Beijing and Hong Kong hit out at US report criticising city’s anti-human-trafficking bid despite improved rating

Beijing’s foreign affairs office and Hong Kong on Friday rebutted a US report criticising anti-human-trafficking measures in the city despite an improved rating, with state authorities accusing Washington of using human rights as a “tool of stigmatisation”.

In the annual Trafficking in Persons Report released on Thursday by the US State Department, Hong Kong was upgraded to Tier 2 after being placed on a watchlist in the same category for three years.