Following a deadly blaze in Hong Kong that claimed at least 159 lives, authorities have arrested several individuals who called for accountability and transparency, raising alarm over a potential suppression of civil liberties
On November 29, Miles Kwan, a 24-year-old university student, was arrested by police after issuing so-called “four demands” regarding the November 26’s deadly blaze in Tai-Po district: Government accountability, an independent inquiry into possible corruption, proper resettlement for residents, and a review of construction oversight. “If these ideas are deemed seditions or ‘crossing the line’, then I feel I can’t predict the consequences of anything anymore, and I can only do what I truly believe, he told A.F.P. after leaving the police station. On November 20, the National Security Police, which was established after the 2020 National Security Law and clamps down on secession, sedition, and collusion with foreign forces, arrested Kenneth Cheung, an ex-district councilor, and his volunteer, citing “hatred of the government.”
Arrests by the Hong Kong government show another crackdown on possible dissent and civil society. Kwan called for the truth and justice over the Tai-Po fire, one of the deadliest blazes in the city’s history. There are many questions to be asked.: Why didn’t the fire alarms function in the apartment complex? Did the bamboo scaffold or the polystyrene foam used for the renovation spread fire? Or how will thousands of residents be resettled in one of the world’s most unaffordable metropolises? Moreover, accountability is not limited to only Hong Kongers: Many foreign domestic workers in the high-rise apartments were victims, too. According to the New York Times’ article on December 1, the blaze killed seven Indonesians and one Filipino and left 45 Indonesians and seven Filipinos missing. Calling for accountability is far from “seditious” and “secessionist” as the Chinese and Hong Kong governments argue. Instead, it is a prime example of their fear that Hong Kongers’ anger over the incident might be translated into anti-government and anti-China sentiment.
Hong Kong civil society is under intense pressure. The imposition of the 2020 National Security Law after the pro-democracy movement in the prior year led to the disbanding of several political organizations and the shutdown of critical media outlets, including Apple Daily and Stand News, in 2021. The room for critics is shrinking: The 2025 Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders shows that Hong Kong plunged to 140th out of 180, entering the “red zone,” declining further from 80th in 2021 and 18th in 2002.
Denying any calls for a transparent inquiry shows another “Chinafication” of Hong Kong. In mainland China, any attempts for transparency and accountability over deadly incidents are repeatedly denied and seen as a threat to the Chinese Communist Party’s rule, such as the school buildings’ collapse in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, the 2011 Wenzhou train collision, and the 2021 Ulumuqi blaze under draconian C.O.V.I.D.-19 restrictions. On the other hand, the Hong Kong government refused to accept any Chinese rescue teams, given the legislative council’s election on December 7. (While only pro-China candidates are eligible to run campaigns.) If Hong Kong seeks to rebuild trust—both domestically and internationally—transparency, not repression, must guide the way forward. As civil society gasps for air amid tightening controls, time may be running out.
