Hong Kong leader apologizes for deadly Tai Po fire, pledges reform

HONG KONG – Hong Kong leader John Lee apologized on Thursday, October 29, for the deadly blaze that killed 168 people in the city last November, as he released an independent report that held four government departments partially responsible for a fire that erupted after more than a year of safety complaints. Lee promised swift but extensive reforms to the city’s building industry and regulatory system. The more than 1,000-page report by the judge-led panel detailed governance and supervisory failings, including widespread bid rigging. “The fire has been put out, but the reform has only just begun,” the report stated. “The Committee finds that no Government department took effective ownership of various fire safety issues and complaints about fire hazards fell into a vacuum.

” 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 and shrouded in dust netting and scaffolding. Residents had repeatedly raised safety concerns over the work for more than a year before the fire, which the report said was most likely started by a “glowing source… likely a cigarette. ” It was the deadliest in the city since 1948. Thousands of residents were displaced after their homes became uninhabitable. “As chief executive and head of the government, I am deeply saddened,” Lee said before bowing with seven other officials in a rare show of official contrition. “On behalf of the SAR government, I offer my apologies to the victims and the public at large. ” Lee also announced the resignation of Hong Kong’s Housing Secretary Winnie Ho — the first official to resign over the inferno. Disciplinary action Wang Fuk residents and other critics have in recent months expressed anger at a…