US moves Hong Kong to Tier 3 in 2026 trafficking report; city calls it unfounded

Centre · 2The US State Department's 2026 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, released on Thursday, moved Hong Kong from the Tier 2 Watch List, where it had been for two consecutive years, to Tier 3, the lowest tier. 1 2 Centre · 2The report said the Hong Kong government did not fully meet minimum standards for eliminating trafficking and "is not making significant efforts to do so"; the rankings assess governments' efforts, not how prevalent the crime is. 1 2 Centre · 2Hong Kong joins mainland China and Macau among 20 jurisdictions in the bottom tier, which also includes North Korea, Russia, Iran and Afghanistan. 1 2

Centre · 2According to the report, Hong Kong authorities investigated 11 trafficking cases in 2025, all involving forced labour, up from seven a year earlier, but prosecuted one suspect, down from two, and convicted two sex traffickers, one of whom was jailed for less than a year. 1 2 Centre · 2All 15 victims identified last year were Hong Kong residents forced to work in scam centres in Myanmar and Cambodia, and no victims exploited within Hong Kong were identified despite about 12,100 initial screenings. 1 2 Centre · 2The State Department acknowledged progress, including better victim screening, training for about 2,400 officials, funding to bring home residents trapped in Southeast Asian scam operations, and an anti-trafficking action plan budget of HK$80 million for 2025-26. 1 2

Centre · 2The report renewed criticism that Hong Kong lacks a single law criminalising all forms of trafficking, and criticised the live-in requirement and "two-week rule" for domestic workers, saying they increase vulnerability to abusive employers and agencies, and that agencies routinely charged fees above the legal cap with insufficient penalties. 1 2 Centre · 2It also said the 2020 national security law and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance of March 2024 left non-governmental organisations unable to engage freely with authorities, including on trafficking. 1 2 Centre · 2In a statement issued early on Friday, the Hong Kong government called the rating "entirely unfounded" and "a blatant attempt to tarnish Hong Kong's sterling reputation", saying trafficking has never been prevalent in the city and there is no sign syndicates use it as a destination or transit point. 1 2

Centre · 2The government confirmed the screening and victim figures, said screenings rose seven per cent from 2024, and accused Washington of double standards, citing studies on under-reporting of trafficking by US law enforcement. 1 2 Centre · 2It said more than 50 legal provisions give safeguards comparable to dedicated trafficking laws, citing Court of Final Appeal rulings that it had no obligation to enact a specific offence under Article 4 of the Bill of Rights. 1 2 Centre · 2On domestic workers, of whom Hong Kong has about 380,000, the government said exploited workers can change employers without first leaving, the live-in rule supports local-worker employment priority, agency fees are capped at 10 per cent of the first month's salary, and it made more than 1,700 agency inspections in 2025 and arrested 37 employers over abuse. 1 2

Centre · 2The government rejected the national security criticism, saying both laws expressly protect human rights and target only those endangering national security. 1 2 Centre · 2More broadly, the report treats scam operations as a direct threat to US national security and says Chinese nationals mostly run the criminal groups behind them in Southeast Asia; Macau stayed on Tier 3, with no trafficking conviction reported since 2019. 1 2 Centre · 2A Tier 3 designation can lead to restrictions on certain US help and US opposition to some multilateral financing, though such measures depend on presidential determinations and can be waived on national interest grounds. 1 2