The decision by the Chief Executive John Lee to establish an independent committee to investigate the Tai Po fire is the correct move to expedite closure for the bereaved families who lost loved ones in the deadly fire which took 160 lives.
He had a choice. The normally hostile western media were clamouring for an investigative commission of inquiry which would have taken years to complete its work due to legal wrangling, thus prolonging closure. The bereaved rightly want to know how and by whom the fires started. And they want to know as soon as possible.
It is likely Lee consulted the justice and legal departments before reaching his conclusion that an independent committee was the correct path to follow. His heart went out to the bereaved while wishing a quick inquiry into the causes of the fire.
Immediately after the fire, the government arrested a number of company directors and contractors and seized their books to investigate any culpability in the awarding of contracts and procedures of the renovation works.
Despite western criticism, the government and the public were quick to respond to the disaster. The government set up a $300 million relief fund, and this was quickly boosted to $3.3 billion by corporate and public donations. More than 1 451residents have been accommodated, through the co-ordination of the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, in youth hostels, camps, or hotel rooms. Another 3,059 residents are currently living in transitional housing units provided by the Housing Bureau or units from the Hong Kong Housing Society. Hong Kong cares.
Not wasting time, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu quicky appointed Justice David Lok Kai-hong to chair an independent commission to be flanked by committee members Chan Kin-por and Rex Auyeung Pak-kuen. The committee’s mandate covers critical areas—the origin of the fire and why it spread so rapidly and whether fire-safety equipment, maintenance standards and regulatory oversight were properly adhered to. The panel was given sweeping powers by the Chief Executive and nine months to uncover the causes, expose any corruption in renovation works, and recommend sweeping reforms.
The special committee will have maximum autonomy and flexibility but does not have the authority to summon witness as in an inquiry. Should such a case arise, and should it require formal statutory powers to compel evidence on specific issues, it can ask the Chief Executive to convert it into a full Commission of Inquiry in the same way past major probes have been conducted.
Addressing concerns about not immediately establishing a statutory inquiry, Lee explained the current structure allows faster start-up while retaining the option to escalate if needed, covering both immediate fire-safety failures and long-standing concerns over maintenance contract irregularities.
A commission of inquiry can be lengthy and prolonged by legal arguments. The Commission of Inquiry into mishaps in the opening of the new airport at Chek Lap Kok in 1998 is said to have a hundred lawyers arguing for their clients and with the disastrous Grenfell Tower fire (which was similar to the Wang Fuk Court fire in Tai Po) in the UK in 2017, an independent investigation committee led by retired justices published its report in stages, with the first report taking two years after the disaster, and the second report taking seven years after the disaster. The unfortunate bereaved waited.
Lee said the goal of this independent committee in Hong Kong is to complete the review within nine months, mainly due to adopting a hybrid model. It takes both the flexibility and efficiency of the independent review committee and the statutory power of the independent investigation committee as a cover. It is a pioneering approach of "the integration of power and effectiveness", and we hope to make it clear to the public as soon as possible.
Lee stressed that the final report and all recommendations will be made public, except for material related to ongoing court cases, and interim reports may be issued to keep the public informed.
The Wang Fu Court fire was a disaster that should never have happened. The independent committee will have its work cut out determining the cause of the fire without any legal framework. But its recommendations will go to the government to act accordingly and swiftly to bring those responsible to be accountable for the 160 lives lost. It is also a subject for the new legislators to debate when the Legislative Council opens on January 7.
Mark Pinkstone
** The blog article is the sole responsibility of the author and does not represent the position of our company. **
The apply-named Stephen Roach wonders why no one agreed to his speech at the 6th US-China Hong Kong Forum at the Fullerton Hotel in Hong Kong last month. He had returned to his old habit of damning Hong Kong to an audience sympathetic to China and its southern pearl.
And he made no apologies for his statements in a follow-up on TVB’s Straight Talk program on Tuesday evening. In fact, he stood by his convictions that if China falls, Hong Kong falls. In other words, Hong Kong was too dependent on China.
Roach’s address “Beyond the Middleman: Hong Kong’s Influence in Superpower Rivalry” questioned whether Hong Kong’s unique features allow it to play an independent role in tempering geopolitical rifts, such as the one between the US and China. “Hong Kong’s capacity to serve as an honest broker in the Sino-American conflict has been compromised by China’s heavy hand,” he told his audience. So says a man living under the shadow of a national capital whose heavy hand is virtually controlling every major city in the US and crippling the national economy.
