China Uses Sedition Law To Silence Growing Anger Over Hong Kong Inferno That Killed 146

Last Updated:November 30, 2025, 19:13 IST

Hong Kong police detained Miles Kwan, 29, on suspicion of sedition after he called for government accountability over the deadly apartment complex fire.

Miles Kwan was detained after he distributed flyers that called for government accountability for the deadly Hong Kong inferno. (AFP)

Amid grief and growing questions over the Hong Kong apartment complex fire that killed 146 people, the Chinese government is now attempting to silence anger and avert accountability over the crisis by deploying its draconian sedition law.

The matter came to notice after Miles Kwan, who approached commuters outside a Hong Kong train station and urged them to demand accountability for the deadly inferno, was detained on charges of sedition on Saturday night.

“We all feel unhappy that (Hong Kong) has come to this and we want things to improve,” Kwan, 24, told news agency AFP on Friday as he was handing out flyers calling for an independent probe into the deadly incident. “We need to be frank about how today’s Hong Kong is riddled with holes, inside and out.”

Demands for an independent probe by Kwan and others led to an online petition that got over 10,000 signatures in less than a day. However, local media reported that Kwan was arrested by national security police on suspicion of sedition, and the text of the online petition was deleted.

General Silencing Voices Of Dissent

The move demonstrated how dissenting voices in Hong Kong are quickly suppressed under China’s watchful eye. However, the police declined to comment on the issue, saying they “will take actions according to actual circumstances and in accordance with the law”.

Kwan’s detention came not long after Beijing’s national security arm in Hong Kong publicly condemned “anti-China forces” for exploiting the disaster and “inciting social division and stirring hatred against authorities”.

However, Kwan said he was only proposing basic demands. “If these ideas are deemed seditious or ‘crossing the line’, then I feel I can’t predict the consequences of anything anymore, and I can only do what I truly believe,” he said.

Hong Kong was once a vibrant center of political activism, but that energy has largely disappeared since Beijing enacted a sweeping national security law in 2020 in response to the massive pro-democracy demonstrations in the city.

ALSO READ: Hong Kong Fire Death Toll Rises To 146, Search On For 100 Missing

General Anger Over Hong Kong Inferno

More bodies have been found, taking the death toll to 146 in the deadly fire at a Hong Kong high-rise apartment in the Wang Fuk Court complex in Tai Po, police said on Sunday, adding that 100 people are still missing. The fire started on Wednesday afternoon and rapidly engulfed seven of the eight 32-storey blocks.

The exact cause of the fire is still unknown, but Hong Kong’s Security Secretary said a preliminary investigation had found the speed of the fire’s spread to be unusual. Authorities also arrested eight more people linked to the ongoing renovation of the building cluster.

The flyers Kwan and other activists handed out at the train station near the charred estate demanded government accountability, an independent probe into possible corruption, proper resettlement for residents and a review of construction oversight. The demands reflected a belief that the fire was “not an accident” but a man-made disaster, he said.

A short walk away near the site of the blaze, a long queue snaked through a park as mourners brought flowers and handwritten notes of remembrance. “This is not just an accident, it is the evil fruit of an unjust system, which landed on you. It’s not right,” read a note left on the ground.

(with inputs from AFP)

General About the Author

Aveek Banerjee

Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international…Read More

Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international…

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