A social media livestream alleging that Tongan women have been taken to China and forced into marriage has attracted significant attention online, prompting concern and discussion across the Tongan community.
The livestream, broadcast earlier today by Tongan woman Aloi Katoa, has attracted more than 170,000 views and over 3,000 shares within hours of being posted.
During the broadcast, Katoa alleged that one of the victims was her niece, who she claimed had been assisted to return home with the help of a Tongan nurse working in China.
Kaniva News has not independently verified the allegations.
Kātoa did not present documentary evidence during the livestream, and no official confirmation of the claims has been made by authorities.
She identified a Tongan woman whom she alleged was behind the purported trafficking operation. Kaniva News has withheld the woman’s identity for legal reasons, as the allegations have not been independently verified.
Nevertheless, the allegations have resonated widely online, with viewers expressing concern and calling for further investigation into the claims.
Among the hundreds of comments posted during the broadcast, some viewers tagged Tongan authorities, including Prime Minister Lord Fakafanua, several Cabinet Ministers, and Kaniva Tonga News, apparently seeking attention to the allegations and calling for an official response.
The allegations are unusual because they suggest Tongan women may have been lured overseas under the guise of employment. Previous reported trafficking cases involving Tonga have largely occurred within the country itself.
As Kaniva News reported last year, human trafficking remains a serious and persistent problem in Tonga, with the latest U.S. Trafficking in Persons Report warning that the kingdom still does not fully meet the minimum standards for eliminating trafficking, despite recent progress.
In 2010, a Chinese woman living in Tonga, Lirong Liu, was convicted by the Nukuʻalofa Supreme Court on seven charges, including trafficking in persons, keeping a brothel, and engaging in prostitution.
The court heard that Liu had brought two Chinese women to Tonga under the pretence of employment at a restaurant. Upon their arrival, the women were forced into sex work, primarily servicing Chinese labourers in Tonga.
Human trafficking and forced marriage are internationally recognised forms of exploitation and are criminal offences in many countries.
Efforts by Kaniva News to contact the authorities for comment were unsuccessful.
