Taiwanese beauty contestants pledge not to become mistresses

London - Contestants at an annual Taiwan beauty pageant are required to take a pledge that they will not get involved in extra-marital affairs.

The unusual move by Miss Globalcity Pageant, the largest home-grown beauty contest, comes amid public concern over revelations of celebrity love affairs.

To join, women must sign an agreement to abide by contest rules - this now includes not becoming a mistress, the BBC reported.

Any woman found to be involved in such an affair will be disqualified.

The organisers have said that seven women, including two past winners, have already made a public pledge representing this year’s contestants.

Standing in front of news photographers and reporters, they shouted: “Happy City - say no to being a mistress!”

Contest organiser Fifi Chang said that the agreement will stay in place for a year, adding that the new rule is aimed at “preserving families”.

“In the past, we’ve never done this, but we decided to do it this year because it seems being a mistress has become a trend.

“We hope to teach the women to have a correct attitude. It’s not a very good road to go down. So you first must refuse the man,” Chang said.

Although the agreement only stays in effect for one year, Chang said that she hoped the women will stay away from married men even after the year they are involved in pageant activities.

It introduced the rule because of the recent admission by one of Taiwan’s biggest baseball heroes, Chien-ming Wang, that he had an eight-month affair.