cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/46626951 > Archived > > 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 156 people, anger and frustration are mounting over building safety lapses, suspected construction corruption and lax government oversight. > > But bigger issues are at play. Some 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 many worried the disaster could be repeated. > > […] > > Seven of 20 additional samples collected later from the site failed to meet safety standards […] Some fire alarms failed to sound when the fire started, residents and officials said. > > […] > > “It did open a Pandora’s box,” said John Burns, an honorary professor of politics and public administration at the University of Hong Kong. > > “You’ve got all of these issues which have been swept under the table,” Burns said. “Because of all that we now know – or believe we know – about bid-rigging, collusion, corruption, no fire alarms, government negligence, all of these things have come out.” > > […] > > The Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong warned that the city’s tough national security law would be imposed against “anti-China” forces who use the fire to “incite hatred against authorities.” > > The disaster may overshadow an election Sunday for Hong Kong’s Legislative Council if angry voters stay away, said 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 government is: do they care about what the people think?” Burns said. “They absolutely should. (And) if they ignore public opinion, I think, on this issue, this is a huge mistake.”