Public Outcry in Hong Kong Following Arrest of Student Over Fire Petition

Fri Dec 05 2025 10:12:54 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

The recent arrest of university student Miles Kwan for initiating a petition seeking accountability from officials in response to a deadly fire in Tai Po has ignited widespread debate about freedom of expression and governmental transparency in Hong Kong.

After a devastating fire tragically claimed 159 lives in Hong Kong, university student Miles Kwan was arrested for starting a petition demanding accountability from the authorities. The incident has led to public outcry, with many questioning the government’s actions as efforts to stifle inquiry and dissent. Amidst warnings about national security, the government asserts its aim to uphold the rule of law. This situation continues to provoke discussions about governance and citizen rights in the region.

When university student Miles Kwan launched a petition demanding answers from Hong Kong authorities after one of the city's deadliest fires last week, he was arrested.

The ferocious blaze had ravaged a densely populated housing estate in the northern Tai Po district, killing at least 159 people and displacing thousands.

As public anger grew, the pro-Beijing authorities warned, repeatedly, against attempts to exploit the fire to endanger national security.

Kwan was reportedly arrested by Hong Kong national security police on suspicion of sedition. He is now on bail, according to local media.

Police told the BBC that it would handle any action taken in accordance with the law and the actual circumstances.

There was also a strong public reaction to the arrest. To some, the decision to arrest him was baffling. To others, it was simply Beijing's playbook, replicated. The Hong Kong government says that it's about trying to protect the rule of law in a testing moment for the city.

'A human response to tragedy'

Ronny Tong, a member of Hong Kong's Executive Council, disputed the suggestion that Hong Kongers are being suppressed. The government is trying to be prudent, he tells the BBC.

Regina Ip, another Hong Kong lawmaker, also defended the arrests. Authorities are being extra careful that public anger does not lead to a recurrence of the 2019 riots, she told the BBC's Newshour radio programme.

Among the questions in the petition and being asked by many Hong Kongers include how the blaze could have swept through the buildings so rapidly and whether any government officials should be held responsible.

Kwan's petition, which listed four demands - echoing the five demands, not one less slogan that rallied protesters in 2019 - gathered more than 10,000 signatures in less than a day before it was taken down.

Days later, the city's leader John Lee said Hong Kong would go all out to support victims and investigate the blaze.

He announced a number of actions such as the convening of an independent committee to investigate the fire, a review of the building works system, and temporary accommodation and financial aid to victims.

Many of these were what people were calling for already - and they also formed a part of Kwan's petition.

It's baffling how Miles was [arrested] for asking basic questions on behalf of many residents, which the government went on to address anyway, said Samuel Chu, a pro-democracy activist who reposted Kwan's petition on a separate platform.

This is not a political campaign. It's a human response to the tragedy, he said.

In the past week, authorities have also arrested 15 people on suspicion of manslaughter and ordered the removal of mesh netting from all buildings undergoing renovations after investigators found that the one wrapped around the charred complex did not meet flame retardant standards.

Hong Kong authorities are dealing with the aftermath using Beijing's playbook, which focuses on social control and regime security, alleges Kenneth Chan, a politics professor at the Hong Kong Baptist University.

Officials will not embrace the spontaneity of grassroots efforts because they want control, according to Chan.

The issue continues to dominate discussion as community outrage blends with demands for accountability and justice in a region grappling with fostering transparency amidst political contention.