Roach was former chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, based in Hong Kong and is currently a faculty member of Yale University.
He suggests that locals chafe at the suggestion that Hong Kong has become “another big Chinese city”. Of course it is, like New York in the US, Sydney in Australia and London in the UK. The difference being is that Hong Kong has a high degree of autonomy with a rule of law different from its motherland. It is the common law system practiced in all British Commonwealth countries plus the US. The mainland practices the civil law system used in all other places, such as Europe. Being “another big Chinese city” is a reality and something we are proud of. Only the separates’ movement differ in opinion.
Again, he has a dig at our judicial system and the resignation of a number of foreign judges sitting on the Court of Final Appeal, drawing on the critique of former British Supreme Court Justice Jonathan Sumption who gathers his opinions from Hong Kong separate activists in the House of Lords.
According to the 2025 World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index, Hong Kong’s overall rule of law score ranks 24th out of 143 countries worldwide. Regionally, Hong Kong ranks 6th out of 15 countries in East Asia and the Pacific.
He argues that the Hong Kong of old has been replaced by a new version that more closely resembled a China-centric administrative region, with Deng Xiaoping’s model of “one country, two systems” morphing into “one country, one system.” He cited three reasons for believing this: First, Hong Kong’s economy, which is tightly correlated with the Chinese economy, remains weighed down by China’s protracted sluggishness. Second, the Chinese government’s post-2019 crackdown continues to weaken the rule of law, free speech, and press freedom in Hong Kong.
Third, Hong Kong is caught in the crossfire of the worsening Sino-American conflict, driving a wedge between the city, whose growth depends heavily on economic openness, and some of its trading partners.
Hong Kong’s economy is doing very well. In the latest World Population Review, Hong Kong was placed fourth in the world for net inflows of foreign investments. It is estimated that the total foreign investment in 2024 brought to Hong Kong's economy exceeds more than HK$67.7 billion, which also represents a record high and a nearly 10 per cent increase compared to 2023. These companies expected to create 6,864 job opportunities in Hong Kong during their first year of operation, an over 67 per cent increase compared to 2023.
There has been no weakening of the rule of law, in fact it has been strengthened by China’s national security laws and local safeguarding Hong Kong’s security laws. It’s worth noting that in the 2025 World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index, Hong Kong scored third place for law and order in 15 regional countries.
He talks of a shrinking expat talent pool yet Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) announced a record-breaking year for foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2024, assisting 539 overseas and Mainland companies to set up or expand their businesses in Hong Kong. This represents a 41 per cent increase compared to 2023, reflecting the strong appeal of Hong Kong as a leading business hub in the region.
He also fails to take into account the long term benefits the Northern Metropolis will bring to Hong Kong, including its magnet to draw in top class international talent from all parts of the globe. In fact, during his Straight Talk interview he appeared oblivious that such a massive plan for the future of Hong Kong enabling one third of the city’s land mass even existed.
He said for China’s stifling influence on Hong Kong’s governance, three major newspapers – Apple Daily, Stand News, and Citizen News – have closed since 2019, and other outlets such as Citizens’ Radio, FactWire, InMedia, Hong Kong Free Press, and Mad Dog Daily have either ceased operations or significantly scaled back.
The three papers which closed down did so voluntarily. Stand News and Citizen News could not be labelled “major newspapers” and Apply Daily run by Jimmy Lai currently facing trial for treason-related charges earned its wide circulation for sex and gossip coverage before turning to political commentary. There has been no scaling back on media coverage of Hong Kong. Hong Kong Free Press is a classic example of how the media can walk the red line without crossing it.
Roach is full of contradictions, swaying with the wind on public opinion. In February this year he heavily criticised Hong Kong for its deceiving appearances in a lengthy op-ed piece in the Financial Times. He later did a U-turn in a Bloomberg report in June praising Hong Kong’s successes. Now he says we’re in “for an inevitable correction.”
But he never listens. He follows the economic tractotomy all the way to 2030 and not what he has been told time and again: It’s the people who make Hong Kong tick. Hong Kong operates with one heartbeat to achieve one objective: Success!
