In Hong Kong, where dissent is now characterised by silence, few dare openly criticise the government or the Chinese Communist party (CCP) that controls it. Film-maker Kiwi Chow is one of the few. “The Chinese Communist party’s practice is to try and destroy history and truth,” the 46-year-old director says from his home in the region. “It’s ridiculous that I can still live in Hong Kong without being in jail.” In a society where someone can be jailed for wearing a “seditious” T-shirt, his surprise is understandable. Chow is best…
Tag: Hong Kong apartment fires
Silenced by China, Hong Kong struggles to voice its grief over the Tai Po fire disaster | Antony Dapiran
White flowers at makeshift shrines and messages of support posted in a public square. A rainbow of folded paper cranes. Boxes of donated goods for the those in need. Hongkongers’ responses to the Tai Po fire disaster – in which at least 159 people have died and 31 are still unaccounted for – have, on the surface, resembled similar community expressions of solidarity last seen during the 2019 protests. But beneath the surface, Hong Kong civil society is struggling to respond to this latest collective trauma in a city that…
‘Don’t say we didn’t warn you’: Beijing summons journalists in Hong Kong after fire
Beijing’s powerful security agency in Hong Kong has summoned journalists from international media to inform them it will not tolerate “trouble-making”, after critical coverage of the deadly apartment complex fire that has left the territory reeling. Senior reporters from several outlets operating in the city were called to the meeting by the Office for Safeguarding National Security (OSNS), which was set up by Beijing in 2020. In the meeting, which was attended by the New York Times and Agence France-Presse, an official accused journalists of tainting the government. The official…
Hong Kong fire death toll rises to 159 as officials order citywide scaffolding net removal
The death toll in Hong Kong’s apartment complex fire has risen to 159 as officials ordered all scaffolding mesh in the city to be removed by Saturday. The blaze that last week engulfed Wang Fuk Court in the city’s northern Tai Po district has become the world’s deadliest residential building fire since 1980. Police said the number of dead may still be revised as officers had found “suspected human bones” that required forensic testing. Authorities earlier said the blaze on the estate, which was undergoing major renovations, was likely made…
After the Hong Kong inferno: inside the 5 December Guardian Weekly
Watching with horror from London last week as flames ripped through seven adjacent apartment blocks in Hong Kong, it was impossible not to think back to the Grenfell Tower fire of 2017, which exposed major systemic failures around UK social housing and eventually led to law changes around safety and accountability for high-rise buildings. The comparisons with Hong Kong were not just visually obvious but also because the semi-autonomous city’s worst fire in decades appears to have followed months of complaints from residents about shoddy materials used in building works.…
Hong Kong responds to disaster differently from Beijing – but the gulf is narrowing
As Hong Kong mourns the victims of its worst fire in decades, the response to the disaster reveals the ways in which the semi-autonomous city retains differences from mainland China – and how some of those differences are being eroded. Hong Kong’s leader, John Lee, announced on Tuesday the creation of an “independent committee” to investigate the blaze, which killed 151 people at the Wang Fuk Court apartment complex in Hong Kong’s New Territories. Hong Kong has a tradition of independent, judge-led inquiries into disasters, something that would never happen…
Hong Kong arrests 13 on suspicion of manslaughter over apartment fires
Authorities in Hong Kong have arrested 13 people on suspicion of manslaughter in relation to last week’s devastating fire, as they face growing criticism from residents over the arrests under national security laws of at least two civilians calling for accountability. Emergency services continued to search through the seven towers of the Wang Fuk Court estate in Tai Po on Monday, days after the city’s deadliest fire in 75 years. The death toll rose to 151 and is expected to rise further as the search continues. About 40 people are…
Hong Kong mourns as apartment fire death toll rises to 146
The death toll in Hong Kong’s apartment complex fire has risen to 146 after investigators discovered more bodies in the burnt-out buildings. A steady stream of people placed bouquets of flowers at an ever-growing makeshift memorial at the scene of the disaster, among the worst in the city’s history. The Hong Kong police’s disaster victim identification unit has been going through the buildings of the Wang Fuk Court complex meticulously and has found bodies both in apartment units and on the roofs, the officer in charge, Cheng Ka-chun, said on…
Anger mounts in Hong Kong over apartment fires as Beijing warns against ‘anti-China disruptors’
Anger over a deadly blaze at a Hong Kong high-rise apartment complex simmered on Sunday as Beijing warned against attempts to use the disaster to disrupt the city, while people across the financial hub continued to mourn for the more than 128 victims. Police on Saturday detained one person who was part of a group that launched a petition demanding government accountability, an independent probe into possible corruption, proper resettlement for residents, and a review of construction oversight, two sources familiar with the matter said. University student Miles Kwan, 24,…
Rescue efforts end at Hong Kong tower block fire as death toll reaches 128
The death toll from the Hong Kong apartment complex fire that began on Wednesday has risen to 128 with as many as 200 missing, officials have said, as rescue operations were declared over. Firefighters had been combing through the high-rises on Friday, attempting to find anyone alive after the massive fire that spread to seven of eight towers in one of the city’s deadliest blazes. Authorities said they had recovered 108 bodies from the buildings, but 16 were still inside. Four people died of their injuries in hospital, Chris Tang,…