Category Archives: Blog

At first, the big Hong Kong disaster story in the international media was the Tai Po fire itself. Then it became the authorities’ attempts to sideline or suppress volunteers and activists. The way this is going, overseas press reports will … Continue reading →

While the Hong Kong government engages in heavy-handed attempts to silence anyone ‘sabotaging’ society after the Tai Po disaster, international media wade in (some links are paywalled).  From the WSJ… At least 151 died as flames engulfed high-rise towers at … Continue reading →

A Nikkei Asia op-ed… When the inferno tore through the Tai Po renovation site in Hong Kong on Nov. 26, the flames consumed more than the homes of the thousands residing in Wang Fuk Court. They revealed the deeper rot … Continue reading →

LegCo election to go ahead, apparently. Millions rejoice. It would be interesting to know what officials thought when making the decision. Did they wonder whether public opinion would see sticking to the schedule soon after the Tai Po fire as … Continue reading →

The Standard reports… National security police have arrested a former district councillor and a volunteer for allegedly attempting to incite discord through comments about the Wang Fuk Court fire in Tai Po that has killed 146 people and injured 79. … Continue reading →

No-one can accuse the Hong Kong government of being too touchy-feely. Following the worst disaster in living memory, the government by Friday faced grassroots volunteers distributing supplies, activist campaigners and a petition with a list of demands. It might have … Continue reading →

The death toll at Tai Po reaches 94. The Labour Dept last year said the netting used in renovation at Wang Fuk Court complied with fire-safety standards… …as public anger grows over a resurfaced 2024 email in which the department … Continue reading →

Getting messages from overseas hoping I’m not affected by the tragedy in Tai Po. The fire at Wang Fuk Court is a big story worldwide not just because of the statistics (latest: 44 dead and a horrifying 279 unaccounted for), … Continue reading →

Hong Kong’s Press Photographers Association cancels its 35th anniversary exhibition after Baptist University decides the exhibition gallery needs to be closed for ‘emergency maintenance’… …the HKPPA said it had no choice but to axe the event, which opened on Tuesday … Continue reading →

I remember a Sino-Japanese spat several decades ago, when then-Chief Secretary Anson Chan shrugged the whole thing off as nothing to do with Hong Kong, and referred to the focus of the dispute as the ‘Senkaku Islands’ – the Japanese … Continue reading →