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By Rodrigo Santos Andrade
Tai Po’s deadly fire: The cost of Hong Kong’s tolerance for shortcuts | Asian Insider podcast
visibility comment0 event February 6, 2026 timer 06:00
Hong Kong prides itself on being a first world city. So how did such a thing like the Tai Po fire happen?
On Nov 26, 2025, a fire swept through Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district, killing 168 people.
What also perished in that inferno was a certain trust in the system to keep everyone safe.
The Straits Times’ Hong Kong Correspondent Magdalene Fung, a long-time resident of the city, talks to host and foreign editor Li Xueying about her experience covering the disaster.
She also wrestles with the question of how Hong Kong’s tolerance for cutting corners cuts both ways. There is ingenuity. But the acceptance of quick, convenient fixes has also resulted in a society that collectively allowed the fire to happen.
Highlights (click/tap above):
0:00 Intro
00:54 On the ground, covering the fire
04:11 A system that failed
11:11 But a society that also helped
12:41 Low standards and quick, convenient fixes
18:32 The fire doors are still not closed
Read Magdalene Fung’s article here: https://str.sg/JyX2y
Read Li Xueying’s articles: https://str.sg/iqmR
Follow Li Xueying on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/ip4x
Sign up for ST’s weekly Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/sfpz
Host: Li Xueying ([email protected])
Edited by: Fa’izah Sani
Executive producer: Ernest Luis
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