Hong Kong used as ‘pawn’ in China relations, says labour minister in angry reaction to US State Department’s ‘unfair’ assessment of city’s human trafficking record

The city’s labour chief tears into American criticism accusing Hong Kong of not investigating crimes properly

Dr Law Chi-kwong also vows to do more to protect domestic helpers and employers encountering rogue agencies

Reading Time:3 minutes

A human trafficking victim in Wan Chai. Hong Kong’s approach to the crime has caused tensions between the US Department of State and the city over the former’s report. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Published: 4:15pm, 30 Jun 2019Updated: 10:54pm, 30 Jun 2019

Hong Kong’s labour chief has said that “unfair” American criticism of its human trafficking record showed that the United States continued to use the city as a “pawn” in dealings with mainland China.

But Secretary for Labour and Welfare Dr Law Chi-kwong, who was commenting on Sunday on the trafficking report published earlier by the US Department of State, also pledged to enhance the protection of foreign domestic helpers, especially those with financial problems.

In the Trafficking in Persons Report released on June 20, the department upgraded the city’s ranking from “Tier 2 watch list” to “Tier 2” for the first time in four years.

According to the report, Tier 2 meant the government still did not fully meet minimum standards to eliminate trafficking, but was making significant efforts to do so. The so-called Tier 2 watch list, a worse grading, specified trends such as victim numbers increasing.

Law Chi-kwong, the labour chief in Hong Kong, does not take kindly to Washington’s appraisal of its record in dealing with human trafficking. Photo: David Wong

While the report acknowledged that the Hong Kong government had “demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared to the previous reporting period”, it criticised the administration for not doing enough in a number of areas.