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PP RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
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ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 160829Z JUL 07
FM AMCONSUL HONG KONG
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2303
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK PRIORITY 0370
RUEHUM/AMEMBASSY ULAANBAATAR PRIORITY 1181
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 HONG KONG 001866 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR G/TIP AND EAP/CM 
NSC FOR DENNIS WILDER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/16/2032 
TAGS: KCRM SMIG SOCI PGOV PHUM HK CH MC MG
SUBJECT: G/TIP DIRECTOR VISITS MACAU 
 
REF: STATE 078347 
 
Classified By: E/P Chief Laurent Charbonnet. Reasons: 1.4 (b, d). 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary:  Ambassador Mark Lagon, Director, Office to 
Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (G/TIP), and his 
Senior Coordinator for Reports, Mark Taylor, visited Macau on 
June 27 to discuss with Macau cabinet officials actions the 
Macau Special Administrative Region government (MSARG) should 
take to combat trafficking in persons (TIP) effectively. 
Consul General Cunningham accompanied Amb. Lagon in his call 
on Macau Chief Executive Edmund Ho.  In response to remarks 
by Ambassador Lagon about the nature and seriousness of 
global trafficking in persons, including in the MSAR and the 
U.S., Chief Executive Ho affirmed that his government is 
ready to cooperate. 
 
¶2.  (C) Additionally, the CE said that he understood that the 
USG's giving Macau a second consecutive Tier 2 Watch List 
ranking in the annual TIP report meant Macau had to show 
progress in the coming months.  He added, "we are not only 
committed to addressing the problem now, but we should have 
made it a priority years ago."  CE Ho also said he was 
confident trafficking could be defeated in the MSAR without 
any disruption to the gaming and tourism industries.  In 
addition to the meeting with Chief Executive Ho, Amb. Lagon 
called on several other relevant agencies in and out of the 
Macau government and provided on-the-record interviews to 
three separate reporters during his visit, some of which have 
played out in press reportage since the visit.  Summaries of 
each meeting, as well as the follow-up in local press and the 
Chief Executive's subsequent public statements, are included 
in paras 4-16.  End summary. 
 
¶3.  (C) Comment:  Chief Executive Ho has unambiguously taken 
the lead and is driving recognition across the MSARG and to 
the public that trafficking is a priority in Macau, and that 
despite the challenges Macau's small government faces with 
the territory's gangbuster economic development, trafficking 
must be combatted in the near term.  Officials in each 
meeting seemed fully briefed, prepared, and more energized on 
the issue, and an interagency approach seems to be taking 
hold.  CE Ho's statements that the MSARG now has the 
resources and the commitment necessary to fight TIP suggests 
a turning point in the MSARG's approach to the issue and its 
willingness to actively combat trafficking, as well as 
partner with NGOs to protect victims.  Hopefully deeds will 
match words.  End comment. 
 
CE Ho Committed to Implementing Anti-TIP Measures 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶4. (C) Ambassador Lagon told Chief Executive Edmund Ho, head 
of the Government of the Macau Special Administrative Region 
(MSARG), that trafficking in persons was a serious problem 
that plagued the United States as well as jurisdictions 
across East Asia including Macau, where prostitution is 
widespread and tolerated.  Furthermore, the U.S. Government 
was committed to helping others recognize the extent of this 
problem and to provide assistance, as appropriate.  CE Ho 
responded that his government was ready to take action and 
cooperate with us in the endeavor.  Ambassador Lagon 
expressed pleasure over the news that the MSARG had called 
for a bottom-up review of Macau laws related to trafficking 
in persons (TIP), to be conducted by the Consultative 
Commission on Women's Affairs (CCWA), of which Ho is the 
titular head, and that proposals for a new, more 
comprehensive TIP law were in the works.  Ambassador Lagon 
also explained that TIP often presented a multifaceted 
challenge for governments, and that laws alone are not enough 
-- good enforcement was key. 
 
