01/12/2025

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Anger simmers over HK inferno

launched a petition demanding government accountability, an independent investigation into possible corruption, proper resettlement for residents, and a review of construction oversight, two sources familiar with the matter said. University student Miles Kwan, 24, was arrested on suspicion of trying to incite sedition in relation to the blaze in the Wang Fuk Court complex in the northern Tai Po district, the South China Morning Post reported. Hong Kong police did not respond yesterday to a request for comment.

The online petition promoted by the group reached over 10,000 signatures by Saturday afternoon before it was closed. A second petition with the same demands has been launched by a Tai Po resident who is now living overseas. “Hongkongers demand the truth and justice,” wrote KY in the comment section of the new online petition. The blaze that ripped through seven high-rise residential blocks near the border with mainland China has stunned Hong Kong and

authorities have launched criminal and corruption investigations as anger and dismay grow. The cause of the blaze, which killed 146 people and left 150 still missing, is still to be determined. Authorities are on tenterhooks to avoid any broader public backlash after pro-democracy protests roiled the city in 2019, leading to a Beijing imposed national security law. China’s national security authorities on Saturday warned individuals against using the disaster to disrupt the city. “We sternly warn the anti-China disruptors who attempt to ‘disrupt Hong Kong through disaster.’ “No matter what methods you use, you will certainly be held accountable and strictly punished under the Hong Kong national security law and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance.”

Authorities have arrested 11 people in connection with the city’s worst blaze in nearly 80 years as they investigate possible corruption and the use of unsafe materials during renovations. Rescue operations at the site concluded on Friday. Authorities have said the fire alarms at the Wang Fuk Court estate, home to over 4,600 people, had not been working properly. Residents were told by authorities last year they faced “relatively low fire risks” after complaining about fire hazards posed by the renovation, the city’s Labour Department said. The residents raised concerns in September last year, including about the potential flammability of the protective green mesh contractors used to cover the bamboo scaffolding, a department spokesperson said. – Reuters

o Beijing warns against disruption

HONG KONG: Anger over a deadly blaze at a high-rise apartment complex simmered yesterday as Beijing warned against attempts to use the disaster to disrupt the city, while people across the financial hub continued to mourn for the more than 146 vicitms. Police on Saturday detained one person who was part of a group that

Hong Kong residents queue by the riverside to lay flowers at a makeshift memorial in Tai Po. – REUTERSPIC

Kwan handing out flyers for a petition on Friday. – REUTERSPIC

Pilot killed in mid-air collision SYDNEY: Two light planes collided mid-air during a formation flight over Sydney’s outskirts yesterday, sending one of them crashing to the ground and killing its solo pilot. Responders found the pilot’s body in bushland near the airport in Wedderburn, a southwestern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales state police said. “Police were told two light planes had collided mid-air, before one of the planes crashed nearby in bushland,” they said in a statement. “Emergency services located the body of the pilot, believed to be the sole occupant of the aircraft. “The other plane landed safely at the airfield.” The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said it was investigating a collision between two Van’s RV-7 aircraft: two-seater, single-engine homebuilt kit planes. “As reported to the ATSB, the two aircraft had been involved in a formation flight of four aircraft that was returning to land at Wedderburn Airport when the collision occurred,” it said in a statement. – AFP

Performance by Japanese singer in Shanghai halted TOKYO: Japanese One Piece singer Maki Otsuki was forced to halt her performance on stage in Shanghai, her management said, one of the latest events hit by a diplomatic spat between Tokyo and Beijing. though she was in the middle of performing”, her management posted on her official website. It was the latest event affected in a spate of cancellations of cultural events involving Asia’s two biggest economies. Tokyo’s ambassador and advising Chinese citizens against travel to Japan. Saturday, was also affected, it said. Other artists and shows that have been forced to call off performances in China include pop singer Ayumi Hamasaki and jazz pianist Hiromi Uehara, Kyodo said.

The Bandai Namco Festival 2025 was scheduled through yesterday, but the organisers announced on the Chinese social media platform WeChat that the whole event would be cancelled after “comprehensively taking into consideration various factors”, Kyodo News reported. Popular Japanese girl idol group Momoiro Clover Z , which was due to perform at the same event on

Otsuki, known for the theme song of the popular anime, had been slated to perform for two days from Friday at the Bandai Namco Festival 2025 in the city. However, she “had to abruptly halt her performance due to unavoidable circumstances” on Friday “even

“I still strongly believe that entertainment should be a bridge that connects us and that I should be the creator of that bridge,” Hamasaki posted on her Instagram after the cancellation of her Shanghai tour announced on Friday, just a day before her performance. – AFP

Relations between Beijing and Tokyo have soured following remarks by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggesting Tokyo could intervene militarily in any attack on Taiwan. China reacted furiously to Takaichi’s remarks, summoning

Protest disrupts shipping at Australian coal port, 21 arrested SYDNEY: A protest off Australia’s east coast yesterday disrupted operations at one of the country’s biggest coal export ports, prompting 21 arrests, the second protest in two days to disrupt shipping at the Port of Newcastle. The port, 170km north of the state capital Sydney, is the largest bulk shipping port on the east coast of Australia. A coal ship was earlier denied entry to the port on safety concerns due to protesters in the water, the spokesperson said. Police said in a statement that 21 people were arrested and charged yesterday with “alleged marine related offences” at the protest.

On Saturday, a protest at Newcastle forced an inbound ship to turn back and police made 11 arrests. A similar multi-day protest occurred last year in which 170 protesters were arrested. Coal is one of Australia’s top commodity exports, along with iron ore. Australia’s government has committed to reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. – Reuters

“General cargo movements are now being aborted due to the protester disruption,” a Port of Newcastle spokesperson said, adding that movements of alumina bound for Australia’s largest aluminium smelter, Tomago, were “now being interrupted”.

Environmental group Rising Tide, which claimed responsibility, said hundreds of activists in kayaks paddled into the shipping lane of Newcastle Harbour yesterday.

Greenpeace Australia Pacific said three of its activists climbed onto a coal ship near the port, stopping it from operating.