Hong Kong's Deadly 2025 Fire: Accountability on Lee's Terms

Published in The Diplomat, 31 October 2026. Eleven months after the Wang Fuk Court fire killed 168 people, Hong Kong's government has offered apologies, a ministerial resignation and promises of reform — but on its own terms. This commentary argues that who is held responsible, and when accountability is declared complete, remains the Chief Executive's to decide, while residents, with little electoral or civic leverage, are left to accept the settlement handed to them.