The government on Tuesday “vehemently objected” US downgrading Hong Kong in its latest anti-human trafficking report, calling the accusations of trafficked foreign domestic helpers unfounded and false.
The rebuttal came after the Department of State of the United States released its 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report Monday, which saw the city downgraded from Tier 2 to Tier 2 Watch List — one tier down from the second tier of the four-tiered scale.
In the report, the US said foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong remained at a high risk of trafficking and that local authorities failed to take adequate measures in victim identification and protection efforts.
Although Hong Kong authorities have screened thousands of vulnerable persons for trafficking, they only managed to identify three victims, down from the previous reporting period that identified 32 victims, according to the US report.
The report also mentioned that the government “did not provide services to any victims,” highlighting a shortage of interpretation services, among other problems.
In a statement published early Tuesday, the government said it “vehemently opposes and firmly rejects the unfounded and false remarks in the report.”
Calling the report findings “groundless”, the government said the ranking was “unfair, misconceived and not substantiated by facts.”
It added that trafficking in persons (TIP) is never a prevalent problem in the city and there has never been any sign that syndicates are actively using Hong Kong as a destination or transit point for TIP.
Some 11,000 initial screenings of persons vulnerable to trafficking were conducted in 2023, up 45 percent from the year before, the government spokesman said.
He also reiterated the city’s continuous efforts in combating human trafficking activities, adding it has invested substantial resources and efforts in providing protection for Hong Kong.
Hong Kong United Times丨香港聯合時報丨HKUT 