Strong pushback as US downgrades Hong Kong to tier-3 in human trafficking: 'Double standard'

US downgrades Hong Kong to tier 3 in the human trafficking ranking. Hong Kong has rejected the United States’ decision to place it in the lowest category of its annual human trafficking report, calling the assessment “entirely unfounded” and accusing Washington of applying double standards in evaluating the city’s efforts to combat trafficking. The US State Department’s 2026 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, released on October 8, downgraded Hong Kong to Tier 3 from the Tier 2 Watch List, where it had remained for two consecutive years. The lowest tier includes mainland China, Macau, North Korea, Russia, Iran and Afghanistan.In a statement, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government strongly rejected the assessment, describing it as an attempt to damage the city’s reputation. It maintained that human trafficking had never been prevalent in Hong Kong and disputed the US assertion that the city was not making significant efforts to eliminate the crime.The US report, however, said Hong Kong did not fully meet the minimum standards for eliminating trafficking and had fallen short in prosecuting suspected traffickers and identifying victims exploited within the territory....