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An independent committee investigating the cause of Hong Kong's deadliest fire in decades on Thursday heard that a series of failures contributed to the blaze's burning seven buildings and killing 168 people as it opened its first hearing on the evidence. Former residents and relatives of the dead have been waiting for answers since November 2025, when the fire shattered the close-knit community of Wang Fuk Court, which housed thousands of people in the suburban district of Tai Po. In his opening remarks, the committee's lead lawyer Victor Dawes said the fire is suspected to have started at a platform in a light well outside two low-level units, noting that cigarette butts were found there and on scaffolding. Dawes said the evidence showed that multiple factors came together to produce the disaster, ranging from fire alarms and hose systems being shut off to the use of non-fire-retardant scaffolding netting and covering windows with foam boards. "On the day of the fire, nearly all
Hong Kong pro-democracy ex-publisher Jimmy Lai will not appeal the national security conviction for which he was sentenced to 20 years in prison last month, his legal team said Friday. Lai, an outspoken critic of China's ruling Communist Party who founded the now-defunct Apple Daily, was found guilty in December of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and conspiring with others to publish seditious articles. His legal team told The Associated Press via a text message about the decision, which ends a yearslong legal battle. The lawyers would not comment on the reason for not appealing. Observers say his conviction reflected the decline of press and other freedoms that has changed Hong Kong, a former British colony that returned to China's control in 1997. The government insists the case has nothing to do with a free press, saying the defendants used news reporting as a pretext for years to commit acts that harmed China and Hong Kong. Lai was one of the first prominent figures t
A Hong Kong appellate court on Thursday quashed fraud convictions against onetime media magnate Jimmy Lai, a rare victory in the prominent activist's legal battles. Lai, 78, an outspoken critic of China's ruling Communist Party who founded the now-defunct Apple Daily, will stay in prison because he was sentenced to 20 years weeks ago after being convicted in another case brought under a China-imposed national security law. That came more than five years after he was arrested under the law, which was used in a yearslong crackdown on many of Hong Kong's leading activists. His plight has evoked grief over the city's loss of press freedom and sparked an international outcry, though the city's authorities insist his case had nothing to do with media independence. The conviction that was overturned Thursday was from a earlier fraud case in which prosecutors alleged that a consultancy firm controlled by Lai had used office space that his media business rented for publication and printing
Hong Kong Aero Engine Services Ltd (HAESL) has chosen Indian IT firm HCLTech to modernise its maintenance, repair and overhaul operations. The partnership aims to streamline HAESL's Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) processes to boost efficiency and scalability, provide real-time data visibility for quicker decision-making, improve resource utilisation and ensure compliance with global standards. HCLTech will deploy its asset management solution, iMRO/4, as HAESL's Maintenance Execution System (MES) in Hong Kong, HCLTech said in a statement. "By integrating iMRO/4 with SAP S/4HANA, we will enhance end -to- end traceability and provide a single view of the workflow from induction to release. This reduces barriers and improves execution efficiency. "Partnering with HCLTech marks a significant step in our transformation, creating a scalable digital foundation that supports operational excellence and long -term growth ," said Ravinder Bedi, General Manager of Finance & ...
A trial against two pro-democracy activists behind a group that for decades organized a vigil that commemorated people killed in Beijing's Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989 opened Thursday, in another landmark case brought under a China-imposed national security law that has practically crushed protests in the semiautonomous Chinese city. Critics say their case shows that Beijing's promise to keep the city's Western-style civil liberties intact for 50 years when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997 has weakened over time. But the city's government said its law enforcement actions were evidence-based and strictly in accordance with the law. Chow Hang-tung and Lee Cheuk-yan, former leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, were charged with incitement to subversion in September 2021 under the law. They are accused of inciting others to organize, plan or act through unlawful means with a view to subvert state power, .
Fireworks are typically a celebratory centrepiece of Hong Kong's New Year celebrations. Not this year. The territory will ring in 2026 without spectacular and colourful explosions in the sky over its iconic Victoria Harbor after a massive fire in November that killed at least 161 people. The city's tourism board will instead host a music show Wednesday night featuring soft rock duo Air Supply and other singers in Central, a business district that also is home to the famous nightlife hub Lan Kwai Fong. The facades of eight landmarks will turn into giant countdown clocks presenting a three-minute light show at midnight. Fireworks have long been part of the city's celebrations for the New Year, Lunar New Year and National Day. The pyrotechnic displays against Hong Kong's world-famous skyline of skyscrapers typically draw hundreds of thousands of people including many tourists to both sides of the promenade. Rosanna Law, the territory's secretary for culture, sports and tourism, ...
