Political accountability has reflected the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government’s commitment to taking responsibility for last year’s deadly fire in Tai Po district, veteran Hong Kong politician Tam Yiu-chung said on Thursday.

Tam, secretary-general of the Hong Kong Coalition and a former lawmaker, made the remarks to reporters, hours after principal officials from the SAR government announced the details of an independent committee’s report into the blaze at Wang Fuk Court in November 2025, which claimed 168 lives.

Other than political accountability, the government will also pursue administrative and criminal accountability for the fire. Tam stressed that the three levels of accountability were equally important.

“The chief executive has already stated that accountability will be pursued to the end, so administrative accountability is actually not yet completed, and there will definitely be a conclusion,” he said.

Calling the investigation report “objective” and “fair”, Tam noted that it has exposed some “deep-seated” issues, providing a solid foundation for how the government could carry out reforms and prevent similar incidents from happening in future.

Tam also took note of an important decision by the government about supporting residents to carry out building maintenance works as it will establish a Building Maintenance Support and Services Council.

“This is also what the public hopes the government will do, as residential owners often do not know what to do when facing major maintenance and are afraid of being cheated,” he stressed.

Speaking of bid-rigging, Tam pointed out that one can see the presence of other forces, including triad forces, as well as shoddy work and a lack of accountability, which have caused the owners to suffer losses and distress, yet these issues have never been properly handled.

Highlighting that the chief executive has tasked the chief secretary for administration to oversee the implementation of various proposed measures, Tam stressed another important issue is implementation since about 120 recommendations have already been proposed.

“This series of recommendations and measures can help Hong Kong residents secure the safety of their lives and property, so that similar incidents will not happen again,” he concluded.