Mister and Miss Chinatown Kevin Lao (third from left) and Berjayneth Chee (third from right) pose with (from left) second runners-up Vince Aseron and Loraine Wong, and first runners-up Lovely Lim and Adrian See. (Photo by ARMIN P. ADINA / Contributor)
MANILA, Philippines — A pair of young Filipino-Chinese citizens now have the duty of representing the modern Chinoy after being proclaimed Mr. and Ms. Chinatown at The Theater at Solaire of Solaire Resort and Casino on Sunday, Oct. 30.
Kevin Lao bested nine other aspirants to win the pageant’s male division and inherit the title from Justin Yap, while Berjayneth Chee edged out nine other candidates to receive the crown from Cassandra Chan.
Yap and Chan won in a virtual competition mounted in 2020, at the height of the restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. No pageant was held in 2021, which extended their reign for another year.
This is also a historic staging of the annual pageant because of the inclusion of the first out member of the LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and others) community in the male division — Vince Aseron from Parañaque City who identifies as an “androgynous-femme presenting nonbinary.” He finished third in the competition.
Mister Chinatown Kevin Lao (Photo by ARMIN P. ADINA / Contributor)
Alvin Tan, president of pageant producer ChinoyTV, told the Inquirer in an earlier interview: “We want to show to the public that the Chinoy community now [is] starting to be open.”
He said the pageant is looking for representatives of the “modern” Filipino-Chinese community. The competition gathered Chinoys from different communities, not just in Metro Manila, with contestants also coming from Baguio City, Mindanao, Hong Kong, and the United States.
Proclaimed first runners-up were Adrian See and Lovely Lim, while Aseron’s counterpart was LoraineWong. .
Miss Chinatown Berjayneth Chee (Photo by ARMIN P. ADINA / Contributor)
Parts of the coronation show will be incorporated in the final episode of the docuseries “Chinese by Blood, Filipino by Heart” directed by Emmy award-winning Filipino-American director Mike Carandang. It will be shown on CNN Philippines on Nov. 6.