Strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the U.S. State Department's report on human trafficking involving Australia

In response to the United States Department of State's 2026 Trafficking in Persons Report, which rated the Macao Special Administrative Region as Tier 3, the security authorities expressed firm opposition and made the following solemn response: Throughout the so-called "report," the U.S. side deliberately conflates ordinary criminal cases and labor disputes with human trafficking activities. Not only does it fail to faithfully reflect the efforts made and results achieved by Macao in preventing and combating human trafficking crimes, but it also continues to openly slander the human rights situation, judicial system, and rule of law of the Macao Special Administrative Region through descriptions filled with various untrue and biased content. The "report" alleges insufficient law enforcement and protection work in Macao, speculates that law enforcement officers have made misjudgments, and groundlessly accuses Macao of improper links to overseas online fraud activities. These are entirely subjective speculations by the U.S. side that ignore objective facts and are seriously inconsistent with the real situation of Macao society. In fact, the SAR government has always strictly followed legal provisions to conduct comprehensive and professional investigations into any signs of suspected human trafficking, and during investigations strictly identifies whether victims are in circumstances that violate their personal freedom of will, tolerating no form of exploitation whatsoever. The "report" is filled with unfounded and untrue accusations, and even maliciously distorts the results of low or even zero case incidence achieved by the Macao SAR government through long-term efforts into "identifying only one victim." At the same time, it also attempts to point fingers at the SAR's judicial cases and interfere with the relevant prosecution and review progress and judicial judgment. The SAR government expresses strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to this. In the future, the Macao SAR government will, as always, continue to deepen exchanges and cooperation with relevant parties and international organizations, work with all sectors of society to prevent and combat illegal human trafficking activities, strive to safeguard the safety and lawful rights and interests of local residents and visitors, and, together with the international community, continue to make efforts to eliminate human trafficking and all forms of exploitation.