The smell of smoke filled the flat as Mr and Mrs Wong brought home eight red-white-blue and IKEA bags filled with their belongings, retrieved from their old home, now charred and damaged by the fire.

Their daughter should have been overjoyed to have been reunited with her collection of storybooks, but all she could do was recoil from the smell of ash still lingering on the paperbacks six months after the fire at Wang Fuk Court last November.

The Wongs were among residents who returned to their fire-scorched flats to retrieve their belongings from mid-April to early May. On their allocated day, Wang Fuk Court residents made their way up the estate’s stairwells, racing against a three-hour time limit to retrieve what they could, reminisce in their former homes, and pay respects to the dead.

It was also a cathartic experience for some, as they struggled to pick up the pieces – literally and figuratively – in the wake of the deadly tragedy.

The inferno at the government-subsidised estate in Tai Po in November last year killed 168 people and has since displaced thousands of others. An inquiry hearing is under way to identify the cause of the fire – the city’s deadliest in decades – and hear testimony from residents, government officers, and others.

The Wong family was able to salvage some keepsakes and belongings, including the daughter’s books and birthday cards from friends, an old photo album, and a hard drive containing pictures and videos from the past decade.

“Some of the books were gifts from friends, and some of them she bought with her own pocket money. When she saw that the things in Wang Fuk Court had come back, she was so happy. But at the same time, all of those things smelled of smoke,” said Mrs Wong, who declined to disclose her full name for privacy reasons.

She recalled that her daughter, unable to withstand the stench, retreated to her room. “She said, ‘I have to hide in my room, the living room smells so bad!’”

Nearly six months after the fire, the nine-year-old girl is still reeling from the trauma. She “has become quite sensitive to certain smells and sounds, even the school bell,” Mrs Wong told HKFP in a phone interview this month.

The 38-year-old mother was worried that the smell of smoke – if it continued to linger – might bring up her daughter’s memories of the escape from the burning complex. Both she and her daughter have started seeing a psychologist to process the emotional fallout.

On the fateful day in late November, Mrs Wong was working at a local nursery when a neighbour called to tell her the estate was on fire. Her daughter and father-in-law were at home. Both Mr and Mrs Wong tried to call the grandfather multiple times, and luckily, the husband’s call went through.

The girl and her grandfather made their way down the 27 floors and exited the building through the back entrance – some 20 minutes after the fire broke out.

The Wongs are now living in a rented flat in Tai Po, the same district as their old home. Smoke from incense at a nearby traditional temple and sirens from a fire depot have also become triggers for the young girl.

For herself, Mrs Wong recovered some clothes that her mother-in-law had tailored to fit her. The family is still searching for an SD card containing 10 years’ worth of photos, including those of her daughter’s birth, hoping it will still be intact in the wreckage.

Mrs Wong told HKFP that she wept as she climbed all the way up to the 27th-floor flat at Wang Tai House, the second block at Wang Fuk Court that caught fire, earlier this month. To her surprise, their flat appeared to be largely untouched by the flames, though the intense heat from above and below her flat had mangled the ceiling and floor.

Before heading back to their old flat, she had resigned herself to the possibility that it might also be her last chance for a farewell. “What I wanted was to properly say goodbye to the flat,” Mrs Wong said.

Hong Kong authorities are set on a plan to buy out seven blocks at Wang Fuk Court for HK$6.8 billion and one tower largely unaffected by the blaze for another HK$1 billion, as well as to tear down the estate and turn it into a park or community facility.

“Every time I thought of going back, I would cry. I would worry about crying so hard that I wouldn’t have time to pack,” she said. “But I couldn’t let myself do that. I had to steel my nerves and pack up.”

Mrs Wong also brought flowers to pay her respects to her neighbour who died in the fire. “Looking at the other badly burnt units, I was reminded of all the people who left us,” she said.

Unfortunately, she did not have time to say proper goodbyes because she had to get back to packing.

The 27-storey slog up and down the building left the Wongs pressed for time. They were told to leave almost 30 minutes before their three hours were up to account for the time it would take to move all their things downstairs.

“I had hoped I would have some time to sit down and let things sink in, but I couldn’t even have that,” she said. To the family’s relief, the government has said residents will have a second chance to return to the estate. “Given a choice, I would pack up the entire place with me,” she said.

