Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery Poverty drives the unsuspecting poor into the
hands of traffickers Published reports & articles from 2000 to 2025 gvnet.com/humantrafficking/HongKong.htm
The Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of the People's Republic of China is a
destination and transit territory for men and women from mainland China,
Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and elsewhere in Southeast Asia
trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual
exploitation. Hong Kong is primarily a transit point for illegal migrants,
some of whom are subject to conditions of debt bondage, forced commercial
sexual exploitation, and forced labor. Hong Kong is also a destination for
women from the Chinese mainland and Southeast Asia who travel to Hong Kong
voluntarily for legal employment in restaurants, bars, and hotels, but upon
arrival are coerced into prostitution under conditions of debt bondage. - U.S.
State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report, June,
2009 Check out ta later country report here or a full TIP Report here |
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CAUTION: The following links
have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in HOW TO USE THIS WEB-PAGE Students If you are looking
for material to use in a term-paper, you are advised to scan the postings on
this page and others to see which aspects of Human Trafficking are of
particular interest to you. Would you
like to write about Forced-Labor? Debt
Bondage? Prostitution? Forced Begging? Child Soldiers? Sale of Organs? etc. On the other
hand, you might choose to include precursors of trafficking such as poverty and hunger. There is a lot to
the subject of Trafficking. Scan other
countries as well. Draw comparisons
between activity in adjacent countries and/or regions. Meanwhile, check out some of the Term-Paper resources
that are available on-line. Teachers Check out some of
the Resources
for Teachers attached to this website. HELP for Victims Hong Kong Police Department ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** Action for REACH
OUT
- Hotline 852 2770-1002 www.humantrafficking.org/organizations/95 [accessed 26 January
2016] www.afro.org.hk/EN/mission.php - and -
www.afro.org.hk/EN/hotline.php [accessed 29 January
2018] NATURE OF SERVICES:
OUTREACH
-As a client driven organization we are constantly creating, adding and/or
modifying our services, based upon what our clients have expressed as helpful
and/or necessary. Presently, we are helping women with the following: q information on
HIV/AIDS q limited legal
advice q accompanying women
through the police and legal system q giving information
on support groups in women's home countries We have a Hotline
that is open two nights a week for three hours a night, staffed by trained
volunteers. The Hotline is open to all women working in the commercial sex
industry (CSI) who need advice, counselling or just an open, non-judgmental
person to talk to. Additionally a pager is held by a trained volunteer 24
hours a day to handle any emergencies.
We organize face-to-face outreaches with the women in Mong Kok, Shamshuipo,
Tsim Sha Tsui and other
districts. Trafficked in
China, originally from Bolivia Oliver Poole. “Young
Mother’s Dream of Fast Fortune Ended in Nightmare” South China Morning Post
(11 March 1997) jammedtruestories.blogspot.com/2008/09/trafficked-in-china-originally-from.html [accessed 8 February
2011] TESTIMONY OF
PATRICIA
- From her home in an impoverished village in rural ***
ARCHIVES *** 2020 Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices: Hong Kong U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, 30 March 2021 www.state.gov/reports/2020-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/china/
[accessed 8 June
2021] PROHIBITION OF
FORCED OR COMPULSORY LABOR NGOs expressed
concerns that some migrant workers, especially domestic workers in private
homes, faced high levels of indebtedness assumed as part of the recruitment
process, creating a risk they could fall victim to debt bondage. Domestic
workers in Hong Kong were mostly women and mainly came from the Philippines,
Indonesia, and other Southeast Asian countries. The SAR allows for the
collection of maximum placement fees of 10 percent of the first month’s
wages, but some recruitment firms required large up-front fees in the country
of origin that workers struggled to repay. Some locally licensed employment
agencies were suspected of colluding with agencies overseas to profit from
debt schemes, and some local agencies illegally confiscated the passports and
employment contracts of domestic workers and withheld them until they repaid
the debt. In August officials concluded a year-long investigation, arresting
and jailing three SAR residents for participating in a predatory loan
syndicate involving local Philippine employment agencies. PROHIBITION OF CHILD
LABOR AND MINIMUM AGE FOR EMPLOYMENT The Labor
Department effectively enforced these laws and regularly inspected workplaces
to enforce compliance with the regulations. Freedom House Country
Report 2020 Edition freedomhouse.org/country/hong-kong/freedom-world/2020 [accessed 28 April
2020] G4. DO INDIVIDUALS
ENJOY EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY AND FREEDOM FROM ECONOMIC EXPLOITATION? While most Hong
Kong residents enjoy equality of opportunity and freedom from economic
exploitation, certain vulnerable and marginalized communities face
substantial risks of exploitation and abuse. For instance, Hong Kong’s
roughly 380,000 foreign household workers are vulnerable to a wide range of
exploitative practices. Since they may face deportation if dismissed, many
are reluctant to bring complaints against employers. 2 Filipinas convicted
of trafficking in HK Philip Tubeza, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 12/21/2007 newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20071221-108112/2_Filipinas_convicted_of_trafficking_in_HK [accessed 8 February
2011] Similar article:
www.traffickingproject.org/2008/02/filipinas-tried-for-trafficking.html [accessed 26 January
2016] FACTS ARE CLEAR - “The facts are
very clear. You arranged for the five women to be brought to Hong Kong from
