A long-awaited report on the Wang Fuk Court fire released by Hong Kong authorities on Thursday set out how a chain of systemic failures across the government and the construction sector led to the deaths of 168 people. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu alongside top officials announced an array of decisions, ranging from the resignation of the housing chief and setting up a new body to assist homeowners in renovation projects to criminalising bid-rigging that was regarded by officials as “the...

Top European economic and finance officials are set to visit Beijing as they seek to persuade Chinese policymakers to let the yuan strengthen in order to help shrink a surging trade gap, the South China Morning Post reported exclusively. Maarten Verwey, the European Commission’s director general for economic and financial affairs, would lead a delegation to the Chinese capital in the week of November 23. This would be followed by a joint mission around year-end probably comprising European...

A police officer has denied failing to properly label DNA samples taken from slain Hong Kong socialite Abby Choi Tin-fung’s ex-husband after his arrest more than three years ago. Testifying in the High Court on Thursday, Sergeant Lam Chun also denied using excessive force to subdue Alex Kwong Kong-chi as he was about to flee Hong Kong from Tung Chung Development Ferry Pier on February 25, 2023. Lam, who was a detective constable at the time, said Kwong sustained a 2cm-by-2cm abrasion on his...

This live article is freely available to our registered users. Please log in or create an account. The Hong Kong government has released a deeply scathing report by an independent committee probing the city’s deadliest blaze in decades, with Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu holding a press conference alongside top officials to outline the administration’s consequent actions and systemic reforms. Sources earlier said that at least one senior official would take the rap for the tragedy as part of...