Carbon Yip, who lived in a sixth-floor flat in the neighbouring Wang Cheong House, the first block that caught fire, is planning his second trip back to the estate.

“I’ll take every single opportunity to go back,” said Yip, who spent almost three decades of his life at the estate. “The last time I was home was when I left for work that day, and now we’re back.”

Yip and his wife, Karen, moved into their flat after they got married, in the block neighbouring the tower where his childhood home was. “It wasn’t just property, it was the place where I grew up,” he said about Wang Fuk Court.

“Even if we’re done packing up, if we are allowed back, I’d still want to go back, even if it’s just to sit.”

The couple, along with his older brother and father, returned to Wang Fuk Court last month, donning hard hats and name tags. They packed up their lives at the estate into about 30-odd bags, most of which have been placed into a storage unit in a nearby industrial district.

The family first went to Carbon Yip’s home and days later to his father’s flat in Wang Tai House.

They returned to the flats weeks after the father, Yip Ka-kui, also known as Sdanni Yip, gave a moving testimony before an independent committee investigating the cause of the fire and its rapid spread.

At the hearing, Sdanni Yip, who repeatedly reported potential fire hazards at the estate to authorities, accused the government of “evading responsibility.” He also gave a heartfelt tribute to his late wife, Pak Shui-lin, who spent her final moments knocking on doors to notify other residents of the fire.

The Yip family’s designated social worker showed them photos of the flat before they returned so they would have a better idea of what to look for. However, even then, Carbon Yip couldn’t prepare himself for the weight of stepping back into his home.

“I had to collect myself before I could start packing, because the emotions were overwhelming,” he said, recalling the trip back to Wang Cheong House. “I don’t think anyone could accept seeing their home looking that way.”

Carbon Yip, 36, lost much of his Gundam and Digimon figurine collection to the fire. He discovered the models had melted and fused into a single unrecognisable lump of plastic. He had to throw out a large part of his Pokémon card collection, including limited anniversary-edition cases that warped and melted in the fire.

However, he managed to salvage a commemorative crystal block made to remember their pet dog, who died early last year after about 16 years with the family. The memento was stashed away in a box, which shielded it from the worst of the fire.

Returning home reminded him of his late mother. Pak took care of their late dog, whom she called her “granddaughter,” while he and his wife worked.

“’Your daughter isn’t eating again!’ – she used to tell me whenever [the dog] was being a picky eater,” Carbon Yip said.

Carbon Yip, his wife, and his father have moved in with the elder brother. Seven family members are crammed into a three-bedroom flat, just a 15-minute walk from Wang Fuk Court.

“Being able to get these things back, our home can now feel a little bit more complete,” Carbon Yip said.

Two out of three journalists say the working environment in Hong Kong has changed “for the worse” in the past year, according to the latest survey by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club.

The 2026 FCC Press Freedom Survey, which received 78 responses from members, found that “67 per cent of respondents said the working environment for them as a journalist had changed for the worse in the last 12 months.”

The FCC pointed out that the survey “happened to take place” after Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai was convicted and sentenced to jail, as well as Beijing’s national security office in Hong Kong, the Office for Safeguarding National Security (OSNS), summoned representatives of several major foreign media outlets, shortly following the deadly Wang Fuk Court fire.

At the meeting, the OSNS warned that some media organisations had spread false information and smeared the government in reports on the massive blaze at the housing estate in Tai Po, which killed 168 people and displaced thousands of residents.

‘Watershed moment’

One respondent said that the warning by the OSNS to foreign journalists “should be seen as a watershed moment here in Hong Kong. It has created an increased chilling effect.”

About a quarter of respondents said they experienced minor or significant interference in their work, with most describing incidents while covering the Tai Po fire. One journalist said they were told to leave when they were “speaking to survivors in a corner, disturbing no one.”

Another respondent said that the 20-year sentence handed down to Lai “only further chills the local reporting environment.”

More than 50 per cent said sources had become less willing to be quoted during the same period, the survey found.

One respondent was quoted as saying that “the scope of what is ‘acceptable’ in terms of who can be quoted” has narrowed each year.

“It has reached the point where non-political voices who question policy-making or have reservations about certain aspects of it will get cut or reduced significantly by editors,” the respondent added.

See also: Hong Kong press freedom rebounds slightly from historic low, reflecting ‘resilience,’ journalists’ union says

Fewer respondents had a clear sense of what subjects are sensitive in the most recent survey, down from 78 per cent last year to 65 per cent this year, with one respondent saying the Beijing-imposed national security law “is still rather fluid and capricious.”

