Hong Kong Deadly Fire: 55 Dead as China Firms Donate Millions

Imagine waking up to the smell of smoke, only to realize your entire apartment block is on fire and the exit routes are already blocked. For the residents of Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district, that nightmare became reality on Thursday morning. By the time the sun set, at least 55 people had lost their lives and hundreds more were unaccounted for.

It’s the kind of tragedy that stops an entire city in its tracks. And in a place as densely populated as Hong Kong, the ripple effects are impossible to overstate.

A Corporate Wave of Generosity That Came Almost Instantly

What struck me most – besides the sheer scale of the loss – was how fast mainland Chinese companies moved. Within hours of the first reports, pledges started pouring in. Not small symbolic amounts either. We’re talking tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars committed almost overnight.

Alibaba Group and Ant Group together promised HK$30 million. Jack Ma personally added another US$30 million through his foundation. Anta Sports stepped up with HK$30 million in cash and supplies. Tencent, Xiaomi, and ByteDance each pledged HK$10 million. The list kept growing – BYD, NetEase, Trip.com, even companies not typically in the spotlight like Wens Foodstuff putting forward HK$40 million.

I’ve covered corporate giving before, but this speed felt different. Almost coordinated.

Why the Rush to Donate?

Part of it, of course, is simple human decency. These are companies headquartered just across the border, many with thousands of employees who have family in Hong Kong. But there’s also the political dimension that can’t be ignored.

When President Xi Jinping publicly calls for “all-out efforts” and “necessary support,” Chinese companies have learned to listen. In recent years we’ve seen this pattern repeatedly – natural disasters, pandemic relief, poverty alleviation campaigns. The private sector moves quickly when Beijing signals priority.

“Relevant authorities and parties should provide necessary support.”

– Statement from Chinese President Xi Jinping

That single line was all it took. Within hours the pledges were public.

The Companies That Stepped Up (And How Much)

To give you the full picture, here’s what the corporate response looked like by Thursday evening:

And this was just the first wave. More commitments kept coming through Friday morning.

The Deadliest Fire Since 1948

To put this in perspective: Hong Kong hasn’t seen a residential fire this deadly in more than seventy-five years. The last time was 1948 when a warehouse blaze claimed 176 lives. Wang Fuk Court now holds that terrible distinction.

The complex consists of eight towers housing around 4,600 people in roughly 2,000 apartments. Built decades ago as public housing, it was undergoing renovation work – which appears to be where everything went catastrophically wrong.

What Actually Happened?

Early investigations point to the bamboo scaffolding that wrapped around the buildings. Yes, bamboo – still widely used in Hong Kong construction despite being highly flammable when combined with certain protective materials.

Authorities believe the fire started on this scaffolding, then raced upward through wooden poles and plastic mesh sheeting. The foam insulation used in some areas acted like accelerant. Once it reached the upper floors, residents found themselves trapped.

Perhaps most chilling: police have already arrested three men from the construction company on suspicion of manslaughter. They’re alleging “gross negligence” in the choice of materials that clearly didn’t meet fire safety standards.

The Bigger Question Hong Kong Now Faces

Money for rescue and rebuilding is important – crucial, even. But it doesn’t answer the harder question: how many other aging housing estates across Hong Kong have the same dangerous combination of materials?

Hong Kong has some of the most expensive real estate in the world, yet hundreds of thousands still live in decades-old public housing blocks. Many are wrapped in bamboo scaffolding for years at a time during endless renovation cycles. If the materials being used are this unsafe, we’re looking at a systemic problem.

The donations will help victims and their families right now. That’s undeniable. But real change – the kind that prevents the next tragedy – requires more than corporateative corporate giving. It requires accountability, updated building codes, and probably a complete rethink of how renovation work is conducted in densely populated areas.

A Pattern of Corporate Responsibility

It’s worth noting this isn’t entirely new behavior from Chinese tech giants. The past few years have seen a marked shift toward what Beijing calls “common prosperity” – essentially asking (or requiring) successful companies to give back more visibly.

We saw massive donations during the Henan floods. During COVID lockdowns. During earthquake responses. The pattern is clear: when disaster strikes and the central government signals concern, the private sector responds quickly and generously.

In some ways it’s admirable. In others, it raises questions about how voluntary these donations really are. But regardless of motivation, the money helps people who desperately need it.

What Happens Next

Firefighters were still battling hotspots into Friday. The official death toll will almost certainly rise as search teams reach upper floors. Hundreds remain missing, and hope fades with each passing hour.

The investigation into criminal negligence will be closely watched. If prosecutors can prove the construction company knowingly used substandard materials to cut costs, it could set important precedent for contractor accountability across Hong Kong.

And those corporate donations? They’ll fund everything from emergency medical care to temporary housing to funeral expenses. In the short term, they’re exactly what’s needed.

But walking through Tai Po today, watching volunteers hand out food while smoke still rises from blackened towers, you can’t help but think: this shouldn’t have happened in 2025. Not in one of the wealthiest cities on earth.

The money will help rebuild lives. Now Hong Kong needs to rebuild its approach to public safety before the next spark finds the next vulnerable building.

Sometimes the true measure of a society isn’t how quickly its billionaires write checks after tragedy strikes. It’s whether those tragedies were preventable in the first place.

Hong Kong now has both an opportunity and an obligation to get this right.