The ancient chronicle Zuo Zhuan contains a line that Chinese readers have quoted for more than 2,000 years: ju an si wei, si ze you bei, you bei wu huan, or, “in times of peace, think of danger; thinking of danger brings preparation; with preparation, there is nothing to fear”. It came to mind on Thursday, as Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu and seven principal officials bowed in apology to the public, on the day the Independent Committee’s report on the Wang Fuk Court fire was published. The first anniversary of the blaze, which killed 168 people, is less than a month away. The question we all asked in November 2025 has not changed: How do we make sure this never happens again?

A judge-led committee worked for 10 months, the SAR government published the report within a week of receiving it from the committee, and only the parts that could prejudice the criminal trials were withheld until those proceedings end.

The report answers the above question with remarkable frankness: It finds that the fire spread so fast because of misconduct in the renovation works, including the suspected use of nonfire-retardant scaffolding nets, flammable foam boards and openings cut into escape staircases, and that this was compounded by decades of weak oversight in four government bodies: the Independent Checking Unit (ICU) under the Housing Bureau, the Buildings Department, the Fire Services Department and the Labour Department. It makes 120 recommendations. Nobody is spared, and that is exactly why it carries weight.

What is most impressive is that accountability was pursued on three levels at once. Criminally, seven people and two companies already face charges, including manslaughter. Administratively, the Public Service Commission will hold disciplinary inquiries, to be completed within three months. Politically, Housing Secretary Winnie Ho Wing-yin has tendered her resignation to take political accountability, even though no personal wrongdoing had been established. As Virginia Lee argued in her column on Oct 30, mature governance means telling blame apart from accountability: Complex disasters rarely come from one decision or one person, and the right response is evidence-based and fair. (Tai Po Fire: Reforms Signal Shift from Reactive Administration to Anticipatory Governance, China Daily Hong Kong). An apology means something only when it is followed by action. Here, the first steps have been taken.

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The reforms announced by the government on Thursday are practical rather than rhetorical. Bid-rigging in building maintenance and renovation, long seen as a root cause of the sector’s problems, will become a criminal offense carrying up to 10 years in prison. A new Building Maintenance Support and Services Council, with HK$300 million ($38.24 million) reserved, will give owners independent professional help at every stage of a project and is due to start operating by the end of this year. The unit that supervised the Wang Fuk Court works will be replaced by a Public Housing Building Control Section that works project by project, the Buildings Department will set up separate divisions for new and existing buildings, and the Fire Services Department will create a command to monitor fire risks in buildings under major renovation. A steering committee led by the chief secretary for administration will drive implementation and bring the legislative amendments to the Legislative Council.

One detail is especially worthy of attention. The government will establish a centralized data system for building maintenance and renovation works and overhaul the complaints mechanism. Artificial intelligence will help senior officials identify recurring complaints and flag cases that may not have received adequate attention. The Independent Committee found that the ICU mishandled residents’ complaints about fire hazards before the fire. A system that makes sure repeated warnings cannot get lost between desks is exactly what technology is for. The city is moving from talking about AI to actually putting it to work.

Behind the institutional detail are people. Hong Kong’s greatest asset is its people, and what followed the fire confirmed that. Donations exceeded HK$3.8 billion within a month, and the support fund, seeded with HK$300 million by the government, has provided rental grants, relocation grants and other assistance, while the standard rental grant for owners has been extended until December 2027. Governments are measured, in the end, by how they treat those who lost the most, and Hong Kong has tried to put families first.

READ MORE: Fireproofing the future: Building a safer Hong Kong

This matters far beyond Wang Fuk Court. As Legislator Dominic Lee noted in his column this week (After Wang Fuk Court Tragedy, HK Chooses Transparency and Reform, China Daily Hong Kong, Oct 29), a city’s reputation for being safe and well governed depends on its readiness to confront failure openly, accept consequences and change the rules. It is also a strategic asset. Hong Kong’s first five-year plan is about building the city’s new engines of growth — and safe, well-run institutions are what let those engines run. The Northern Metropolis, expected to house some 2.5 million residents over two decades, should be built with these lessons in the rulebook from day one. The timing is telling too. Next week, Hong Kong FinTech Week welcomes the world’s financial community. Visitors and investors will find a city that does not hide its failures but fixes them, which in the long run is what builds confidence. It is part of the foundation behind Hong Kong’s third place in the Global Financial Centres Index.

Of course, publishing a report is not the same as completing the work. Legislative amendments across six pieces of legislation still need to go before the LegCo, the disciplinary inquiries and criminal trials will take time, and the families of the victims are still waiting for answers in court. Implementation will be the real test. The anniversary on Nov 26 will be a moment to remember those who died, to honor the firefighter who gave his life, and to ask how much has already changed.

Hong Kong has not tried to explain away a tragedy, but it investigated openly, accepted responsibility at every level, supported the affected families and committed to reform that goes to the root. The old saying suggests preparation in times of peace. Hong Kong learned that lesson in the hardest possible way, but it is now building that preparation rule by rule and department by department, and that is the best tribute the city can pay to those it lost.

The author is a fintech adviser, a researcher, and a former business analyst for a Hong Kong publicly listed company.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.