Half of the respondents said they were “slightly concerned” about arrest or prosecution in relation to their work as journalists, while 41 said they were not. The remaining 9 per cent said they were very concerned.

A third of respondents said their organisations had downsized in Hong Kong. Among them, a third cited the political and legal environment as well as corporate cost-cutting.

But 17 per cent of respondents said their organisations had increased staff in the city, with 40 per cent of them citing “the growing importance of Hong Kong” and increased investment.

“Press freedom remains engrained in Hong Kong law, but as is apparent from the results of our survey, the sentiment for working journalists in the city has been in flux,” said FCC President Morgan Davis.

“The FCC supports journalists’ fundamental right to conduct their work freely and without fear of intimidation or harassment,” the club said in its statement.

“We will continue to safeguard press freedom in the city, via engagement with the journalism community and relevant stakeholders, in order to make sure that Hong Kong remains an international hub for media, business and finance.”

Wang Fuk Court fire survivors Jason Kong and his wife have been arrested for alleged government loan fraud – two weeks after he delivered a petition asking the estate’s administrator to meet with homeowners.

Sing Tao Daily reported on Friday morning that Kong and his wife were arrested on Thursday over “money laundering” and “conspiracy to defraud.”

The couple, both directors of an interior design company, are alleged to have used fraudulent means to obtain several hundred thousand dollars in loans under the government’s Special 100% Loan Guarantee scheme.

The scheme was launched by the Hong Kong government in early 2020 to help companies amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to Sing Tao Daily, Kong allegedly faked the income records for January to March 2020 of his interior design company when he applied for the loan in 2022, “creating the impression that his company was affected by Covid-19.”

It is suspected that he obtained “several hundred thousand dollars,” and some funds were transferred to his personal account, the newspaper reported.

Sources familiar with the matter told HKFP that, as of Friday morning, Kong and his wife were being detained at a police station.

HKFP has not been able to reach Kong since Thursday afternoon.

In response to HKFP’s enquiry, police said on Friday afternoon that they arrested a local man and a local woman in Yuen Long on Thursday, following an investigation by the Regional Crime Unit of New Territories South.

The pair were arrested on suspicion of money laundering and conspiracy to defraud, police said. The suspects, aged 62 and 64, are accused of defrauding the government’s Special 100% Loan Guarantee scheme.

Outspoken

Kong is a flat owner at the fire-ravaged Tai Po residential estate. He was also a member of the Wang Fuk Court owners’ board when the fire broke out.

He and his wife survived the fire, but their dog died in the blaze.

Kong has been outspoken on matters of displacement and long-term resettlement. He has been urging the government and the government-appointed administrator, Hop On Management, to hold a meeting with homeowners.

On April 29, Kong delivered a petition, which garnered 247 handwritten signatures, to Hop On, asking the firm to hold a general meeting with homeowners to discuss long-term resettlement and related financial matters. He was one of the petition organisers.

Hop On said on Wednesday that it would seek to extend the statutory deadline for holding a homeowners’ meeting, citing the need for more time to verify owners’ signatures and find a suitable venue.

The company also said it would not communicate with “specific” residents.

“As the administrator, Hop On’s responsibility is to represent and serve all owners of Wang Fuk Court, rather than communicating only with a portion of owners or specific individuals,” the company said.

In early April, state-backed newspaper Ta Kung Pao reported that Kong collected 500 online signatures for a petition urging Hop On to hold a general meeting with homeowners.

The report questioned the authenticity of the signatures and asked why Kong did not introduce a mechanism to verify them.

It also questioned why Kong joined the owners’ board of a residential estate in Sai Kung District. In response, Kong, who owns a property on the estate, asked why somebody should not be allowed to serve on several owners’ boards across different housing estates.

Arrests linked to gov’t loan

Since last year, there have been other arrests related to the government’s pandemic loan scheme.

In April 2025, police arrested six people, including at least one director of independent media outlet Channel C’s parent company, for allegedly defrauding the Special 100% Loan Guarantee scheme.

Channel C – founded by a small group of former Apple Daily employees in July 2021 following the closure of the pro-democracy newspaper – ceased operations soon after the arrests.

In March this year, businessman Jason Poon, who took on corruption in the construction sector, was arrested over the same government loan scheme.

