Tai Po fire survivors reject relocation, demand on-site redevelopment
More than a thousand people who survived the Tai Po Towers fire that killed 161 people on 26 November 2025 have submitted a petition to the Legislative Council and China’s Liaison Office demanding on-site redevelopment, rejecting financial compensation. For them, leaving would mean betraying the memory of what happened.
Hong Kong (AsiaNews/Agencies) – More than a thousand people who survived the fire at the Wang Fuk Court towers in Hong Kong's Tai Po district have signed a petition asking that they be rehoused at the same site, so as not to lose the memory of the tragedy and those who lost their lives.
The fire, Hong Kong’s worst in 80 years, killed 161 people on 26 November 2025, devastating seven of the eight, large residential towers.
Faced with proposals from the local government to move into new housing in other parts of the city, the group initiated collective action, demanding that a new residential estate be built on the same site in Tai Po.
In the petition, delivered today to China’s Liaison Office as well as the Hong Kong Legislative Council, as reported by the Hong Kong Free Press, residents express their firm opposition to relocation or financial compensation, demanding the right to return to the place they consider their home and where their roots are.
So far, 1,155 people from 394 households have signed the petition with signatures collected over four days by an online residents' group, showing the strong cohesion and sense of urgency among survivors.
The petition includes owners’ names, signatures, and addresses, underscoring the legitimacy of the request.
According to those who signed the appeal, Wang Fuk Court was not just a collection of buildings, but a place full of emotional significance, where many have lost family and friends. Accepting to move elsewhere would, for them, be tantamount to abandoning the memory of their loved ones.
Not all residents share this view. Some 39 people from 13 families said they did not want to return to live at the same site, citing psychological trauma, fear, and other issues related to the fire experience. However, most owners strongly support rebuilding at the same location.
A group of survivors, including an owner who calls himself Benjamin, played a central role in the mobilisation. Speaking to the Hong Kong Free Press, he said that the petition arose after it became apparent that the Hong Kong government was reluctant to seriously consider rebuilding at the original site.
In official communications with survivors, this option was always mentioned as a last resort and treated with little interest.
The situation was further complicated by the dissolution of the Wang Fuk Court owners' council, which left residents without formal representation and without clear channels to make their voices heard.
The authorities handed out a questionnaire to homeowners, presenting it as a “consulting tool kit”, with nine different rehousing plans, ranging from rapid relocation starting in September to on-site reconstruction that could take up to ten years.
Hong Kong’s Deputy Secretary of Finance Michael Wong, however, singled out the latter as "unrealistic," arguing that the priority should be given to the rapid relocation of those affected.
Such a view has increased frustration among residents, who feel unheard and treated paternalistically. For many, the request for on-site reconstruction is not a political negotiation, but a human plea to preserve their home, community, and the memory of those who died in the fire.
.png)
01/12/2025 16:43
17/04/2021 13:08
