China invokes sedition laws as calls for transparency grow after Hong Kong housing estate inferno

China is reportedly leaning on sedition provisions to curb rising public demands for openness following the massive fire at Hong Kong’s Wang Fuk Court estate, an incident that has triggered citywide outrage and grief.

The blaze, which engulfed multiple residential blocks within the complex, left 128 people dead and around 150 missing, according to reports. Fire Services received the first alert at around 2.51 pm on Wednesday, and the alarm level was raised to a No 5 alarm by 6.22 pm as the flames spread rapidly across seven of the estate’s eight buildings. Rescue operations continued late into the night, prompting the Hong Kong Hospital Authority to activate its Major Incident Control Centre.

Authorities, schools, and community teams were deployed to assist survivors. Educational psychologists were sent to temporary shelters, and several schools in the district will reportedly suspend classes. Various government departments and volunteers coordinated relief efforts, with residents donating supplies and offering support. One local resident was seen moving through the area near midnight with a cart to distribute water to exhausted firefighters.

Tensions over the tragedy have escalated sharply. According to reports carried by The Guardian, Beijing cautioned against any attempt to use the disaster as a means to “disrupt the city,” even as residents gathered to mourn the victims. On Saturday, Hong Kong police reportedly detained a person linked to a group that had launched an online petition seeking greater government accountability, an independent corruption inquiry, proper resettlement for survivors, and scrutiny of building safety. The petition had drawn more than 10,000 signatures before being taken offline.

Nearly 200 people are still unaccounted for, including dozens of bodies that have yet to be visually identified. Residents had earlier raised alarms about flammable renovation materials in the buildings, but officials had reassured them last year that the estate posed “relatively low fire risks,” according to the reports.

Authorities have so far arrested 11 individuals as part of criminal and corruption probes into what has become Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in almost eight decades. Rescue efforts concluded on Friday; no additional bodies were found, though officers did manage to save three cats and a turtle from the debris.

(With inputs from syndicated feed)