¶5.  (C) CE Ho responded that "we are not only committed to 
addressing the problem now, but we should have made it a 
priority years ago."  He admitted to having the resources 
necessary to implement anti-TIP measures, and that he already 
had called for the police to "mobilize, and look into the 
matter," and that efforts were underway to work with the 
Government of Mongolia and others to improve the 
circumstances facing visitors and foreign workers.  Ho said 
he was pleased to see that the USG did not have a "hidden 
agenda" on the TIP issue, and that although immediate 
improvements would be difficult, we could expect to see 
progress in the months ahead.  (Comment:  By "hidden agenda," 
Ho probably meant to express concern over our use of TIP as a 
lever over one or more unrelated bilateral issues.  End 
 
HONG KONG 00001866  002 OF 005 
 
 
comment.)  Recognizing the link between prostitution and TIP 
cases, Ho said "the sex industry will comply because it is 
not widely complicit in trafficking in the MSAR," and 
governmental measures would be tailored so as not to catalyze 
resistance from the gaming industry.  Ambassador Lagon said 
he was aware that Macau was progressing markedly in economic 
development, led by the gaming industry, but that we were 
concerned about the potential detrimental effects stemming 
from prostitution in the MSAR as a magnet for trafficking. 
CE Ho agreed, but said he expected the evolution and 
increased sophistication of the gaming industry in Macau to 
not allow for a widespread TIP problem, and that an 
exacerbation of social ills in Macanese society was "not in 
our interests." 
 
¶6.  (C) Amb. Lagon elaborated on the USG's holistic model for 
combating trafficking, which goes beyond law enforcement 
action and includes dedicated efforts to identify and protect 
victims.  Amb. Lagon added that partnerships between 
government, private sector and non-governmental 
organizations, and civil society, were necessary for the 
effective protection of victims, which requires proactive 
efforts to find these victims among groups of foreign 
migrants.  Ho replied that he was in "total agreement," and 
said the MSARG would work with local NGOs and women's groups 
to identify victims, and that "it is always better if the 
government takes the lead."  Amb. Lagon also suggested that 
the MSARG appoint a dedicated point person to lead a working 
group or similar interagency approach to combating TIP in the 
MSAR.  Ho said that the MSARG and others in Macau could learn 
a lot from the U.S. experience dealing with TIP, and that it 
would take time to tie together policies and dramatically 
improve awareness among civil society.  He said the MSARG was 
considering updating immigration policies related to TIP, and 
commented that Beijing would support this measure as an 
"overstay loophole led to all sorts of activities."  (Note: 
CE Ho asked that we not share this point publicly.  End 
note.)  Finally, Chief Executive Ho said he expected a new 
trafficking law to pass "by the end of the year." 
 
Anti-TIP Plan Gets Traction, Interagency Approach Forming 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
¶7.  (C) In addition to the afternoon meeting with CE Ho, Amb. 
Lagon, Mark Taylor, and Acting DPO and poloff called on other 
relevant persons in and out of the Macau government.  Sister 
Juliana Devoy, Director of the Good Shepherd Sisters shelter 
in Macau and a member of the CCWA, described two recent cases 
of Filipina women being trafficked to Macau, to highlight 
flaws in the process for victim-handling.  More broadly, she 
said she was encouraged about the potential progress, spurred 
by other NGOs including The Asia Foundation and the 
Ulaanbaatar-based Gender Equality Center, that generated a 
recent meeting between the Government of Mongolia and the 
Government of Macau.  Sr. Juliana also expressed hope that 
the U.S.-owned casinos operating in Macau, such as the 
Venetian, would lead the business community's anti-TIP 
efforts.  Moreover, she said that despite the March 2007 
establishment of a criminal reporting hotline to the Macau 
Judicial Police (responsible for enforcing vice-related 
crimes) identifying and interviewing victims was "still not a 
widespread skill" among law enforcement officers.  (Note:  A 
reporter from the Asian Wall Street Journal accompanied 
Ambassador Lagon to this meeting, and recorded statements for 
use in a follow-up story.  The same reporter subsequently 
interviewed Amb. Lagon.  As of this report, the AWSJ report 
has not been published.  End note.) 
 
¶8.  (C) Amb. Lagon met with Vong Chun Fat, Chief of Cabinet 
in the office of the MSARG Secretary for Security, in 
addition to a large group of officials from the Macau Unitary 
and Judiciary Police services and Social Welfare Institute. 
Amb. Lagon started by saying that "we are not here to pass 
judgment" and that there is growing recognition around the 
world that trafficking is a social problem that detracts from 
human dignity; the U.S. itself is grappling with boosting 
prosecutions, victim protection, and preventive public 
awareness at home.  Amb. Lagon reviewed the points made in 
our recommended action plan from August 2006, reiterating our 
commitment to this approach.  Mr. Vong replied that he agreed 
with the working group approach to tackling the problem, 
evidenced by the large, inter-agency group attending the 
meeting, and that training of Macau's police services was 
advancing and being expanded.  Vong noted, however, that 
victims must come forward and cooperate with police to report 
trafficking cases, if they are to reasonably expect 
 
HONG KONG 00001866  003 OF 005 
 
 
protection. Amb. Lagon responded that often victims are 
afraid to come forward, fearing retribution from exploiters 
and being treated as criminals or illegal aliens by 
authorities, and victim identification needs to be 
pro-active. 
 