He was active in highlighting issues in renovation projects at Hong Kong’s residential estates, including the quality of scaffolding nets and the bid-rigging epidemic – issues that arose in the wake of the Wang Fuk Court fire.

Following his arrest, Poon said that he would focus more on his family.

The Hong Kong government said it has issued buyback offer letters to homeowners of the fire-hit Wang Fuk Court, moving forward with its plan to acquire property titles from displaced residents.

The government said on Thursday that it has distributed “letters of offer” to flat owners of the seven blocks affected in the massive inferno in November that killed 168 people – Hong Kong’s deadliest blaze in decades.

The move follows the authorities’ announcement in February that they would spend up to HK$6.8 billion to buy back flats from owners. The budget consists of HK$4 billion in taxpayers’ money and HK$2.8 billion from a support fund largely made up of public donations.

Owners can choose cash or a flat swap for a new government-subsidised unit under a special sales scheme, according to the February plan.

The government has established a company named Wang Fuk Court Property Rights Acquisition Limited, which has distributed the offer letters to owners, it said on Thursday.

Owners have until August 31 to sign a “letter of acceptance” enclosed with the offer letter and return it to the company if they choose to accept the acquisition, it said.

“Upon receipt of the owners’ duly signed ‘Letter of Acceptance,’ the government will make every effort to promptly assist in completing the Agreement for Sale and Purchase and the [Deed of] Assignment,” a government spokesperson said in a statement.

Early flat selection

For owners who opt for cash, authorities will expedite the payment for them to make purchases in the private market, the government said.

Those who want to participate in the government’s special sales scheme will be allowed to select their flats earlier if they accept the buyback offer quickly, authorities added.

They will receive priority if they return the letter of acceptance by June 30.

For homeowners of Wang Chi House, the only block not affected by the blaze, the government said that if 75 per cent of owners sign the letter of acceptance by June 30, the buyback plan will be made available to them. The government previously said buying out Wang Chi House would require an additional HK1 billion.

The Thursday statement did not mention what arrangements were available for those choosing not to accept the government’s buyback offers.

Amid calls from some residents for the housing estate to be rebuilt at its original location, the government has said that the buyback plan is final.

Authorities said the seven towers hit by flames suffered “irreversible” internal damage, and that they would be torn down to build a park or other community facilities.

However, some residents expressed scepticism about the government’s proposal after a public inquiry into the fire revealed that damage was concentrated in a number of buildings.

Some residents also expressed a desire to return to the estate after they were allowed to return to their homes to retrieve their personal belongings and found their flats largely unscathed, according to local media.

Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong, who is leading the buyback plan, said in February that the government would study whether “special legislation” would be needed if some owners refuse to sell their flats.

The administrator of the fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court has said it will seek to extend the statutory deadline for holding a homeowners’ meeting, citing the need for more time to verify owners’ signatures and find a suitable venue.

In a letter to Wang Fuk Court flat owners on Wednesday afternoon, Hop On Management confirmed that on April 29, the company had received a requisition for a general meeting from Wang Fuk Court homeowners.

The company is currently seeking legal advice and will also apply to the Lands Tribunal to extend the statutory deadline for holding the meeting, it added.

The Chinese-language letter was issued exactly one week after a group of homeowners published a statement, saying that they had delivered a petition to Hop On on April 29, requesting a general meeting with the property management firm.

The petition collected 247 handwritten signatures – more than 12 per cent of households at Wang Fuk Court.

Hong Kong’s Building Management Ordinance requires 5 per cent of all homeowners to call a general meeting. Upon receiving such a requisition, the management committee should issue notice of the meeting within 14 days and hold the general meeting with owners within 45 days, according to the ordinance.

Wednesday was the deadline to issue a notice for the homeowners’ meeting. It is unclear whether Hop On has made an application for an extension.

In the letter, the management company also said it would need extra time to verify the signatures of each homeowner, citing previous owners’ meetings that were embroiled in controversies about proxy votes and statutory quorums.

Hop On will conduct searches at the Land Registry to verify the owner of each unit, compare their signatures against the samples kept in the owners’ existing property records, and request signatories to present their Hong Kong identity cards in person to verify their identities.

If the requisition is signed in the capacity of an Administrator of Estate or an Executor, Hop On will review copies of the relevant Letters of Administration or Grant of Probate to verify the legal authorisation to act on behalf of the deceased owner.

