China’s Office for Safeguarding National Security warned that foreign forces which are alleged to have attacked, and incited opposition to, Hong Kong’s Tai Po fire rescue and relief efforts would be pursued, local media reported, as the death toll of the blaze rose to 159 yesterday.
At least two people, including former pro-democracy district councilor Kenneth Cheung (張錦雄) and a student who launched a public petition demanding an independent probe into the fire, have been detained by police since Saturday, two sources told Reuters. Both have now been released on bail.
China yesterday reiterated a warning against any efforts to use the disaster to "plunge Hong Kong back into the chaos" of 2019, when massive pro-democracy protests challenged Beijing and triggered a political crisis.
Photo: AP
The office in a press release last night said that a small group of “hostile external forces” had attempted to stir up opposition in the city under the pretext of “petitioning for the people,” the English-language Hong Kong Free Press reported.
These forces had “added fuel to the fire” by “splashing dirty water on the Hong Kong government and rescue personnel, it said.
The Hong Kong government also said in a press release yesterday that it “strongly disapproved and rejected foreign forces, including anti-China media organizations, and anti-China and destabilizing forces for not just making unfounded and slanderous remarks.”
“Those who try to use the disaster to stir up chaos in society are malicious, blotting out the efforts of the HKSAR Government and of all sectors of the community in the rescue operations and support work,” it said. SAR refers to Hong Kong’s status as a Special Administrative Region (SAR) under China.
Police said they have completed a search for bodies inside all seven high-rise residential towers in Wang Fuk Court which were ravaged by the fire that broke out a week ago and took more than 40 hours to be extinguished. An eighth tower in the complex was not affected.
Of the 159 bodies found, 140 have been identified. They comprise 91 females and 49 males, aged between one and 97 years.
Nineteen bodies among the 159 were still unidentified, police said.
Foreign domestic helpers from Indonesia and the Philippines are among 31 people still missing.
Officials would continue to search through piles of fallen bamboo scaffolding to check if any remains or bodies were buried there, police said.
The deadly blaze broke out at Wang Fuk Court, in the northern suburban district of Tai Po, which was undergoing a months-long renovation project with buildings covered by bamboo scaffolding and green netting.
The Hong Kong government has ordered the removal of all mesh netting on buildings undergoing major renovation across the city by Saturday, citing public safety and people's concerns in the wake of the Wang Fuk Court fire, local public broadcaster RTHK reported yesterday.
Speaking to reporters in a briefing, Development Secretary Bernadette Linn (甯漢豪) said the protective netting of more than 200 private buildings, along with more than 10 public housing and government premises, would have to be removed, and that contractors have to bear the costs.
The minister said officials would look to issue a new set of rules by next week, allowing only netting that passed safety tests to be installed.
The removal was triggered by initial findings at two housing complexes in the territory where fire safety inspection reports for scaffolding nets were suspected to have been falsified, said Chris Tang (鄧炳強), Hong Kong’s Secretary for Security.
Police are investigating the companies that they believe could have provided the test reports, including the Binzhou Inspection and Testing Center in China.
The city’s anti-corruption body and police said Tuesday that they had arrested 15 people, including directors at construction companies, as authorities probe corruption and negligence in relation to the renovation work.
Police said yesterday that six others, from a fire service installation contractor, were arrested.
They were believed to have deactivated some fire alarms at the housing complex during the renovation works, according to police, and were suspected of making false statements to the fire services department.
Residents at Wang Fuk Court and officials have previously said that some fire alarms in the buildings failed to sound when the blaze broke out, though it was not immediately clear how widespread that problem was within the complex.
Amid calls for transparency and accountability, Hong Kong's chief executive John Lee (李家超) has ordered a judge-led committee to investigate the cause of the deadly fire and review oversight of building renovations blamed for fanning the inferno.
He pledged to overcome vested interests and bring about systemic change in the construction industry.
“We must uncover the truth, ensure that justice is served, let the deceased rest in peace and provide comfort to the living,” Lee told reporters at a weekly press conference. “We want to ensure that we will prevent such a tragedy from happening again.”
The government would also press ahead with a "patriots only" legislative election scheduled for Sunday, despite doubts over turnout from a local population still reeling from the disaster.
"We must take a long-term view, move forward firmly, and steadily advance the normal functioning of society," Lee said on Tuesday.
"We must move forward before we can turn our grief into strength."
He said that going ahead with the election would enable newly elected legislators to move quickly to support post-disaster reconstruction and reforms in the wake of the fire.
Government-organized election forums resumed from yesterday, after having been suspended since the fire last week. They are a rare space for candidates to debate policy and interact with the public. Political campaigning remains suspended.
City officials said they would organize shuttle buses for affected residents to vote.
More than 2,600 residents have been put in temporary accommodation, the government said, with 1,013 staying in hostels, camps or hotel rooms. Another 1,607 residents have moved into transitional housing units.
Many candidates have avoided focusing their campaigns on the tragedy or calls for government accountability.
Seven candidates representing the constituency that includes Tai Po, as well as construction-related sectors, did not respond to Reuters requests for comment on the fire.
"I fear accepting an interview with your organization during the election period to discuss the fire might violate election regulations," wrote Julia Lau Man Kwan (劉文君), a candidate representing the architectural sector, in an email.
Gary Chan Hak Kan (陳克勤), a legislator from the Democratic Alliance for Betterment party of the pro-establishment camp, referred Reuters to a party statement.
Hong Kong "has a constitutional responsibility to elect a new Legislative Council in a timely manner to avoid a vacuum period" since the legislature's current term ends Dec. 31, it said.
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