¶9.  (C) Vong echoed the MSARG's commitment to revising its 
laws, adding he was well aware of the need for effective 
enforcement.  He said the Secretary for Security was 
considering establishing a hotline, but that it required an 
interagency approach to be effective; this, as well as a 
complementary information campaign, would be on the 
government's agenda.  Although Vong ducked Amb. Lagon's query 
into the nexus between gambling, sex exploitation, and 
related complications in law enforcement actions (such as 
corruption), he expressed a commitment to improve 
intelligence collection, analysis, and sharing with foreign 
and PRC law enforcement counterparts, as well as inspections 
at the Macau-PRC border and in casinos.  Additionally, Deputy 
Commissioner of the Public Security Police Ma Io Kun said 
that Macau police were already patrolling targeted locations 
for prostitution-related cases, and in the past they had 
worked with consulates and embassies around the world when 
pursuing trafficking cases.  Mario Lameiras, Assistant to the 
Commissioner General of the Macau Unitary Police Service, 
said he was interested in improving training for law 
enforcement officers, and that exchanges with local NGOs on 
how to best identify and protect victims would be helpful. 
Amb. Lagon replied that we could try to facilitate a 
TIP-focused training program provided by the U.S. Department 
of Justice in the future, if that was of interest. 
 
¶10.  (C) In a separate meeting, Jorge Costa Oliveira, 
Director of the Macau International Law Office, lauded the 
annual Department report on trafficking for exposing the 
issue and helping energize focused action.  He said in candor 
that the outside pressure was helpful to spur change in 
Macau,s law and its enforcement.  In fact, he said, this 
year's report had already contributed to progress in the MSAR 
as a catalyst for proposals on a new TIP law, and it had made 
TIP a priority for the strained MSARG.  Mr. Oliveira said the 
proposed law now rested with the Office of the Chief 
Executive, and that if and when he approved, it could be 
implemented very quickly.  He added that he did not yet know 
if the PRC central government had provided an opinion on the 
proposed law.  In the past, Oliveira said, TIP-related cases 
had been difficult to prosecute, and that mounting pressure 
on immigration enforcement exacerbated the challenge of 
enforcement in TIP cases.  He also spoke frankly about the 
importance to the MSARG of human rights, including 
trafficking, while admitting a MSARG "practical" policy of 
tolerating the sex trade as a reality that cannot be 
eliminated.  Despite the importance of these issues, he said 
the practical reality in Macau is that only those in extreme 
cases came forward to the police.  On this, he admitted, "we 
have work to do." 
 
¶11.  (C) The group had lunch with Mr. Walter Power, Senior 
Vice President of Operations, and Mr. Daniel Shim, Senior 
Vice President of Human Resources, of the Venetian-Sands 
Macau, who were unambiguous in affirming that US-owned 
casinos in Macau were committed to providing venues for 
gambling and other entertainment based on modern business 
models which do not allow prostitution or trafficking in the 
venue.  The latter, they said, were not needed to succeed in 
Macau's gaming industry.  The lunch participants discussed 
how American casinos could build norms of delinking 
prostitution from casinos, and how Sands might consider 
philanthropic giving to victim protection operations.  Mr. 
Power said that extreme forms of prostitution and related 
criminal activity predominently occurred in Macau's northern 
region (away from the major gaming centers) but cautioned 
that organized prostitution still occurred--and could be 
easily observed--in the Lisboa Hotel & Casino, as well as 
other local, long-standing gaming establishments in the MSAR. 
 
¶12.  (C) Mr. Ho Chio Meng, the Public Prosecutor in Macau, 
said he had read our 2007 TIP report on Macau.  Although TIP 
was a serious crime, he explained that TIP-related statistics 
for Macau could easily be inaccurate and misinterpreted.  He 
said that under the current structure of offenses in Macau 
law, illegal immigration, organized crime, and illegal labor 
cases were often tallied together with TIP crimes, making it 
difficult to accurately gauge the government's anti-TIP 
actions.  Amb. Lagon expressed appreciation for this point, 
but noted that these other crimes often lead to punishments 
 
HONG KONG 00001866  004 OF 005 
 
 
lighter than those deserving of a serious trafficking offense 
and they usually do not identify and protect victims of 
trafficking.  Mr. Ho said investigations conducted by his 
office clearly indicated organized crime's involvement in 
TIP.  He said that cutting out the source of income, even if 
cross-border, was the most effective means to success, and 
that Macau-PRC cooperation on a host of law enforcement 
matters had been increasing.  For example, Ho said 
intelligence sharing, especially during law enforcement 
operations and investigations into identification fraud and 
human smuggling rings, contributed to successful prosecution. 
 