the Philippines for the purpose of prostitution,” she said. The women—aged 24
to 39—were made to work as prostitutes because they owed the traffickers
P60,000 for their air fare and accommodations. The victims sought
the help of the Philippine consulate and the police because, contrary to the
traffickers’ promises, they were not adequately fed and were housed in
cramped apartments. Judges asked to
clamp down on trafficking South African Press
Association SAPA, October 19 2007 www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/judges-asked-to-clamp-down-on-trafficking-1.375558 [accessed 8 February
2011] "Malawian
women are sold by Nigerian syndicates... to Filipinas in the
slave trade Editorial, The
Manila Times, January 10, 2005 At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 6
September 2011] Filipinas are
sweet-talked into accepting what are promised to be good-paying jobs in There are times
when being a “receptionist” or “entertainer” entails more than just engaging
customers in small talk and sharing drinks with them. Once they render such
intimate services, the women switch labels. They will join the segment of the
working class sociologists refer to as sex workers. Those who can’t stand the rigors of work
and opt to cut their contract short are asked to reimburse the plane fare and
other expenses incurred in bringing them over. Plus rent. Afraid, confused
and with little or no money at all, the poor Filipinas are left with no
choice, but to stay on Gonzalez Orders
Crackdown on Human Traffickers www.op.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15356&Itemid=2 [Last access date
unavailable] The report further
stated that the girls in Government Action
Plans HumanTrafficking.org www.humantrafficking.org/action_plans/5 [accessed 8 February
2011] ACTION PLAN OVERVIEW
-
There is no official Action Plan in Hong Kong is not a
destination for human trafficking. Nor is it a place of origin for exporting
illegal migrants. We disagree that Hong Kong is a point of transit and
destination for persons trafficked for sexual exploitation and forced labor.
But we will continue to be vigilant and work closely with the relevant
authorities to prevent such activities. Hong Kong welcomes Press Release, June
12, 2003 www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/200306/12/0612241.htm [accessed 8 February
2011] " "We will
continue to cooperate with our law enforcement partners in the region and
overseas. The Government will also continue to allocate sufficient resources
to support this important area of work," he added. Research Projects
and Issues > Trafficking Project Centre for
Comparative and Public Law, Faculty of Law, The University of www.hku.hk/ccpl/research_projects_issues/trafficking/ [accessed 8 February
2011] RELATED PUBLICATIONS q Occasional Paper on Trafficking of Women into Hong Kong
for the purpose of prostitution q Round Table on Trafficking of Women into Hong Kong for
the Purposes of Prostitution q Migrant
Nightclub/Escort Workers in Hong Kong: An Analysis of Possible Human Rights
Violations Part IV: DeLay's
Unregulated Pacific " Stephen Pizzo, AlterNet, May 15, 2002 www.alternet.org/story/13140/ [accessed 8 February
2011] For Asian sweatshop
operators, the The opportunity was
quickly recognized by Asian sweatshop operators like Hong Kong's Tan Holdings, run by garment mogul Willie Tan. Deep
in the lush jungles, far from the island's white beaches and luxury hotels,
garment factories quickly set up shop. They staffed their factories with
workers from China and the Philippines with promises of work in the US. But,
workers soon discovered that the work contracts they signed consigned them to
near-indentured servitude deep in the Marianas steamy jungles. Wages were
low, hours were long. The companies docked workers' pay for housing, food,
medical treatments and other charges. The low wages and high deductions made
it nearly impossible for workers to save enough money to return home. Forced Prostitution
of Filipinas in Hong Kong S. Samydorai, Asian Human Rights Commission, Vol. 03 No. 01
JAN 1993 (Vol. 03) At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 6
September 2011] Domestic helpers
pay the equivalent of two-and-a-half months salary
for their jobs. Before they leave the Philippines, a list of debts are
incurred for pre-employment expenses. Normally, it takes one-and-a-half years
of working abroad to service personal debts. After that, earnings are usually
spent on the education of their children and on the latest appliances
available on the market. The Protection
Project - Hong Kong [DOC] The www.protectionproject.org/human_rights_reports/report_documents/hong.doc [accessed 2009] FORMS OF TRAFFICKING
-
Women from Thai and Filipino
women are brought into Hong Kong on the pretense of being given jobs as
entertainers; instead, they often find themselves locked in apartments during
the day and forced to work as hostesses in bars at night, providing sex to
customers. ***
EARLIER EDITIONS OF SOME OF THE ABOVE *** Freedom House
Country Report 2018 Edition freedomhouse.org/country/hong-kong/freedom-world/2018 [accessed 28 April
2020] G4. DO INDIVIDUALS
ENJOY EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY AND FREEDOM FROM ECONOMIC EXPLOITATION? Hong Kong’s roughly
330,000 foreign household workers are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.
Since they may face deportation if dismissed, many are reluctant to bring
complaints against employers. There have been reports of abuses against sex
workers by law enforcement officers. Human Rights
Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61605.htm [accessed 9 February
2020] Nearly all foreign prostitutes came to Traffickers have
used forged or illegally obtained travel documents to attempt to smuggle
persons through the During the year
there were no known reports of persons being trafficked into the SAR to work
as domestic workers All
material used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107
for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE RESPECT COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT ARTICLES. Cite this webpage as: Patt, Prof. Martin,
"Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery – Hong Kong",
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