The company said it would also need time to find “a suitable venue capable of accommodating at least 1,000 people and of hosting a continuous six-hour meeting.”

Speaking to HKFP on the condition of anonymity, a Wang Fuk Court homeowner who signed the petition accused Hop On of working too slowly and unprofessionally.

He also questioned why Hop On did not announce the decision to delay the meeting and the procedures to verify the signatures during the Zoom briefing session on Tuesday.

“Today is the deadline [for issuing notice of a meeting]. Why didn’t they talk with us about this yesterday?” he said. “I think Hop On should understand more about its role – it is a management company to serve homeowners.”

‘Sincere communication’

Hop On Management was appointed by the government in early January to act as administrator of Wang Fuk Court after the Lands Tribunal dissolved the owners’ board of the Tai Po residential estate in the wake of the deadly fire.

The company, a subsidiary of real estate giant Chinachem Group, said its work as administrator is pro bono.

Hop On also said on Wednesday that it would maintain “sincere communication” with homeowners.

“As the administrator, Hop On’s responsibility is to represent and serve all owners of Wang Fuk Court, rather than communicating only with a portion of owners or specific individuals,” the company said.

Displaced homeowners, who are scattered across Hong Kong following the deadly fire, have urged Hop On to call a general meeting, but to no avail.

Earlier this year, the company rejected the demand to hold a meeting after more than 430 homeowners signed an online petition.

After being criticised for lacking direct communication with the residents, Hop On set up a website to facilitate communication in early February.

The government-appointed administrator of the fire-hit Wang Fuk Court has outlined a HK$127 million refund plan for displaced homeowners, but has yet to schedule a general meeting for owners to decide on estate matters.

Hop On Management, appointed as the Tai Po housing estate’s administrator after the owners’ board was dissolved in the wake of the fatal blaze, announced the refund plan during an online Zoom briefing with residents on Tuesday.

The briefing was the first of two sessions organised by the management firm to explain its work, the financial situation of the owners’ board, and refund arrangements for the renovation project that was ongoing when the fire broke out in November.

Hop On representatives said during the briefing that the owners’ board had paid about HK$180 million to contractors for the renovation project, and a remaining balance of about HK$127 million in the estate’s renovation fund would be refunded.

Wang Fuk Court flat owners had to pay between HK$150,000 and HK$180,000 in six instalments after the renovation began in July 2024, depending on the size of their homes.

Frankie Chan, Hop On’s service director, said the amount of refund each household is entitled to receive will be based on the instalments they had previously paid.

According to Hop On’s data, 102 households had paid all instalments and would receive a refund ranging from about HK$84,700 to HK$98,840.

A total of 1,766 households had paid five instalments and would receive approximately HK$61,200 to HK$71,400. Meanwhile, 29 households had paid three or four instalments, and their refund would range from HK$15,800 to HK$44,030.

Hop On said that 30 households had paid only one or two instalments, while 57 never paid at all. In total, these households owed the estate’s management between HK$6,600 and HK$80,800.

Chan said the refunds would be distributed starting from June, with details to be announced at a later stage. He did not say whether the company would collect the owed amount from residents.

During a Q&A session, a resident asked why Hop On had not scheduled an owners’ meeting despite 247 of them – comprising around 12 per cent of households at Wang Fuk Court – petitioning for the gathering. An owners’ meeting will allow residents to vote on estate matters.

In response, Chan said he noted that previous owners’ meetings were embroiled in controversies about proxy votes and statutory quorums.

Hop On has to be “strict and precise” in verifying the authenticity of owners’ signatures, he said, adding that the firm is seeking legal advice.

During Tuesday’s briefing, Hop On also said that Wang Chi House – the only block that escaped the blaze – may need more than HK$30 million for repairs.

Hop On said the building sustained damage to its electrical and water systems and fire safety equipment, citing the visual examinations by a team of experts.

A resident of the fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court housing estate in Tai Po has said homeowners ran into hitches registering for online information sessions scheduled later this month.

Hop On Management, which took over estate management duties after the owners’ corporation committee was dissolved in the wake of the fatal blaze, said in an SMS message to a resident on Sunday that he had not completed registration for an “update session” on May 20, two days after the firm initially confirmed his registration.

