Macau, China, Aug. 13, 2025 (Lusa) - The United States has again accused Macau of restricting freedom of expression and freedom of the press through censorship and of allowing human trafficking, allegations that the Asian region has once again denied.
The allegations are contained in the US State Department's annual report on human rights around the world, which reiterates, as it did last year, that there have been no "significant changes" in the situation in Macau.
The document stresses that "the law provides for freedom of expression, including for members of the press and other media, but the government restricted this right."
The "Macau Special Administrative Region [MSAR] imposed restrictions on press freedom and encouraged the media to align themselves with government positions. There were reports of self-censorship by media outlets and journalists," the same document states.
In response, the Macau Government stressed that its "residents enjoy, under the law, broad rights and freedom of expression, press, assembly and parade, among others".
With regard to workers' rights, Washington criticises the fact that the law prohibits "workers in certain professions, such as the police, from forming unions, protesting or striking”.
In turn, from the US perspective, the Macau Government and "employers do not respect collective bargaining, exerting influence over associations and the choice of their leaders”.
With regard to "refugee protection”, the State Department criticises the Macau Government for not granting refugee status to those who have sought asylum.
On the accusations of allowing human trafficking, Washington reiterates that Macao "does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so, based on publicly available information," according to the 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report, published in June and cited in this document.
For the Macau Special Administrative Region, the State Department report contains unfounded accusations that do not correspond to the facts and are full of prejudice.
"The United States, in violation of the principles of international law and basic norms of international relations, publishes, year after year, so-called reports to irresponsibly comment on the human rights situation in the Macau SAR, which constitutes a violent interference in China’s internal affairs and the affairs of the Macau SAR," it criticised.
Macau hopes that the US will "look impartially at the enormous achievements made under the “one country, two systems” principle, (...) respect the facts and stop maliciously slandering and criticising the human rights situation in the MSAR".
Since the transfer of sovereignty over Macau from Portugal to China in 1999, the territory has “firmly, fully and correctly” implemented local legislation and the “one country, two systems” principle, according to the authorities.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned on Tuesday that, overall, certain sections are omitted from the US State Department's annual human rights report and that there is “manipulation” of abuses in certain countries that “debase and politicise the report”.
According to HRW, the document omitted several categories of violations that were common in previous editions, including those against women, the LGBTI community (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex), people with disabilities, government corruption and freedom of peaceful assembly.
In the report for 2024, the Trump administration removed criticism of El Salvador, Israel and Russia, while intensifying its criticism of Brazil and South Africa, countries considered rivals of the new administration.
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