AS Hong Kong grapples with its deadliest apartment fire in decades, questions are intensifying over who is responsible, amid fears that the disaster could signal broader systemic failures in the city’s high-rise housing sector.
AP cited on Wednesday that the fire at the Wang Fuk Court complex in Tai Po, which has claimed at least 156 lives, has triggered anger over suspected construction corruption, lax government supervision, and unsafe building practices.
Political observers warn that the tragedy may be just the “tip of an iceberg” in a city dominated by high-rise developments, with concerns mounting over bid-rigging and hazardous renovation materials across other estates.
Police and the city’s anti-corruption authorities have arrested 15 individuals in connection with the renovation project at Wang Fuk Court, including scaffolding subcontractors, directors of a construction company, and a consultancy.
“The question (one) should be asking, really is that, what happened at Wang Fuk Court, can it happen elsewhere?” said Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute in London.
Initial tests by Hong Kong officials suggested that the green netting covering bamboo scaffolding at the complex met fire safety codes. However, highly flammable foam panels used to seal windows during repairs, combined with strong winds, allowed the blaze to spread rapidly across seven of the estate’s eight towers.
Eric Chan, the city’s chief secretary, later revealed that seven of 20 additional samples collected from the site failed safety standards.
Authorities indicated contractors had cut costs by substituting substandard netting alongside compliant materials to boost profits after a typhoon in July damaged the original netting. Several fire alarms reportedly failed to activate when the fire began.
“It did open a Pandora’s box,” said John Burns, an honorary professor of politics and public administration at the University of Hong Kong.
“You’ve got all of these issues which have been swept under the table. Because of all that we now know -- or believe we know -- about bid-rigging, collusion, corruption, no fire alarms, government negligence, all of these things have come out.”
In response, authorities have suspended renovation work at 28 other projects managed by the same construction firm, while contractors have begun removing foam boards and scaffolding netting from other sites.
The issue is not confined to Wang Fuk Court, Tsang added. “The netting is not a one particular estate problem. It’s a much wider general problem.”
Residents of Wang Fuk Court had previously voiced safety concerns about the construction materials to the authorities.
The Labor Department said it reviewed the netting’s product certificate and found it compliant, and reported conducting 16 inspections at the complex since last year, most recently a week before the fire, while repeatedly warning contractors to meet fire safety requirements.
Critics have highlighted systemic issues in Hong Kong’s building oversight.
“The focus of the people’s anger is on not so much the kinds of materials used (but the) lack of supervision and oversight from (government) departments,” said Willy Lam, a political analyst and senior fellow at The Jamestown Foundation.
Chief Executive John Lee announced that an independent committee led by a judge will investigate the blaze. He insisted on reform, stating: “Yes, we need a reform. Yes, we have identified failures in different stages.
That is exactly why we must act seriously to ensure that all these loopholes are plugged.” He also indicated that the “whole building renovation system” will be overhauled to prevent further disasters.
Ronny Tong, an adviser to Lee, argued that the failures were largely criminal acts by contractors. “Some people have broken the law and they were deliberately trying to deceive authorities. This is not the problem of those who enforce the laws, right?”
Concerns over bid-rigging, collusion, inflated costs, and lack of transparency are widespread in Hong Kong projects. Multilayered subcontracting chains, common in large developments, heighten the risk of substandard work and limited oversight, said Jason Poon, a contractor-turned-activist.
“This is just the tip of an iceberg,” he added.
Hong Kong’s political climate complicates accountability. Since Beijing imposed a national security law in 2020 following pro-democracy protests, dissent has been heavily suppressed. Authorities have moved swiftly to curb criticism, arresting the organiser of a petition calling for government accountability after the fire.
The Office for Safeguarding National Security warned that the law would be applied against “anti-China” forces attempting to exploit the tragedy.
Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a political scientist in Hong Kong, suggested the disaster could affect voter turnout in Sunday’s Legislative Council election, potentially undermining Beijing’s measure of approval for the territory’s “patriots-only” governance.
“The question for the Hong Kong government is: do they care about what the people think?” Burns asked. “They absolutely should. (And) if they ignore public opinion, I think, on this issue, this is a huge mistake.” - December 3, 2025
Hong Kong, Wang Fuk Court, high-rise fire, building safety, construction corruption, government oversight, national security, Eric Chan, John Lee
.jpg)
