Hong Kong government rejects US trafficking report as 'politically motivated smear'
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government has strongly opposed the 2026 US Trafficking in Persons Report, calling its Tier 3 ranking 'completely unfounded' and accusing Washington of a 'political smear campaign'. Officials cited robust anti-trafficking efforts including over 12,100 scre
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) government has vehemently rejected the 2026 United States Trafficking in Persons Report, labelling its Tier 3 ranking as 'completely unfounded' and accusing the report of being a 'politically motivated smear campaign' designed to mislead the international community.
A government spokesman said on 9 October 2026 that Hong Kong 'strongly opposes' the report's 'untrue and groundless' criticism of the city's anti-trafficking efforts. 'In Hong Kong, human trafficking has never been a widespread problem, nor is there any indication that criminal syndicates use Hong Kong as a destination or transit point,' the spokesman said, adding that the ranking 'deliberately smears Hong Kong's good reputation'.
The government said it conducted approximately 12,100 preliminary screening interviews in 2025 to identify potential trafficking victims, a seven per cent increase from the previous year. Of those, 15 victims were identified, all of whom were Hong Kong residents who had fallen prey to Southeast Asian job scam syndicates. The spokesman called the report's criticism of Hong Kong's victim identification 'extremely hypocritical', citing US research that 'pointed to systemic under-reporting of trafficking cases in local law enforcement agencies'.
Officials underscored protections for Hong Kong's approximately 380,000 foreign domestic workers (FDWs) under the Employment Ordinance and a standard employment contract providing free accommodation, meals, medical care and return airfare. In 2025, the Labour Department conducted over 1,700 inspections of employment agencies serving FDWs, with one agency convicted for operating without a licence and another denied licence renewal due to a connected person's previous conviction for dishonesty.
The government also cited 108 anti-prostitution operations in 2025, up six per cent from 2024, resulting in 203 arrests for operating vice establishments or prostitution-related offences. Police arrested 37 employers for abusing or sexually assaulting FDWs, while 49 employers were prosecuted for aiding and abetting FDWs to violate stay conditions, with 38 convicted. Some 2,400 personnel from various government bureaux and departments received trafficking-related training in 2025, an increase of over 18 per cent from 2024.
The spokesman dismissed the report's criticism of Hong Kong's 'two-week rule', which requires FDWs to leave within 14 days after contract termination, as displaying 'absurd double standards'. 'The report ignores that this measure aims to maintain effective immigration control, yet says nothing about the US visa system, which similarly requires foreign workers to leave within a specified period after employment ends,' he said.
Regarding calls for a standalone anti-trafficking law, the spokesman said Hong Kong's existing legal framework contains more than 50 provisions covering various forms of trafficking, adding that the Court of Final Appeal has confirmed the government has 'wide discretion' in fulfilling its obligations under the Hong Kong Bill of Rights. 'Every jurisdiction should have the space to formulate its own most appropriate legal framework to address the problem,' he said.