The management company – a subsidiary of real estate giant Chinachem Group – announced last week that it had scheduled two online sessions on May 12 and 20. Tuesday’s session will be the first time for Hop On to address residents collectively.

It will give updates on the firm’s work as well as the financial situation of the now-dissolved owners’ board and refund arrangements for the renovation works that were under way when the fire broke out in November.

According to a Hop On document shared with residents and seen by HKFP, the session is only intended to explain the current situation to Wang Fuk Court residents and answer any questions they may have. No voting procedures will take place.

Registration ‘not completed’

The resident, who declined to be identified, showed HKFP the text message he received from Hop On. It said: “You have not completed the registration procedures for the Wang Fuk Court owners update session. Therefore, we cannot confirm attendance arrangements.”

The resident said he registered for the first session when registration opened on Wednesday, days before the deadline on Sunday at 11.59pm.

Hop On confirmed his registration on Friday but told him on Sunday afternoon that his registration had not been completed.

As of Monday morning, the resident’s registration had not been confirmed.

He said that another resident told him of experiencing the same issue.

Since Hop On was appointed administrator of Wang Fuk Court in January, residents have called on the company to hold a general meeting with homeowners. A petition launched by a group of survivors collected 247 handwritten signatures, or some 12 per cent of all households at the estate.

Hong Kong’s Building Management Ordinance stipulates that a management committee must convene a general meeting at the written request of at least five per cent of owners.

The Home Affairs Department earlier alleged that a similar petition, conducted online, could have contained fraudulent signatures.

The Tai Po fire broke out on November 26, claiming 168 lives and burning the homes of thousands. The blaze is Hong Kong’s deadliest since 1948.

In April, the 70th month since Beijing imposed the national security law, the Hong Kong government applied to the court to seize assets belonging to Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence.

On National Education Day, a top Chinese official delivered a warning about those who “politicised” the deadly Tai Po fire and tried to “stir up chaos” in the city.

Gov’t seeks to seize Jimmy Lai’s assets

The Hong Kong government filed an application with the High Court on April 2 to seize “offence-related” properties owned by jailed pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai on national security grounds.

In a statement issued the same day, the government mentioned Lai’s earlier convictions under the Beijing-imposed national security law. It said the High Court had found that he was the “mastermind and driving force behind the case, consciously using Apple Daily and his personal influence” to undermine local and Beijing authorities.

In a writ dated April 2, the secretary for justice listed HK$127 million in assets to be “forfeited” to the authorities.

The assets include credit balances in bank accounts belonging to or linked to the Apple Daily founder.

Fifteen bank accounts under Lai’s name – 10 with HSBC, two with Hang Seng Bank and three with Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank – have over HK$32 million.

The government is also seeking to seize bank accounts belonging to 17 companies linked to Lai. It is also demanding that Lai give up shares in 17 companies, some of which overlap with the 17 firms whose assets the government is seeking to seize.

Among the companies whose assets and shares the government wants to seize are Dico Consultants Ltd, which has over HK$404,302 in its HSBC account, and Lai’s Hotel Properties Ltd, which has over HK$3.1 million in its four HSBC accounts.

Lai has been summoned to the High Court on July 8 to hear the government’s application. The case will be presided over by Esther Toh, one of the three judges who heard his national security trial.

The move to seize Lai’s assets came after the government designated three companies linked to Lai’s now-defunct Apple Daily tabloid “prohibited organisations” in late March and removed them from the corporate registry. Police cordoned off the Apple Daily building in Tseung Kwan O a day later.

The three firms were tried and convicted alongside the Apple Daily founder in his high-profile national security case. Lai was sentenced to 20 years behind bars in early February, while the companies were each fined over HK$3 million.

Political commentator appears in court

A Hong Kong political commentator charged with disclosing details of a national security investigation appeared at the District Court on April 28.

Wong Kwok-ngon, known by his pen name Wong On-yin, has been detained since his arrest in December for allegedly divulging in a YouTube video details of enquiries made by police during a national security investigation.

Judge Stanley Chan said the pre-trial review would take place behind closed doors on August 11, and the trial would begin on October 9.

Wong’s offence falls under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, a homegrown security law known as Article 23. It was added to the ordinance in May as part of subsidiary legislation, and Wong is the first to be charged under the new law.

He is also charged with sedition over videos posted on YouTube between January 3 and December 6 last year. He plans to plead not guilty to both charges.

