Beijing top official warns of people ‘politicising’ Tai Po fire to ‘stir up chaos’ in Hong Kong

China’s top official in charge of Hong Kong affairs has warned of some people who “politicised” the deadly Tai Po fire and tried to use the disaster to “stir up chaos” in Hong Kong.

Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, delivered his remarks on Wednesday via a recorded video shown at a National Security Education Day ceremony.

Beijing’s top official on Hong Kong affairs Xia Baolong delivers a pre-recorded televised speech on the 10th National Security Education Day, on April 15, 2025. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

In his speech, Xia mentioned the massive fire that broke out at Wang Fuk Court, a government-subsidised housing estate, on November 26, killing 168 people.

“After the Tai Po fire, some malicious people politicised the tragedy, attempting to use the disaster as a means to disrupt Hong Kong,” Xia said in Mandarin, without giving further details.

“Once again, it reminds us that along Hong Kong’s path toward prosperity under good governance, there will be various risks and challenges.”

He went on to emphasise that there are still national security risks in Hong Kong, six years after the China-imposed national security law came into effect in the city.

“Anti-China and anti–Hong Kong troublemakers are still plotting and biding their time to launch a comeback… Everyone should be alert to the risks of external forces meddling and interfering,” Xia said.

Speaking at the same event on Wednesday, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee also said that some people were “using the disaster to stir up chaos” and “to incite hatred” in Hong Kong.

Chief Executive John Lee at a press conference on January 27, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

“Only through the government’s swift action and decisive law enforcement has the situation been able to return to normal,” Lee said in Mandarin.

He vowed that the government “will hold people accountable” and implement “systematic reforms” once the independent committee completes its investigation into the blaze.

The independent committee, chaired by Judge David Lok, is currently hearing testimony from various parties – including residents, employees of fire contractors, a property management firm, and firefighters.

Hong Kong authorities and China’s national security authorities have repeatedly issued warnings related to the blaze – the city’s deadliest in eight decades.

On November 29, days after the blaze, Beijing’s Office for Safeguarding National Security (OSNS) warned that “anti-China disruptors” sought to co-opt the deadly Tai Po fire to “incite resentment” against the government.

People watch as flame engulfed the blocks in Wang Fuk Court on November 26, 2025.

In early December, the Hong Kong government issued a statement, blasting “foreign forces, including anti-China media organisations, and anti-China and destabilising forces” for “making unfounded and slanderous remarks,” and trying to use the fire to “stir up chaos in society.”

More recently, in February, Hong Kong security chief Chris Tang warned of people engaging in “soft resistance” by making false claims about the tragedy.

National security police said in mid-February that three people had been charged under Article 23, Hong Kong’s local national security law, over comments relating to the blaze.