HONG KONG - The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government strongly objected to the city's relegation to "Tier-2 Watch List" in the United States Trafficking in Persons Report 2020 released by the United States Department of State.   

A spokesman was quoted as saying in a press release early Friday, "The Report contains allegations made by unidentified sources and without specific case details. It is disappointing to note that much of the analysis in the Report appears to be based merely on hearsay. The findings are groundless, and the rating of Hong Kong at Tier-2 Watch List is obviously seriously biased and not substantiated by facts. The HKSAR Government firmly rejects the findings and rating on such a sloppy and prejudiced basis. As a matter of fact, the HKSAR Government attaches great importance to combatting trafficking-in-persons (TIP)."

Since the implementation of the initial victim screening mechanism and as at end-May 2020, 742 initial screenings had been conducted. No TIP victim was identified.

HKSAR government spokesman

The spokesman pointed out how Hong Kong had been been making multi-pronged efforts to combat TIP citing an action plan to tackle TIP and to enhance protection of foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong. 

"Our resolve to combat TIP is beyond doubt, regardless of any one-sided and biased views on our solid work," the spokesman was quoted as saying in the press release.

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In 2019, more than 7,500 initial TIP victim screenings were conducted by a number of government agencies, including the Hong Kong Police Force, the Immigration Department, the Customs and Excise Department and the Labour Department. Screening questions used are akin to the ones proposed by non-government advocacy organisations. Definition of TIP adopted is the same as the one set out in the Palermo Protocol though it had never been applied to Hong Kong. Despite such screening efforts, only three persons were identified as TIP victims or 0.04 percent of all people screened.

In March 2018, the HKSAR government set up a high-level steering committee which promulgated the action plan and by end-2019, the action plan had been fully implemented, with all initiatives firmly in place.

"Since the implementation of the initial victim screening mechanism and as at end-May 2020, 742 initial screenings had been conducted. No TIP victim was identified," the spokesman was quoted as saying in the press release.

In 2019, the labour department successfully prosecuted 10 employment agencies, which was an 18 percent increase as compared with year 2018, according to the press release. 

In parallel, the immigration department also set up a dedicated team in Dec 2019 to scrutinize all foreign domestic helper visa applications. As at end-May 2020, 944 cases had been screened under the TIP victim screenings mechanism without any victim being identified.

"TIP is a heinous crime that has never been tolerated in Hong Kong. Hong Kong has a long and well-established legal framework. There are over 50 legal provisions against various TIP conducts that form a comprehensive package of safeguards comparable to composite TIP laws found in other jurisdictions. Some of the offences attract penalty of up to life imprisonment," reads the press release. 

The spokesman said the HKSAR government would continue to foster a constructive partnership with civil society in combating TIP on all fronts stressing that TIP has never been a prevalent problem in Hong Kong.

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