HK$4.5 billion raised in public fund for Tai Po fire victims, gov’t says

2026-01-29 - 05:33

Around HK$4.5 billion has been raised in the Hong Kong government’s public donation fund for victims of the deadly Tai Po fire. People watching smoke coming out of Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po as the fire ripped through seven buildings in the estate in late November 2025. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Alice Mak, minister for home and youth affairs, gave the updated figure for the Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po in response to a lawmaker’s question during a Legislative Council meeting on Wednesday. Around HK$1.2 billion has been earmarked for 11 types of grants that were announced earlier, Mak said, accounting for approximately 30 per cent of the money collected. They include a HK$100,000 “living allowance” for affected households, a HK$50,000 funeral grants for families of the deceased, as well as $50,000 relocation grants. Flat owners will also receive an annual sum of HK$150,000 for two years as a rental grant. Sums of HK$20,000 have also been distributed to domestic workers, students, construction workers, security guards and sanitation staff who lived or worked in Wang Fuk Court. Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak attends a press conference on May 2, 2023 about the proposed amendments to the District Councils. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. The fund was established by the government on November 27 last year, a day after a fatal blaze ripped through Wang Fuk Court and killed 168 people. The government injected an initial HK$300 million into the fund. Over the past two months, donations from private entities and individuals have reached around HK$4.2 billion. Mak said the fund was contributed “by the community as a whole.” When asked by pro-establishment lawmaker Priscilla Leung whether the government will be transparent in sharing how the fund is spent, the minister said the fund’s account will be submitted to the Audit Commission. Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, pictured on November 28, 2025, in the aftermath of the fatal blaze. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. A report of the public fund will also be tabled to the legislature, Mak added. State-backed newspaper Ta Kung Pao reported last Thursday that the fund received around 293,000 donations as of January 19. Among them, over 97 per cent of them contributions of less than HK$10,000. Earlier in December, the Nina Wang Charity Management Limited – the company managing the estate of billionaire and former head of Chinachem Group Nina Wang – pledged to donate HK$100 million to support rebuilding work. The charity was founded on the fortune of Wang, a businesswoman who died in 2007. The minister said on Wednesday that the charity had yet to make a final decision on how the money would be used, and that relevant procedures are still in progress.