A former Hong Kong reporter at the Wall Street Journal began testifying Monday against the newspaper she accused of terminating her due to her union activities in a trial a closely watched case that has raised concerns about press freedom in the city. Former WSJ reporter Selina Cheng, also chairperson of the trade union Hong Kong Journalists Association, launched a private prosecution against her ex-employer, Dow Jones Publishing Co. (Asia) Inc., the parent company of the Journal, after losing her job in July 2024. At that time, Cheng said she believed that the termination was linked to her refusal to comply with her former supervisor's request to withdraw from the election for the union role, instead of the news outlet's restructuring, as she was told. Dow Jones faces two charges under the city's Employment Ordinance. The company pleaded not guilty to both charges, each of which carries a maximum fine of 100,000 Hong Kong dollars (about $12,850). Two charges faced by ...
Jimmy Lai, a former Hong Kong media mogul and one of the city's most outspoken critics of Beijing, will hear the long-awaited verdict in his landmark national security trial in a Hong Kong court on Monday. He could face life in prison if convicted. Lai, 78, was arrested in August 2020 under a Beijing-imposed national security law that was implemented following massive anti-government protests in 2019. During his five years in custody, Lai has been sentenced for several lesser offences, and when he was last seen in court in August he appeared to have grown more frail and thinner. Lai's trial, heard by three judges approved by the government without a jury present, has been closely monitored by the US, Britain, the European Union and political observers as a barometer of media freedom and judicial independence in the former British colony, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997. His verdict is also a test for Beijing's diplomatic ties. US President Donald Trump said he has raised the
To his supporters, former media mogul Jimmy Lai is a fighter for democracy. To his opponents, he's a traitor to his motherland. Now, he could face life in prison after being convicted of conspiracies to commit sedition and collusion with foreign forces awaits a verdict in a landmark trial that began in 2023. Lai, 78, is an outspoken critic of China's ruling Communist Party who was arrested in 2020 under a national security law following massive anti-government protests that rocked Hong Kong the year before. His arrest and the closure of his Apple Daily newspaper, a tabloid-style publication that backed the democracy movement, dealt a blow to free speech in a city that was once a bastion of press freedom in Asia. A conviction could keep the British citizen in jail for the rest of his life. Born in mainland China, Lai was just 12 when he arrived in Hong Kong on a fishing boat as a stowaway, hoping for a better life in the then-British colony. He began working as a child labourer in
About a third of Hong Kong 's registered voters elected a new 90-member legislature Sunday, a turnout that avoided an embarrassment for the government but fell short of a ringing endorsement of an electoral system revamp that eliminated the once feisty opposition in the Chinese territory. The turnout rate reached 31.9%, surpassing the 30.2% in the 2021 election, the first held under the new system. It was much lower than before the electoral changes, when turnout topped 50%. Many of the city's 4.1 million eligible voters, especially democracy supporters, have turned away from politics since a crackdown that has stifled dissent. Candidates must now go through a vetting process that ensures they are patriots who are loyal to the Chinese government. The government says the changes were needed to bring stability after massive anti-government protests in 2019. The government launched a major campaign to drive up turnout, adding polling stations, extending voting hours and holding candida
Hong Kong voters are casting ballots Sunday in their second legislative election since a 2021 overhaul of the system eliminated the pro-democracy opposition in the Chinese territory. The poll, coming less than two weeks after an apartment fire that killed at least 159 people, is a possible test of public sentiment about the government's handling of the tragedy. The focus is on voter turnout, which fell to about 30% in the last election in 2021, after the overhaul dampened interest. Some analysts believe mounting public anger over government accountability in the blaze could suppress turnout further. City leader John Lee has called on citizens to vote, saying Friday it would send a signal on promoting reforms. He said he would put forth a proposal to the new legislature on how to support the victims, many who have been left homeless by the fire. The polls close at 11:30 pm. Deadly blaze stalled get-out-the-vote efforts Election campaigning was suspended after the fire and remained
Hong Kong's national security police arrested a man on Saturday in the first publicly confirmed arrest relating to criticism of authorities over a high-rise apartment blaze that killed at least 159 people. Police said he had been accused of posting information with seditious intention on social media. That mainly included (materials intending to) incite hatred among (others) toward the Hong Kong government and the central government, Steve Li, chief superintendent of the police National Security Department, told reporters. For example, he pointed to the Hong Kong and the central governments as instigators of exploiting the tragedy to cause chaos and turmoil, he said. That's something totally impossible. Local media reported other arrests earlier but authorities have not confirmed them. The fire, which broke out November 26 at the Wang Fuk Court housing complex, has prompted a debate about government accountability. Authorities have warned against attempts to use the fire to try t