Pakistan briefly closed its airspace to Taiwanese cargo and passenger flights, Taiwan said on Thursday, suspecting China of being behind the unprecedented move. An EVA Air Airbus A330-300 in the Bad Badtz-Maru Travel Fun livery. Photo: Wikicommons. “We suspect definitely China was behind this,” Deputy Foreign Minister Chen Ming-chi told AFP after confirming that Pakistan had closed and reopened its airspace to Taiwanese airlines. China Airlines and EVA Air, which are both based in Taiwan, normally fly over Pakistan on their Asia-Europe route. Last weekend, however, they began rerouting their Europe-bound flights further south over the Gulf or further north over Russia, AFP analysis of flight tracking data shows. Some Taiwanese flights have resumed flying over Pakistan, according to the latest data. “China Airlines and EVA received a notice from the Pakistan authorities that they will lift the ban, but only temporarily… till the end of the winter,” Chen said. Neither airline would confirm that Pakistan had closed or reopened its airspace when contacted by AFP. “We condemn Pakistan, and if China is behind this, I think that is a very bad practice to use its leverage over the countries in the Global South to do that,” Chen said. “I think that gets in the way of the safety of the passengers and the smooth operation of the global supply chain.” Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told Bloomberg News on Wednesday that the airspace was closed in adherence with Beijing’s “One China policy”. China’s foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters on Thursday that “as far as we are aware, there are no obstacles for residents of the Taiwan region to travel internationally”. ‘Isolate Taiwan’ China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and opposes the self-governed island’s participation in international organisations and exchanges with other countries. Chen said it was the first time a country had closed its airspace to Taiwanese commercial flights. In April, the Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar revoked overflight permits for Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s flight to Eswatini, Taipei’s only African ally, forcing him to postpone the trip. Taiwan president Lai Ching-te (centre) visiting Eswatini on May 2, 2026. Photo: Wang Yu Ching/Office of the President, via Flickr. At the time, Taiwan blamed “intense pressure” from China for the revocation. “China now learned that this could be an effective way to block our airspace access and therefore sort of further isolate Taiwan,” Chen said. “We see this is the discovery that they can weaponise the airspace assets.” Taiwan does not have formal diplomatic ties with Pakistan, which has close relations with China. Chen said “many like-minded” countries had assisted Taiwan over the airspace closure. “We are afraid that this might be a practice that spreads to other Global South countries,” Chen said. “I think that is a major concern for not only for Taiwan, but also for other countries in the region and beyond.” Pakistan and China have maintained close diplomatic and strategic relations for decades, often describing their partnership as an “all-weather friendship” that is “higher than the Himalayas, deeper than the oceans, sweeter than honey and stronger than steel”. China is Pakistan’s largest trading partner and a major investor, particularly through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and has poured tens of billions of dollars into funding massive transport, energy and infrastructure projects.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee and other top officials bowed in apology at a Thursday press conference where Lee announced that housing chief Winnie Ho would step down over the Wang Fuk Court fire, almost a year after the tragedy killed 168 people. (From left to right) Chief Secretary Eric Chan, Chief Executive John Lee and Financial Secretary Paul Chan at a press conference on October 29, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong, who currently leads the government’s task force on long-term resettlement for survivors of the blaze, will be appointed as acting housing minister following Ho’s departure. Lee said an independent committee that investigated the cause of the blaze at the Tai Po housing estate had made 120 recommendations, noting, among them, the need to combat collusive tendering practices in the building maintenance industry. Lee also said that the government would activate a mechanism to investigate potential accountability issues within the civil service, after the committee’s report highlighted oversights by the Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit (ICU), the Buildings Department, the Fire Services Department, and the Labour Department. The “Tier II investigation” is a mechanism under the Heads of Department Accountability System, established in the Chief Executive’s 2025 Policy Address. Lee said the Public Service Commission would complete its investigation within three months and submit recommendations on whether disciplinary action or administrative penalties would be in order. Hong Kong top officials at a press conference on October 29, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Several reporters at the press conference asked why labour minister Chris Sun, security minister Chris Tang, and development minister Bernadette Linn did not face the same consequences as outgoing housing chief Ho. In response, Lee said having Ho step down was his own decision as the city’s first-in-command. Tang, Sun, and Linn did not address the questions. “I am the first person responsible as the chief executive, so it is up to me to make these decisions,” he said. “As for the questions that you would like to ask of the three secretaries, you would know that they are responsible to me. I have made a political decision and they must abide by it.” “They must learn from these lessons, better exercise their leadership roles, and exert greater efforts to deliver on the result-oriented governance philosophy,” Lee said. Long-awaited announcement The much-anticipated press conference was announced just two hours before it was scheduled to take place. Public hearings into the cause of the Wang Fuk Court blaze have suggested that various government departments, including the Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit, the Fire Services Department, the Buildings Department, and the Labour Department, bore a share of the responsibility for the fire. Senior Counsel Victor Dawes, representing the independent committee, said in July that the government “had an unshirkable responsibility to perform its regulatory role and protect the lives of residents.” Copies of the independent committee’s report on the Wang Fuk Court fire, on October 29, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. The Tai Po fire broke out on November 26 last year, engulfing seven buildings in the government-subsidised Wang Fuk Court housing estate during large-scale renovation works. The blaze killed 168 people and displaced over 4,600 residents. Following the inferno, survivors have called for government officials to be held accountable, recalling their earlier attempts to sound the alarm over the construction company and a consultancy overseeing the renovation project. ‘Pursue accountability’ The government said in a statement last week that the independent committee investigating the deadly housing estate fire had submitted its final report to Chief Executive John Lee. Lee said earlier this month that authorities would “pursue accountability” over the deadly blaze, but did not comment on whether government officials would be investigated for misconduct or lose their jobs. Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, pictured on November 28, 2025, in the aftermath of the fatal blaze. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. The independent committee’s report reads: “The relevant civil servants had ignored the real and legitimate safety concerns of the residents leaving them in a helpless and desperate situation. Most unfortunately, what happened afterwards show that the residents were right about their complaints.” Wang Fuk Court’s residents and the general public, the report said, “have a legitimate and reasonable expectation that the regulators could have done more to protect their safety…and the evidence in the present case clearly shows that the regulators’ performance fell below that standard.” “The failings were systemic and pervasive. They cannot be ignored[,]” it read. ‘Main culprits’ Two companies were behind renovation works at Wang Fuk Court when the fire broke out: works contractor Prestige Construction & Engineering and project consultant Will Power Architects. Prestige Construction & Engineering is listed as the “top choice” for the Wang Fuk Court maintenance works. Photo: James Lee/HKFP. “PC&E and Will Power had overall responsibility for the works. The evidence in the Inquiry clearly demonstrates that they cut corners in numerous aspects,” the report says. The sentence is cut short, followed by several lines of redacted text. “There is no doubt that they are the main culprits responsible for the occurrence of the inferno and the high fatalities in the tragic accident.” The public hearings earlier this year found that substandard scaffolding nets were used at the site, which caused the rapid spread of the fire, and pointed to potential bid-rigging, links to competing contractors, and “rubber-stamp inspections.”

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