LettersFor Hong Kong victims of forced labour: justice delayed is justice denied

The lack of specific laws targeting all forms of trafficking is a symptom of a larger problem. Present laws carry relatively light penalties

The government has also left the job of assisting victims of human trafficking largely to NGOs

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The man at the centre of Hong Kong’s first judicial review on human trafficking, photographed in Wan Chai in September 2018. A ruling in January 2020 said the administration had no duty to enact specific legislation against human trafficking for the purposes of exploitation, servitude or forced labour. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Published: 8:00am, 22 Jan 2020Updated: 8:00am, 22 Jan 2020

For human trafficking victims and activists in Hong Kong, 2020 didn’t start the way they might have wished, following the failed push for further legislation on the matter in a court case early in January (“Pakistani victim of forced labour in Hong Kong loses appeal for new offence”, January 10).

Organisations worldwide, including the US Department of State, have long criticised the Hong Kong government for inaction on eliminating local human trafficking. Still, officials have managed to keep the issue out of the public spotlight. Most Hongkongers have no idea that thousands of victims, both documented and undocumented, are exploited in various ways right here in the city. Victims range from abused domestic workers to undocumented migrants deceived into prostitution and harsh labour in construction sites.

The truth is this: our leaders are intentionally turning a blind eye to the human trafficking issue. Our outdated anti-human trafficking laws speak volumes.

Locally, laws penalise only trafficking for prostitution. Offenders involved in domestic worker exploitation, for instance, are prosecuted only under laws stipulating lesser penalties, such as violation of labour laws. Such weak punishments hardly deter potential offenders.

What’s worse, civil society has to pick up the burden of saving and taking care of these victims, since the government has clearly failed to take charge.