Hong Kong task force receives ‘eager response’ from Thailand over detainees

Government hopes to rescue victims as soon as possible but there is no timeline in place, task force official says

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Undersecretary for Security Michael Cheuk says the group has had “good communications on the latest situation and intelligence”. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 11:24pm, 13 Jan 2025Updated: 4:03pm, 14 Jan 2025

A task force sent to Thailand to help rescue a dozen Hongkongers lured to Southeast Asian countries and forced into illegal work has received a positive response from Thai authorities in a meeting with a high-level anti-human trafficking committee, officials have said.

But Undersecretary for Security Michael Cheuk Hau-yip, who is leading the group in Bangkok, said on Monday that any rescue operation would be difficult as most of the 12 Hong Kong victims were stranded at scam centres in Thai-Myanmar or Myanmar-Laos border areas.

“Today, we have had an eager response from the Thai government, and we feel that the Thai government strongly values this matter. Under their prime minister’s leadership, they have been enforcing relevant work in this aspect,” Cheuk said.

He said the Hong Kong government hoped to rescue the victims as soon as possible, but there was no timeline in place.

“Those areas are relatively chaotic and hard to control, any work to be carried out there will be difficult,” Cheuk said.

Cheuk is heading a six-member task force comprising Security Bureau, police and Immigration Department officials on a two-day trip to Bangkok to meet Thai authorities and representatives of the Chinese embassy regarding local victims who have been tricked to scam centres in Myanmar.