Student who launched petition urging probe into deadly Tai Po fire says CUHK expelled him weeks before graduation

2026-02-13 - 10:38

A Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) student who launched a now-removed petition calling for government accountability following November’s deadly Tai Po fire has said he has been expelled. University student Miles Kwan speaks to reporters outside Tai Po MTR Station on November 28, 2025. He is arrested later for seditious intention. Photo: HKFP. Miles Kwan said in a social media post shortly after midnight on Friday that he was kicked out of CUHK after six years of study. A screenshot appeared to show Kwan’s response an email sent from the university’s Academic and Quality Section, which oversees a committee on student discipline. He states: “haha, said this was a kangaroo panel.” Kwan was reportedly arrested by national security police on suspicion of sedition in late November after he distributed flyers calling for an independent probe into the Wang Fuk Court fire, which killed 168 people and displaced thousands. It was Hong Kong’s deadliest blaze since 1948. Miles Kwan said in an Instagram post on Friday, February 2, 2026 that he was kicked out of CUHK after six years of study. Photo: Screenshot/Instagram. His petition called for government accountability, proper resettlement for residents, and a review of construction oversight. A link to the petition became inaccessible following his apparent arrest. In a phone interview with HKFP on Friday, Kwan, a political science major, said that CUHK notified him of the expulsion on Thursday, on the grounds that he had committed “multiple acts of misconduct.” Kwan said that – after his November arrest – CUHK invited him to a January 7 meeting with a panel formed under a student discipline committee. In an email reply confirming he would attend the meeting, he called the panel a “kangaroo panel” and a “disgrace,” saying that he looked forward to the “circus.” The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. The 24-year-old said he made such characterisations because the panel had not clarified the allegations against him in what he called an “unfair” procedure. “I was never informed of the acts of misconduct that I allegedly committed before or during the meeting,” he told HKFP in Cantonese. “It was impossible for me to prove my innocence.” “When I asked [about the allegations], they said: ‘We are the ones who can ask you questions, not the other way around.’” ‘Cooked up’ charges In a letter dated Thursday – seen by HKFP – CUHK said the panel would not impose any penalty relating to Kwan’s arrest owing to “a lack of information.” But they decided to impose two demerits against Kwan for his “impolite and disrespectful attitude towards the panel,” as well as the panel’s assessment that “more likely than not” Kwan had breached confidentiality rules by leaking a confidential notice for the meeting. Taking into account two previous demerits, the panel decided that Kwan should be expelled with immediate effect, according to the letter. The Hong Kong Police Force’s Disaster Victim Identification Unit (DVIU) personnel inspect Wang Fuk Court on November 30, 2025, after the deadly fire. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Kwan said he had completed all academic requirements and was expected to receive a confirmation of his graduation in March. He added that he had been mentally prepared for the prospect of expulsion following his arrest in November. “What I didn’t expect was that the panel would cook up charges against me,” he said, adding that – while the panel was convened due to his arrest – the demerits were based on his conduct during the disciplinary procedure. “The panel’s intention to punish me with further demerits was obvious. It was proactively seeking to expel me,” he said. HKFP has reached out to CUHK for comment but did not receive a response by Friday’s deadline.