US Department of State | Gov’t rejects human trafficking study

A statement from the Government Information Bureau (GCS) indicated that the government is whole-heartedly rejecting the findings of a recent report from the U.S. Department of State regarding the condition of human trafficking globally.
The report, which gave Macau a serious “Tier 2” rating in addition to finding that the government was not doing enough to combat trafficking, was criticized for its “wrongful conclusions” by Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak, last week.
Yesterday, GCS said the government believes that the report’s findings contain “serious misunderstandings with regard to the situation in Macau.”
“Findings in the report are not based on fact and involve groundless speculation,” the statement continued. “The government cannot and will not accept groundless comments alleging cases in Macau of human trafficking, labor exploitation, child sex tourism and unlawful activities by government officials.”
According to GCS, the government maintains that it has taken numerous steps to prevent and combat the problem, including the establishment of the “Committee of Measures to Deter Human Trafficking” and the passing of a law relevant to the issue.
As the Times reported yesterday, there were no trafficking convictions in 2015, and just six sex trafficking victims. The statement accredits this low number to the “positive effects of the government’s efforts,” which has resulted in “either a steadily reducing number of those crimes or zero instances of such offences.” DB