¶13.  (C) Mr. Ho detailed one aspect of Macau law closely 
linked to most TIP cases: despite complications resulting 
from immigration and prostitution crimes being closely linked 
to TIP cases, victims could be heard in the pre-trial process 
and their testimonies were admissible in court, so that even 
those sent home to the PRC or elsewhere could contribute to 
the prosecution of traffickers.  In conclusion, Ho said that 
although negative media reports had already circulated in the 
MSAR about the 2007 TIP report, he viewed the situation as an 
opportunity for the MSARG to show its commitment to tackling 
the problem, and that Macau needed to do this if it had any 
hopes of becoming a "place of progress" in the future. 
 
Regional Press After the Visit 
------------------------------ 
 
¶14.  (SBU) Ambassador Lagon granted several press interviews 
during his visit, including one with the "Financial Times" 
(FT).  On July 2 (Hong Kong time), the FT published an 
article based on the interview that outlined the trafficking 
situation in Macau, its status as a Tier 2 Watch List 
territory, and the measures required to improve the TIP-list 
status.  The FT article was followed the next day by an 
article in the "Macau Daily Times," a recently established, 
relatively minor English-language newspaper, that picked up 
on the themes raised in the FT piece. 
 
¶15.  (C) On July 3, MSAR Chief Executive Ho addressed members 
of the press after the U.S. national day reception in Macau, 
in response to the "Macau Daily Times" article.  He expressed 
regret over the Tier 2 Watch List ranking, and in passing 
recited the oft-heard mainland PRC position that such lists 
constituted U.S. "interference" in the internal affairs of 
other countries and territories.  CE Ho also said, however, 
that "the SAR government is very concerned about the human 
trafficking issue."  He admitted that the government still 
"had not done its best" and pledged to pass laws on the 
matter, improve inter-departmental coordination, and consider 
cooperation with NGOs to provide assistance to victims.  He 
told the press he was optimistic about the situation and that 
the SAR government is capable of and determined to make 
progress on the issue in a reasonable time.  (Note:  CE Ho's 
remarks on Macau's concern with trafficking and planned steps 
track closely with wording suggested by CG Cunningham, who 
had a chance to speak with CE Ho before he met with the 
press.  However, Ho was visibly annoyed that he had been 
confronted by the sudden TIP media attention, just prior to 
his attendance at our Independence Day reception, and he 
curtailed his customarily gracious congratulatory message and 
toast.  He spoke to the local press immediately after the 
U.S. reception.  End note.) 
 
¶16.  (SBU) CE Ho's comments generated five articles in the 
Macanese press ("Macau Daily Times," Jornal Cheng Pao," "Tai 
Chung Pou Macau," Jornal Va Kio," and "Xin Hua Ao Bao") and 
two articles in the Hong Kong press ("Oriental Daily" and "HK 
Daily").  Most of these were straight reporting of the CE's 
comments including his first public commitment to tackle the 
TIP problem.  The "Oriental Daily," however, stressed that 
the "human trafficking situation in Macau was not as serious 
as made out by the U.S."  The "Jornal Va Ko" emphasized the 
"interference in Macau's internal affairs" angle, saying in 
an editorial, "the move will not affect Macau's international 
image.  On the contrary, it will only damage the 
international image of the U.S. ... Such U.S. interference in 
Macau will only make people feel that the U.S. bullies the 
weak and fears the strong, is incompetent as 'world cop,' and 
is not really a defender of human rights."  (Comment:  We 
expect to continue to receive some pushback in the Macau 
press on our efforts to energize the government against 
trafficking.  For the most part, however, the press has been 
turning their attention to the trafficking problem in 
constructive ways and successfully raising civic awareness of 
this issue; CE Ho's own comments were a very helpful public 
 
HONG KONG 00001866  005 OF 005 
 
 
statement of Macau's recognition of the problem and its will 
to address it -- tempered, of course, with a standard 
rejection of U.S. "interference," designed to please Beijing. 
 End comment.) 
Marut