China silences calls for fair probe into Hong Kong inferno, deploys sedition law

After grief over the apartment complex blaze that killed over 140 people, Hong Kong is now seeing anger spill onto the street and online forums, but the Chinese regime has been quick to quell any questions for accountability using draconian laws on “sedition”.

Miles Kwan, a 24-year-old student who is among those detained, had approached people outside a train station, urging them to demand fixing of responsibility for the inferno.

"We need to be frank about how today's Hong Kong is riddled with holes, inside and out," Kwan said to news agency AFP.

"We all feel unhappy that (Hong Kong) has come to this and we want things to improve.

Kwan and a handful of activists were giving out flyers at a train station near the charred residential estate on Friday, demanding government accountability, an independent probe into possible corruption, proper resettlement for residents, and a review of construction oversight processes.

Their demands turned into an online petition that gained more than 10,000 signatures in less than a day.

By Saturday, local media reported, Kwan was among those arrested on charges of sedition by the National Security Police. The text of the online petition was deleted.

AFP's calls to Kwan went unanswered on Sunday, November 30, and the police refused to his arrest. They only said that they "will take actions according to actual circumstances and in accordance with the law".

The city was once home to spirited political activism, but that has faded since Beijing imposed a strict national security law in 2020. That came after huge pro-democracy protests were held in the Chinese financial hub.

Kwan was asked on Friday if he feared being arrested, and he said his demands were “very basic”. "If these ideas are deemed seditious or 'crossing the line', then I feel I can't predict the consequences of anything anymore, and I can only do what I truly believe," he told the news agency.

Kwan's arrest came just hours after Beijing condemned "anti-China forces" for “exploiting” the disaster and “inciting social division and stirring hatred against authorities”.

The Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong said it would take action against anyone who attempts to use the fire to stoke unrest or endanger national security, news agency Bloomberg reported.

Authorities have so far arrested 11 people in connection to the blaze that tore through Wang Fuk Court.

This was the world's deadliest residential building fire since 1980, and Hong Kong's worst fire mishap since 1948.

There are demands now to probe if this was "not an accident" but a man-made disaster.

Hong Kong has previously used judge-led commissions of inquiry (COI) to undertake complex fact-finding exercises in a public forum.

That was a practice left over from British colonial rule. Hong Kong became part of China on July 1, 1997, when the United Kingdom formally handed over the territory to China, ending over 150 years of its rule.

There is no major inquiry panel so far. City officials have announced only an inter-departmental task force to investigate the blaze.

At the Hong Kong station on Friday, many commuters took the flyers demanding action, though very few stopped to chat with Kwan or his companions.

Near the site of the blaze a short walk away, a long queue snaked through a park as mourners brought flowers and handwritten notes of remembrance.

One unsigned note left on the ground read, “This is not just an accident, it is the evil fruit of an unjust system, which landed on you. It's not right.”

The blaze in the New Territories town of Tai Po also came as the government prepared for its heavily promoted legislative elections next week. The last polls in 2021 — the first to be held under the city's “patriots-only” limited autonomy system imposed by Beijing — saw a record low turnout. A huge number of voters boycotted those polls.

The elections will go ahead as scheduled on December 7 and campaigning will resume on Thursday, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. Local media reported earlier that the polls would take place.

Source: Hindustan Times
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