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Hong Kong leader apologises as housing secretary resigns over Tai Po fire oversight

France 24 reports that Chief Executive John Lee apologised for the November 2025 Tai Po fire, which killed 168 people.

Updated Oct 29, 2026 · 18:24 UTC4 reports

The short version

Chief Executive John Lee apologised for the November 2025 Tai Po fire, which killed 168 people and injured 79.[France 24]
Housing Secretary Winnie Ho resigned Wednesday; Lee said she should bear political responsibility, though no personal wrongdoing was found.[France 24]
An independent committee found the Housing Bureau's checking unit failed in its supervision; a three-month probe of four agencies will follow.[France 24]

The Tai Po fire in November 2025 killed 168 people and injured 79, according to France 24.[France 24]
Housing Secretary Winnie Ho resigned Wednesday over her department's failure to supervise maintenance work.[France 24]
Lee said Ho should bear political responsibility, although no personal wrongdoing was found.[France 24]
An independent committee found that the Housing Bureau's independent checking unit failed in its duties supervising the maintenance work.[France 24]
The committee's report said evidence pointed to a lighted cigarette as the cause of the fire, which started on a flat roof in Wang Cheong House.[France 24]
A three-month investigation will examine whether staff in four government agencies were derelict in their duties.[France 24]

The lighted cigarette is the cause the committee's report says evidence pointed to; it is not presented as confirmed.[France 24]
Whether staff in the four government agencies were derelict in their duties is unknown until the three-month investigation concludes.[France 24]

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.