The defendant, who continues to represent himself, told the court he had dropped his legal aid application.

Asked by the judge whether he had legal knowledge for self-defence, Wong said he had “three law degrees” and was confident of handling the case.

Nat. security clauses for restaurant licences

Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan said in early April that all Hong Kong restaurant licences would include national security clauses from September.

Tse made the remarks on April 7, nearly a year after the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) introduced the provisions for restaurant licence renewals in May.

“With restaurants renewing their licences gradually, we expect that by September this year, all restaurant licences will contain the clauses,” Tse told reporters, according to RTHK.

Retiree jailed over seditious Facebook posts

A Hong Kong man was jailed for a year under the city’s homegrown national security law after pleading guilty to making seditious remarks on Facebook, including comments supporting Hong Kong’s and Taiwan’s independence.

Raymond Chong pleaded guilty before national security judge Victor So at West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on April 14 to one count of knowingly publishing publications with a seditious intention – an offence under the city’s local security law, also known as Article 23.

The magistrate handed Chong, a retiree in his early 60s, an 18-month sentence but discounted it by six months after considering his guilty plea.

Chong was accused of making 53 seditious social media posts between March 2024 and November 2025, local media reported.

The posts had wording such as “dissolving the Chinese Communist Party is the most important thing” and “Hong Kong independence is within sight.”

The defendant posted on a public Facebook page called “Holy Raymond,” which features the Chinese phrase “Heaven will destroy the Chinese Communist Party, God bless Hong Kong” as its profile picture.

During mitigation ahead of sentencing, his lawyer argued that Chong was a Falun Gong believer who had come to hate the Chinese Communist Party because of false information that the CCP engaged in live organ harvesting.

Beijing official warned of ‘politicising’ Tai Po fire

China’s top official in charge of Hong Kong affairs warned of some people who “politicised” the deadly Tai Po fire and tried to use the disaster to “stir up chaos” in Hong Kong.

Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, delivered his remarks on April 15 via a recorded video shown at a National Security Education Day ceremony.

In his speech, Xia mentioned the massive fire that broke out at Wang Fuk Court, a government-subsidised housing estate in Tai Po, on November 26, killing 168 people.

“After the Tai Po fire, some malicious people politicised the tragedy, attempting to use the disaster as a means to disrupt Hong Kong,” Xia said in Mandarin, without giving further details.

“Once again, it reminds us that along Hong Kong’s path toward prosperity under good governance, there will be various risks and challenges.”

Speaking at the same event, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee also warned that some people were “using the disaster to stir up chaos” and “to incite hatred” in Hong Kong.

“Only through the government’s swift action and decisive law enforcement has the situation been able to return to normal,” Lee said in Mandarin.

French journalist denied entry to city

A French journalist was denied entry to Hong Kong in November, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in late April, accusing the city’s authorities of “weaponising visas” against foreign media workers.

Antoine Vedeilhe, who was shooting a documentary for French public broadcaster France Télévisions, was questioned upon arrival at Hong Kong International Airport on November 2 last year, RSF said in a statement on April 24.

He was detained for three hours before being deported without being given a reason, it added.

The press freedom NGO said Vedeilhe was the 13th foreign media worker who had been denied entry or a visa by the city’s authorities following Beijing’s imposition of the national security law in 2020.

“In the journalist’s view, his detention was a reprisal for his work on a documentary examining Beijing’s grip on Hong Kong,” RSF said.

Another cameraman for the documentary was able to enter the city, RSF said, but he was followed by “unidentified individuals that he suspects were Hong Kong’s national security police.”

“In the following days, there was a hacking attempt on Vedeilhe’s private email account and his sources in the documentary were harassed by the national security police,” the NGO said.

In an emailed reply to HKFP’s enquiries, the Hong Kong government said it “strongly condemns the smearing remarks and distorted narratives by” RSF.

Prosecution and arrests figures

As of April 1, a total of 394 people have been arrested for “cases involving suspected acts or activities that endanger national security” since Beijing’s national security law came into effect, according to the Security Bureau. That figure includes those arrested under Article 23 and for other offences.

Of the 208 people and five companies that have so far been charged, 180 people and four companies have been convicted or are awaiting sentencing.

In total, 100 people and four companies have been charged under Beijing’s national security law, with 79 persons and three companies convicted. Thirteen people have been charged under Article 23, 10 of whom have been convicted.