The Hong Kong government should ensure a transparent investigation and accountability for wrongful acts linked to the residential fire that killed at least 151 people and injured 79, Human Rights Watch said today.
On November 26, 2025, a fire broke out at Wang Fuk Court, a housing complex under maintenance. The government's preliminary investigations found that some construction materials covering the eight buildings did not meet fire safety standards, and arrested 13 people linked to the maintenance company for manslaughter. Hong Kong authorities should establish an independent commission to investigate the fire, stop suppressing criticism, and drop charges against three people arrested for peaceful activism.
"The Wang Fuk Court fire raises serious concerns about the Chinese government's crushing of what had been Hong Kong's free press, democratic legislature, and vibrant civil society, and the impact on government oversight and safety," said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "It's crucially important not to treat those demanding answers for the tragic fire as criminals."
Since the fire, there have been growing demands for government accountability. Wang Fuk Court residents had previously protested the hiring of the maintenance company with a poor compliance record, alleging bid-rigging and corruption. They had also filed safety complaints, including concerning the building materials, which the authorities ignored, media reported.
Hong Kong authorities have suppressed peaceful criticism and grassroots initiatives. On November 28, hundreds gathered near Wang Fuk Court to donate and distribute supplies to victims. But as the initiative gained popularity, the government sent in the police, demanded that the volunteers leave, and had government workers take over the site.
On November 29, police detained Miles Kwan Ching-fung, a university student who started an online petition calling for an independent investigation. Kwan was reportedly arrested on suspicion of "seditious intention," a national security crime. Although he was seen leaving the police station on December 1, the police released no information about the case. Kwan's online petition and an associated Instagram account were taken down.
On December 1, local media reported that national security police took away two people-a volunteer who assisted victims, and the former district councilor Kenneth Cheung Kam-hung-on suspicion of "inciting hatred against the government." Again, the police did not disclose any information.
The Hong Kong Security Bureau chief, Chris Tang Ping-Keung, has accused people of spreading misinformation and characterized such acts as "destabilizing Hong Kong." The Chinese government's Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong warned that any "anti-China and anti-Hong Kong" actors who attempted to use the disaster to "incite hatred toward the government" would be punished under the city's draconian national security laws.
The Hong Kong authorities should not respond to public criticism following disasters in a manner similar to China's government, Human Rights Watch said. After the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, the 2011 Wenzhou high-speed rail collision, and the 2022 Covid outbreak in Wuhan, the Chinese authorities imprisoned citizens calling for accountability, muzzled whistleblowers, victims and their families, censored information, and even destroyed evidence.
By contrast, Hong Kong authorities responded to a deadly fire in 1996, when Hong Kong was still a British colony, by carrying out a sweeping independent investigation that improved building safety standards.
The current oppression in Hong Kong has not completely deterred people from publicly expressing their views. Thousands of Hong Kong people have laid flowers at a site near Wang Fuk Court. After Kwan's detention, Hongkongers abroad, including those who have fled because of the draconian national security laws, started an online petition to demand accountability, and organized vigils and protests in Australia, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and other countries.
"The Hong Kong government should set up an independent inquiry into the fire instead of threatening to arrest people who are asking hard questions," Pearson said. "This tragedy can't be reversed but the authorities can avoid compounding it by holding those responsible-including government officials-to account and adequately compensating the victims."
