Finland\u2019s prime minister Petteri Orpo apologized to Asian nations on Wednesday in an attempt to stifle a growing controversy over racist images shared by members of his government\u2019s four-party coalition in solidarity with a beauty pageant winner who was stripped of her title.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d21y75miwcfqoq.cloudfront.net\/70c8fc80\")
The scandal arose earlier this month when the former Miss Finland<\/a> winner, Sarah Dzafce, 22, was pictured pulling back her eyes in an image shared on social media alongside the caption, \u201ceating with a Chinese person.\u201d<\/p>\n Two members of the Finnish parliament and one European parliament member, all from the Finns Party, the country\u2019s right-wing populist movement, responded to Dzafce by posting similar images of themselves pulling back their eyes after it was announced that she would be stripped of her crown over the derogatory post.<\/p>\n In his apology, released by Finnish embassies in China, Japan and South Korea, Orpo wrote, \u201cThese posts do not reflect Finland\u2019s values of equality and inclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cOur message in\u00a0Finland\u00a0and to all our friends abroad is that the government takes\u00a0racism\u00a0seriously and is committed to combatting the issue,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Dzafce, who is not of Asian heritage, also apologized, saying she did not intend to offend anyone.<\/p>\n \u201cI take responsibility for my actions and learn from this,\u201d she wrote in an Instagram post<\/a>, days before the Miss Finland organization revoked her title.<\/p>\n In a statement on Saturday, the organization wrote that the content she posted was \u201coffensive, harmful, and completely against the values of the Miss Finland competition.\u201d<\/p>\n For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cWe are deeply sorry for the harm these events have caused. Especially to the Asian community, but also to everyone affected. Racism is never acceptable in any form,\u201d it continued.<\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \n\t\tTrending Now<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\tCanada sees record population drop, driven by fewer temporary residents<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n \n\t\t\t\t\tThis H3N2 flu strain is spreading \u2018rapidly.\u2019 Why subclade K is hitting hard<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n One of the MPs who mimicked Dzafce\u2019s post, Juho Eerola, told Reuters he had apologized for his post and declined to give further comment.<\/p>\n Kaisa Garedew, a Finnish MP, and Sebastian Tynkkynen, a member of the European Parliament, also shared derogatory photos and have been reprimanded by their party,\u00a0the Finnish Broadcasting Company<\/a>, the country\u2019s national public news outlet reported.<\/p>\n \u201cWe discussed the matter seriously within the parliamentary group and concluded that the images should not have been published. We have agreed that this will not happen again. The MPs have received a serious warning from the group,\u201d Finns Party leader Jani M\u00e4kel\u00e4 told the broadcaster.<\/p>\n Shortly after taking office in 2023, Orpo\u2019s government faced a no-confidence vote over racist online posts and statements made by several cabinet members from the Finns Party.<\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The scandal is the latest in a slew of setbacks linked to this year\u2019s broader Miss Universe contest in Thailand<\/a>, where organizers have faced walkouts and allegations of rigging.<\/p>\n Miss Mexico, the competition\u2019s eventual winner, and several other contestants walked out of the pageant<\/a> during a sashing ceremony in November, after one of the pageant\u2019s executives called her \u201cdumb.\u201d<\/p>\n Also in November, a Thai court issued an arrest warrant for the co-owner of the\u00a0Miss Universe<\/a> Organization in connection with a fraud case.<\/p>\n \u2014 With files from Reuters<\/em><\/p>\n \n\t\t\t![\"For](\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/wp-content\/themes\/shaw-globalnews\/images\/skyline\/national.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\nGet breaking National news<\/h2>\n
\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/2024061910060-c1be84e709c644e185feff7883da4fdd1a978a6ac73fce448d09493f708ab995_a55260.jpg?quality=65&strip=all&w=336&h=224&crop=1\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Kids-Flu-Deaths.jpg?quality=65&strip=all&w=336&h=224&crop=1\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n