beauty Pageant Chongqing, an event which went largely unnoticed until micro bloggers posted photos of the winners online, has attracted widespread criticism, both with regard to the legitimacy of the contest itself and the winners selected from it.

The beauty selection was dubbed a "not-beauty selection", with many bloggers claiming that it failed to select a "genuine" beauty in a city famous for its pretty women.

"These three [contestants] were the deserved winners after rounds of grading," said Lan Rong, a representative from Chongqing's pageant organizing committee. "The winners don't look so good in the photo because of some technical problems," she added. "The three winners are all beautiful, and the queen has an international style. They will represent Chongqing in the national final rounds in August, so please don't put too much pressure on them. "

Many blog users also expressed their doubts as to the legitimacy of the competition. However, Lan Rong denied suspicious over "hidden rules", saying that the competition was very much a level playing field.

Lan Rong also confirmed that contestants' final grades would be made public "at the right time."

She told journalists that nearly 1,000 applicants attended the initial audition, with only 50 remaining at the quarter-final stage, and 20 for the final. However, according to one of the pageant judges, who wished to remain anonymous, there were fewer than 200 applicants at the initial audition.

As for the "organizing fee" of 600,000 yuan (US$ 95,000) that the Chongqing Lvxing Film and TV Production Co., Ltd paid to the organizing committee of China, Lan Rong explained that such sponsorship deals are perfectly legitimate practices where such events are concerned.

However, files housed in the local bureau of industry and commerce show that the organization of beauty pageants and their related operations are not within Chongqing Lvxing Film and TV Production Co., Ltd's scope of business.

(China.org.cn by Guo Jiali July 18, 2012)

原本无人关注的2012国际小姐重庆区比赛近日成为国人瞩目的焦点。有网友将此次选美前三甲的照片贴在微博上，引发了社会对于比赛正规性和获胜者相貌的批评。

此次选美被人们戏称为“选丑”。网友们宣称，主办方在重庆这样盛产美女的地方，竟然选不出一位真正的美女。

国际小姐重庆赛区组委会负责人蓝蓉表示，前三甲的产生经过了几轮评选，是实至名归的。她说，由于一些技术方面的因素，致使三甲照片的效果不尽人意。“事实上前三名都是很优秀的女孩，冠军很有国际范儿。”蓝蓉补充说，前三名选手将于今年八月代表重庆参加中国赛区总决赛。她们在此次事件中承受了巨大压力，希望网民能予以呵护。

很多博客用户质疑比赛的正规性。蓝蓉否认此次选美存在所谓的“潜规则”。她说，这是一次公平竞争。

蓝蓉确认，组委会将在“合适的时候”公布决赛打分表。

蓝蓉称，比赛海选有近千人报名，经筛选剩下50人进入复赛，最后20强进入决赛。然而，据大赛一位不愿透露姓名的评委称，此次比赛的海选报名者不足200人。

蓝蓉承认重庆旅星影视节目制作有限公司向第52届国际小姐中国大赛中国区组委会缴纳了60万元的“承办费”，从而取得了重庆赛区的承办权。她解释说，国际小姐是一项正常的商业活动，所以有赞助协议是很正常的事情。

然而，据重庆市工商局档案处的资料显示，重庆旅星影视节目制作有限公司的经营范围并不包括承办选美比赛及相关经营项目。