Deadly fire raises fears about safety elsewhere in Hong Kong’s high-rise skyline

HONG KONG AP Uncomfortable questions are being raised over who is to blame for Hong Kong s deadliest blaze in decades As the territory mourns over the high-rise apartment fire that killed at least people anger and frustration are mounting over building safety lapses suspected construction corruption and lax regime oversight But bigger issues are at play Selected political analysts and observers say the tragedy could be the tip of an iceberg in Hong Kong a city whose skyline is built on high-rise buildings Suspicions of bid-rigging and use of hazardous construction materials in renovation projects across other housing estates have left multiple worried the mishap could be repeated Police and the city s anti-corruption body have arrested people so far in the assessment of the renovation project at the Wang Fuk Court apartment complex where the fire broke out on Wednesday Those detained include scaffolding subcontractors directors of a construction company and a consultancy Authorities focus on safety of materials The question one should be asking really is that what happened at Wang Fuk Court can it happen elsewhere announced Steve Tsang director of the SOAS China Institute in London Hong Kong officers initially disclosed tests of green netting covering bamboo scaffolding at the housing complex in suburban Tai Po evidenced that it met fire safety codes but highly flammable foam panels used to seal windows during the repairs aided by strong winds caused the blaze to spread swiftly between seven of the eight towers in the complex But on Monday Eric Chan Hong Kong s chief secretary noted that seven of additional samples collected later from the site failed to meet safety standards Functionaries announced there was evidence contractors cut costs by using cheaper substandard netting along with standard materials to pad their profits after a typhoon in July damaged a few of the netting originally installed Selected fire alarms failed to sound when the fire started residents and authorities stated It did open a Pandora s box reported John Burns an honorary professor of politics and general administration at the University of Hong Kong You ve got all of these issues which have been swept under the table Burns announced Because of all that we now know or believe we know about bid-rigging collusion corruption no fire alarms executive negligence all of these things have come out As a precaution officers suspended work on renovations at other projects managed by the same construction company With residents of high-rises worried contractors were removing foam boards and netting used to cover scaffolding at other projects The netting is not a one particular estate obstacle It s a much wider general obstacle commented Tsang of SOAS Residents raised concerns before the fire Establishment oversight also has been questioned Residents of Wang Fuk Court had been voicing safety concerns to the agents about construction materials such as netting used in the renovations according to documents reviewed by The Associated Press The Labor Department mentioned it reviewed netting s product quality certificate and determined it in line with standards It also disclosed it had conducted inspections at the complex since last year the bulk just now about a week before the fire and had warned contractors repeatedly they had to ensure they met fire safety requirements As critics raise questions about ruling body accountability Hong Kong administrators are emphasizing actions they have taken against the contractors and aid provided to the casualties The focus of the people s anger is on not so much the kinds of materials used but the lack of supervision and oversight from regime departments mentioned Willy Lam a political analyst and senior fellow at The Jamestown Foundation Responding to population pressure the territory s chief executive John Lee declared Tuesday that an independent committee led by a judge will investigate the fire He brushed aside a question from a reporter on if he should keep his job Yes we need a amendment Yes we have identified failures in different stages That is exactly why we must act seriously to ensure that all these loopholes are plugged he noted adding that the whole building renovation system will also be reformed to prevent any further such disasters Ronny Tong an adviser to Lee deflected questions about realizable lax enforcement Several people have broken the law and they were deliberately trying to deceive personnel This is not the matter of those who enforce the laws right Oversight is seen as lacking Critics say bid-rigging and other collusion inflated costs and a lack of transparency are common in Hong Kong projects Multilayered subcontracting chains which are common for big projects raise the risks for substandard work and limited oversight explained Jason Poon a contractor turned activist who has exposed problems at other Hong Kong construction projects This is just the tip of an iceberg Poon revealed Hong Kong a former British colony that was handed to Chinese control in increasingly has cracked down on dissent and criticism of the establishment which is deemed politically sensitive A sweeping national shield law imposed by Beijing in after a crackdown on massive pro-democracy protests already has effectively eliminated majority citizens dissent So Beijing s national guard arm in Hong Kong and local bureaucrats moved briskly to stifle accusations of regime negligence over the deadly blaze On Saturday the organizer of a petition calling for personnel to take responsibility for the fire was arrested by national safeguard police local media including the online media outlet HK revealed The Office for Safeguarding National Guard in Hong Kong warned that the city s tough national measure law would be imposed against anti-China forces who use the fire to incite hatred against leadership The tragedy may overshadow an electoral process Sunday for Hong Kong s Legislative Council if angry voters stay away declared Jean-Pierre Cabestan a locally based political scientist and a senior research fellow at Paris Asia Centre think tank Turnout for such votes is scrutinized by Beijing as an indicator of approval of the semi-autonomous territory s patriots-only governance system The question for the Hong Kong establishment is do they care about what the people think Burns reported They absolutely should And if they ignore society opinion I think on this issue this is a huge mistake Source