Hong Kong Leader Apologizes for 2025 Wang Fuk Court Fire
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REPORTER:
Hong Kong leader John Lee has apologized for the Wang Fuk Court fire, which ripped through the apartment complex, killing 168 people last year.
John Lee (HONG KONG CHIEF EXECUTIVE):
As chief executive and head of the government, I am deeply saddened. On behalf of the Hong Kong SAR government, I apologize to those affected and to the public.
Lee's comments come at the release of a thousand-page report on the fire detailing extensive failings in governance and oversight. He also announced the resignation of Hong Kong’s housing secretary and pledged reforms in the construction industry. Focus now shifts to which officials will answer for the blaze, but not all its survivors are satisfied.
Betty Ho (FORMER WANG FUK COURT RESIDENT):
They made a bowing apology, but I couldn't see it as a sincere apology either. It's nearly 11 months now, and next month will come very soon. It will be almost a year. I don't accept the Chief Executive's explanation, and I don't think it was a sincere apology either. Justice has not been served for the deceased.
Even before the report’s release, critics said it didn’t amount to a full public inquiry, possibly hindering establishment of facts and accountability.
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The Wang Fuk Court Fire: Failings and Reforms
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REPORTER:
Hong Kong leader John Lee apologized on Thursday (October 29) for the deadly blaze that killed 168 people in the city last November, promising swift but extensive reforms to its building industry and regulatory system.
Lee was speaking shortly before he released a more than 1,000-page report by the judge-led panel that detailed wide-ranging governance and supervisory failings in Hong Kong's building-renovation system.
Lee also announced the resignation of Hong Kong's Housing Secretary Winnie Ho, echoing the report by saying that four government bodies bore partial responsibility for the blaze, including: the Independent Checking Unit, the Buildings Department, the Fire Services Department and the Labour Department.
As chief executive and head of the government, I am deeply saddened, and on behalf of the SAR government, I offer my apologies to the victims and the public at large. Lee said in his opening remarks as he led the team to bow in apology.
Ho was the first official to resign over the inferno. The Hong Kong government has set up an independent team to investigate which officials should be held accountable and to outline disciplinary actions.
Lee said Hong Kong's Chief Secretary Eric Chan will now head a steering committee to oversee reforms advocated in the report, which will include laws to criminalise bid-rigging across the construction industry with fines of up to HK$10 million and 10 years' imprisonment.
The blaze ripped through seven 31-story tower blocks at the Wang Fuk Court residential complex, which was undergoing renovation work in the northern Tai Po district. It was the deadliest in the city since 1948.
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Survivors Disappointed by Government Response
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REPORTER:
Hong Kong leader John Lee apologized for a deadly blaze that tore through seven apartment blocks while under renovation last November. That’s as he released a report on the disaster over 1,000 pages long detailing extensive failings in governance and oversight.
John Lee (HONG KONG CHIEF EXECUTIVE):
The fire at Wang Fuk Court claimed 168 lives, including a firefighter who died in the line of duty while battling the blaze, and affected 1,984 families. It brought grief to the victims and sorrow to the community. As chief executive and head of the government, I am deeply saddened. On behalf of the Hong Kong SAR government, I apologize to those affected and to the public.
Lee announced the resignation of Hong Kong’s housing secretary and pledged reforms including outlawing bid-rigging in the construction industry. That’s as the Hong Kong government continues to look at which officials to hold accountable and how to discipline them. But not all residents of the destroyed complex are satisfied with how much has been done and how quickly eleven months on.
Betty Ho (FORMER WANG FUK COURT RESIDENT):
They made a bowing apology, but I couldn't see it as a sincere apology either. It's nearly 11 months now, and next month will come very soon. It will be almost a year. You can't justify the late apology now by saying you were previously busy gathering evidence to make arrests. The arrests had been made earlier this year. It had been done by last December or January already. It's impossible to have to wait for so long. I don't accept the Chief Executive's explanation, and I don't think it was a sincere apology either. Justice has not been served for the deceased.
Even before the report’s release, critics said the review of the disaster hadn’t amounted to a full public inquiry, possibly hindering the full establishment of facts and accountability.
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