Hong Kong file photo

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government on Friday firmly rejected relevant claims in the US Department of State's 2026 Trafficking in Persons Report, which downgraded Hong Kong from Tier 2 to Tier 3, calling the claims entirely unfounded and an attempt to tarnish Hong Kong's reputation.

The report's claims are seriously at odds with the actual situation in Hong Kong and the positive evaluations of the city by the international community, an HKSAR government spokesperson said on Friday. Human trafficking has never been a widespread problem in Hong Kong, and there is no indication that criminal groups use the city as a destination or transit point for human trafficking, the spokesperson said.

The report attributed Hong Kong's downgrade to a so-called decline in prosecutions of suspected traffickers compared with the previous reporting period. It also repeated allegations concerning human rights in China's Xizang and Xinjiang regions and raised so-called concerns about Chinese citizens being trafficked into scam operations in Southeast Asia.

According to the HKSAR government, authorities conducted 12,100 preliminary screenings in 2025, a 7 percent increase from the previous year, and identified 15 trafficking victims. All were Hong Kong residents who had been lured to Southeast Asian countries by employment offers. The government provided assistance to help them return safely to Hong Kong, identified them as potential trafficking victims, and investigated the cases, demonstrating its commitment to combating human trafficking and protecting residents, according to the HKSAR government.

The US downgrade is a politically motivated smear, not a credible assessment, Willy Fu, a law professor and director of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, told the Global Times on Friday.

Fu said that Washington's real intention is to use human rights as a pretext to interfere in China's internal affairs, undermine the HKSAR's international reputation, and contain China's development.

Hong Kong has more than 50 legal provisions covering conduct related to human trafficking, alongside comprehensive mechanisms for victim identification, law enforcement, prosecution, protection and support, Fu said, adding that the report diverted attention from the US' own human trafficking and human rights problems, and that Washington's repeated politicization of human rights issues had undermined its credibility. 

Global Times