The State Council has approved the removal of Winnie Ho Wing-yin from the post of secretary for housing of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, days after she resigned to accept political responsibility for last November’s deadly fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po.

The HKSAR government said on Tuesday that the central government has granted approval in accordance with the relevant provisions of the SAR’s Basic Law and on the recommendation of Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu.

“Ho had tendered her resignation to me on Oct 28, indicating she would shoulder political accountability for the Wang Fuk Court blaze,” Lee said in a statement.

Lee had announced on Oct 29 that Ho, who was appointed to the post in July 2022, had stepped down as an independent committee released its findings into the deadly blaze at the Tai Po residential complex on Nov 26 that claimed 168 lives.

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Ho joined the HKSAR government in 1992 and became director of architectural services in 2020. She was named secretary for housing in 2022 as a principal official of the sixth-term HKSAR administration.

The CE said Ho was dedicated to implementing the chief executive’s directives, including constructing some 30,000 light public housing units, shortening the composite waiting time for subsidized rental housing from 6.1 years to 4.8 years, effectively combating the abuse of public rental housing, and enacting the Basic Housing Units Ordinance to eradicate substandard subdivided units in residential buildings in an orderly manner.

“I wish her all the best in her future endeavors and a healthy life,” he said.

In announcing the housing chief’s departure last week, the chief executive said although Ho wasn’t directly involved in the incident, she had accepted political responsibility for it. He said he had decided to accept her resignation after taking into account the official’s role in the incident and the heavy workload that lies ahead.

With immediate effect, Ho’s duties have been taken over by Michael Wong Wai-lun, deputy financial secretary who’s concurrently serving as acting secretary for housing.